Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2012 (21)

VI. Foreign Exchanges and Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights

China has long taken the initiative to have exchanges and cooperation with other countries in the realm of human rights. It plays a constructive role in the UN's human rights bodies, encouraging countries around the world to handle human rights issues fairly, objectively and non-selectively. It endeavors to promote the sound development of human rights on the international stage.

Constructively participating in UN human rights activities. In 2010 and 2011 China constructively engaged in the review of the UN Human Right Council (HRC), and encouraged the UN General Assembly to adopt the HRC's resolution on the review. From 2010 on, Chinese delegations attended the meetings of the Third Committee of the 65th, 66th and 67th sessions of the UN General Assembly, and the 13th to 21st sessions of the UN Human Rights Council, and participated in the seventh to 14th sessions of the HRC's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Team. When working in the organizations and participating in the meetings mentioned above, China plays a constructive role by upholding the basic purpose and principles stipulated in the Charter of the United Nations, performing its duties conscientiously, and proactively participating in reviews and discussions of human rights issues. China attaches great importance to technical cooperation with the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In 2011 China and the OHCHR jointly held the China-UN Legal Seminar, and discussed such issues as death penalty reform trend in the world. Both sides regarded the seminar as a positive move. China resolutely supports the programs of the OHCHR, and made donations of 20,000 U.S. dollars, 30,000 U.S. dollars and 50,000 U.S. dollars to it from 2010 to 2012. In December 2010 the HRC's Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food visited China upon invitation, and fully affirmed China's efforts in improving the right to food.

Attaching great importance to the implementation of international human rights conventions. China has joined 27 international human rights conventions, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and actively works for the approval of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Chinese government has taken active measures to guarantee the implementation of its obligations as stipulated by the international human rights conventions it has joined. In 2010 China submitted to the United Nations the second report of its implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the consolidated report of the third and fourth implementations of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the first report of its implementation of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. China also presented to the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities the first report of its implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in the same year, which passed the review of the committee in September 2012. Most committee members recognized China's achievements in guaranteeing the rights of persons with disabilities and its implementation of the Convention. In 2012 China submitted the consolidated report of the seventh and eighth implementations of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and organized a trans-department coordination team to set about drawing up the sixth report of its implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. From 2010 to 2012 members of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) visited China to conduct on-site inspections of China' s implementation of relevant conventions, and gave full recognition to China' s work. Since 2010 China has continued its cooperation with the UN Children' s Fund office in China, holding various forms of publicity activities and training for upholding the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2012 the Chinese government held celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of its joining in the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

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