Developing countries to play a bigger role

Chinese analysts noted that developing countries will have a louder voice and play a bigger role in human rights protection after a UN rights body adopted, for the first time, a resolution on development issues.

The resolution, entitled "The Contribution of Development to the Enjoyment of All Human Rights," was proposed by China and was adopted by the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, the Xinhua News Agency reported. China's resolution was co-sponsored by more than 70 countries.

The resolution recognizes the common aspiration of the international community of building a community of shared destiny for all human beings and affirms that development contributes significantly to the enjoyment of all human rights.

The resolution, which is China's proposal for the global governance of human rights, enables developing countries to have a bigger say and play a greater role in setting the agenda in the area of human rights, said Ma Zhaoxu, head of the Chinese Mission to UN at Geneva, China Central Television reported Friday.

"Previously, the issue of human rights protection functioned merely as a slogan or was used by some countries to attack others on an ideological basis, while the resolution is a practical effort for solid and sustainable development on this issue," Chang Jian, director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Nankai University in Tianjin, told the Global Times on Friday.

The resolution, which advocates development as a way to protect human rights, has reversed the previous Western strategy of advocating the protection of human rights to boost development, which has proven ineffective in some Latin American and African countries, said Chang.

The protection of human rights requires conditions including a stable social order and the overall development of a society, which was often ignored or misunderstood in the evaluation system previously dominated by wealthy Western countries, said experts.

Meanwhile, Chang noted that the evaluation system was also a shield for some problems in Western countries, citing gun control and freedom of speech as an example.

In the US, the excessive protection of the freedom to own a gun has put many people's lives in jeopardy, while in some European countries, the overstressing of freedom of speech has escalated conflicts among different religious and ethnic groups, Chang elaborated.

A satirical cartoon of the Prophet Mohammed in the French magazine Charlie Hebdo, which was seen by some Muslims as offensive, led to the bloody attack on the magazine in January 2015, causing 12 deaths and 11 injures, Chang said.

Meanwhile, Li Yunlong, a professor at the Party School of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China, noted that the protection of political rights and freedoms and the maintenance of social stability are not mutually exclusive.

"The order of priorities is determined by the values of different countries. However, a balance should be reached and it is unfair to deny or criticize a country for holding different values," Li told the Global Times on Friday.

The resolution also welcomes further efforts to promote development initiatives with the aim of promoting partnerships, win-win outcomes and common development, Xinhua reported.