Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation would like to make the following comments on the work and the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The Chinese Delegation supports the efforts of Mme. Robinson, the High Commissioner, for the promotion and protection of human rights. We praise her for consistently emphasizing the equal importance of both categories of human fights and her appeal at various occasions cooperation rather than confrontation between states on human rights questions. We have also noted that the High Commissioner attaches importance to economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development and that she hopes to strengthen the efforts of UN in this area. She also encourages governments to take multifaceted measures to raise the levels of enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights by their people. We deem these views to be in line with the concern of the developing countries and conductive to constructing an atmosphere of dialog and cooperation in the international human right arena.

The High Commissioner's Office, as a component part of the United Nations Secretariat, receives its mandate from UNGA Resolution 48/141, the latter being the legal basis for the High Commissioner and her Office to carry out dialog and cooperation with states. We hope the High Commissioner and her Office will strictly abided by that resolution in their activities, as this is the only way by which they will enjoy trust, support and cooperation from the member states.

The Chinese delegation supports the High Commissioner's visit to Palestine in accordance with the resolution adopted by the Special Session of the Human Rights Commission on the Palestine Question. The High Commissioner made a detailed report on the visit and its results. We are satisfied with this. We believe her report on the visit along with her recommendations will contribute to the relaxation of the situation in the area concerned.

The World Conference against Racism will be convened this year with the regional preparatory meetings already completed. We note that the High Commissioner has taken part in all regional preparatory meetings. At present, the preparations for the Conference, especially the drafting of the final document, have entered a critical stage. We hope the High Commissioner will step up her exchanges and cooperation with member states in this process, so as to fully take into account the views of countries in various regions and maximize the World Conference's possibility to reflect the views of all sides.

Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese government has always held the view that the protection and promotion of human rights should be realized through international cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect. We remain committed to carrying out technical cooperation with the High Commissioner's Office in the field of human rights. In November 2000, the High Commissioner, Mme. Robinson, paid a visit to China and signed with China a Memorandum of Understanding on Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights. Thanks to the concerted efforts and close cooperation between the two sides, the first project of cooperation under the MOU, the Workshop on Punishment of Minor Crimes has already been held successfully in Beijing this February.

Mr. Chairman,

The Chinese delegation endeavors to protect and promote human rights and carries out international human rights cooperation in an active way. It supports the positive role played by the High Commissioner's Office in this field. We are convinced that when guided by the principles of equal consultation, mutual respect and moving forward step-by-step, the cooperation between the two sides will continue to score progress.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.