New Progress In Legal Protection Of Human Rights In China

VI. Actively Promoting the Development of Global Human Rights Under the Rule of Law

China has always safeguarded world peace and contributed to global development, and upholds the international order. The Chinese government advocates building a community of shared future for humanity. China actively participates in building a legal system of international human rights, earnestly fulfills international human rights obligations, conducts in-depth international exchanges and cooperation in the judicial field, and champions the healthy development of global human rights.

Building a community of shared future for humanity. In March 2013, President Xi Jinping put forward the idea of "a community of shared future" for the first time in a speech at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

In September 2015, at the summits commemorating the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, he expanded this vision.

In January 2017, he attended a high-level meeting on "discussing and building a community of shared future for humanity" at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, and delivered a keynote speech, entitled "Work Together to Build a Community of Shared Future for Humanity".

In his speech, Xi elaborated on the concept of a community of shared future for humanity in a profound, comprehensive and systematic way and called on the peoples of all countries to work together to push forward the great process.

Xi advocates an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security, and common prosperity through dialogue and consultation, joint efforts, win-win cooperation, and exchanges and mutual learning, and by pursuing green and low-carbon development.

Xi's speech indicates the fundamental means of addressing current global challenges, and has important implications in improving international human rights governance.

The concept of "building a community of shared future for humanity" has been written into relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly, the Security Council and the Human Rights Council, signifying that it has become an important part of international human rights discourse. It broadens the perspective of international human rights protection and plays an important role in advancing global human rights governance in an equitable and rational way.

Actively participating in the making of international rules related to the protection of human rights. As a founding member of the United Nations, China has been involved in creating the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights instruments, making an important contribution to the development of international human rights rules.

It has participated in formulating the Vienna Declaration and Program of Action, the Declaration on the Right to Development, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Declaration on the Right of Peoples to Peace, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

China has played a constructive role in international climate change negotiations with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change as the main channel, and made every effort to ensure that the Paris Agreement on climate change is concluded and comes into force.

China has created the Belt and Road Initiative, and pressed forward with establishing international cooperation rules concerning the economy, environmental protection, healthcare, adolescents, the protection and development of children, cyberspace governance, anti-corruption and drug control.

Sincerely fulfilling its obligations to the international human rights conventions. China has acceded to 26 international human rights conventions including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

It has also actively created conditions for the approval of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

China cherishes the important role played by international human rights instruments in promoting and protecting human rights, and sincerely fulfills its obligations to the international human rights conventions.

It submits timely reports on implementing the conventions to the treaty bodies concerned, holds constructive dialogues with these bodies, takes into full consideration the proposals they raise, and adopts rational and feasible measures in light of China's actual conditions.

In 2012, China's first report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities was approved.

In 2013, China's third and fourth combined report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child and China's first report on implementing the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict was approved.

In 2014, China underwent the second-round Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council, which approved the UPR report on China. China's second report on implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was approved. China submitted its combined seventh and eighth periodic report on the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for review.

In 2015, China submitted its sixth report on implementing the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment to the UN Committee Against Torture for review.

China actively participates in international peacekeeping operations. From 1990 to August 2017, 36,000 Chinese military peacekeeping personnel were sent abroad to take part in 24 UN peacekeeping operations. In 2017 China built a peacekeeping standby force of 8,000 troops.

Effectively conducting international cooperation on legal matters. China has acceded to The Hague Service Convention (also known as the Convention on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters), The Hague Evidence Convention (also known as the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters), and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

By 2016 China had signed judicial assistance treaties or agreements on civil, commercial, and criminal cases with 19 countries, all of which had come into force. It had signed judicial assistance treaties or agreements on criminal cases with 40 countries, 32 of which had come into force, and it had signed judicial assistance treaties or agreements on civil and commercial cases with 20 countries, 17 of which had come into force.

Between 2013 and 2016, China's central organs handled more than 3,300 requests for judicial assistance every year. China has strengthened international cooperation against corruption, and promoted the adoption of the G20 High Level Principles on Cooperation on Persons Sought for Corruption and Asset Recovery and the 2017-2018 G20 Anti-Corruption Action Plan.

Ten principles on persons sought for corruption and asset recovery have been established, the main provisions of which are "zero tolerance against corruption, zero loopholes in our institutions and zero barriers in our actions".

China carries out "Sky Net" operation and intensifies efforts to pursue, repatriate and extradite fugitives accused of corruption. From 2014 to mid-October 2017, 3,453 fugitives were brought back from more than 90 countries and regions, including 48 on the list of 100 most-wanted fugitives, and illegal assets worth RMB9.5 billion were recovered.

Taking an active part in international law enforcement and security cooperation. China works with the international community to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism and drug-related crimes. Within the framework of international and regional organizations including the UN, Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization), SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), China works to strengthen counterterrorism cooperation with other countries in order to combat all forces of terrorism.

China has enhanced counterterrorism exchanges and cooperation with other countries through high-level contacts, institutional consultation, and cooperation agreements, and intensified the fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, extremism and separatism.

China is actively involved in creating international instruments to address the world drug problem, and fights alongside neighboring countries against drug trafficking and smuggling.

It continues the Safe Mekong Joint Operation within the law-enforcement and security cooperation mechanism along the China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand sections of the Mekong River.

In the Second Safe Mekong Joint Operation by China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, organized by China in 2016, 6,476 drug-related cases were solved, 9,927 suspects were arrested, and 12.7 tons of narcotics and 55.2 tons of precursor chemicals were seized.

Conclusion

China's efforts to comprehensively advance law-based governance has enabled it to take major steps in building a law-based socialist country and lift legal protection of human rights to a new level.

Never before have Chinese people enjoyed such full economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights as today. The cause of human rights in China is making consistent progress in the right direction.

The basic and practical context is that China is still and will remain for the foreseeable future in the primary stage of socialism. There is still much work to be done and a long way to go to advance law-based governance in all fields, build a country of socialist rule of law, construct a law-based government and a law-governed society, modernize China's system and capacity for governance, and realize higher levels of legal protection of human rights.

The 19th CPC National Congress defined major plans for advancing law-based governance. Now, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Xi Jinping as the core, Chinese people are working hard to realize the Two Centenary Goals and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. The Two Centenary Goals were put forth by the CPC at its 18th National Congress for building socialism with Chinese characteristics. The two goals are to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the centenary of the CPC (founded in 1921) and to build China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the centenary of the PRC (founded in 1949).

In the cause of realizing the great dream, we will certainly make further solid progress in building a law-based socialist country. We will promote legal protection of human rights and make a new and greater contribution to the development of human civilization.