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STATEMENT BY H. E. AMBASSADOR QIAO ZONGHUAI,

HEAD OF THE CHINESE DELEGATION, ON THE

ORGANIZATION OF THE WORK (ITEM 3) AT THE 56^TH

SESSEION OF THE COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS

(21 MARCH 2000)

 

Mr. Chairman,

 

      First of all, please allow me to congratulate you on your election. We believe that, your rich experience in diplomacy and profound knowledge in human rights field will ensure the success of this session. We would also like to congratulate the other members of the Bureau on their elections.

 

      Mr. Chairman, this session of the Commission is the first important meeting on human rights in the new century held by the international community. In the past over fifty years, the Commission has made its due contribution to the promotion and protection of world human rights. At the same time, some unhealthy factors have been obstructing the Commission from conducting normal work and bringing efficiency into full play. At the first session of the Commission on Human Rights in the 21^st century, it is necessary for us to sum up the experience and draw a profound lesson, establish the guiding principle and rectify the working method, so as to lead a healthy and efficient Commission with the atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation into new century. The Chinese delegation would like to make the following observations:

 

      I. To discard “Cold War” mentality and pursue dialogue and cooperation rather than confrontation

      The Commission should be a forum of dialogue and cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights instead of a battlefield of ideology. We hope that this session of the Commission will pursue the principle of dialogue and cooperation and conduct calm and in-depth discussion on human rights issues concerned by international community. In the new century, the Commission should take on a new face and discard all “Cold War” practices. Domestic political strife should not be brought into the Commission to obstruct the normal work of the Commission and affect the cooperation between member states. We are pleased to see that more and more countries stand for dialogue and cooperation and are opposed to confrontation.

 

      II. To take concrete actions to redress the imbalance between the two categories of rights

      We hope that this session should put equal emphasis on all human rights. Human rights are not the rights of a few countries nor the rights of the rich, but the rights of all people. In the process of realizing human rights, all human rights, including civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights, are of equal importance. The realization of the right to subsistence and right to development is the basis for the full realization of all other human rights, which is of greater urgency to the developing countries accounting for the majority of global population. The Commission has made some efforts to redress the imbalance between the two categories of rights in recent years. We hope this session will further this positive momentum.

 

      III. To adopt effective measures to improve efficiency of the Commission

      At this session, we have noticed that some regional groups and countries have again appealed to reduce the session of the Commission to 4 weeks by reclustering and biennializing of agenda items, etc. They have also put forward some specific suggestions to improve the efficiency of the Commission. We feel that these measures are feasible. The Commission should give due attention to them and put them into effect as early as possible while debating the organization of the work and working methods.

 

      IV. We need to clarify the guidelines for the review of human rights mechanism and adopt a step by step approach.

      A working group on the review of mechanisms was established at the 55^th session of the Commission on Human Rights. Although divergences still exist among all sides, consensus has been reached through great efforts. This proves once again that no problem can not be resolved if all parties have sincerity and are ready to conduct dialogue and cooperation. As for the review and adoption of the working group’s report, we support the position elaborated by the Indonesian Ambassador on behalf of Asian countries.

 

      Thank you, Mr. Chairman.