China defends human rights position, rebuts Western critics at UN Council

China pushed back against criticism from several Western nations at the UN Human Rights Council on Tuesday, stating its position and urging the nations to stop politicizing human rights issues.

Addressing the Council's 62nd session in Geneva, Li Xiaomei, deputy head of the Chinese delegation, said global human rights governance is now facing mounting challenges. 

Marking the Council's 20th anniversary, she called for greater respect for countries' independently chosen paths of rights development and urged the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to play a constructive role.

Li noted that China recently released its fifth National Human Rights Action Plan, saying it would contribute stability and certainty to the advancement of human rights worldwide through the country's continued progress in the field.

She said China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and Xizang Autonomous Region are enjoying prosperity and social stability, while the lawful rights of residents in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region are fully protected. She added that China's Law on Promoting Ethnic Unity and Progress is aimed at safeguarding the equal rights of all ethnic groups and promoting their common development and prosperity.

Li also rejected what she described as unfounded allegations made by a small number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia and the Czech Republic, adding that those countries have serious human rights problems of their own that they have failed to reflect on.

She urged those countries to stop politicizing and weaponizing human rights issues and instead take concrete action to uphold the credibility of the multilateral human rights system.