Global human rights call for collective actions: China Daily editorial

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's address to the United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday offered a clear presentation of China's perspective on the global human rights cause.

Delivered via video link during the high-level segment of the 61st session, Wang's speech underscored China's commitment to collective action to improve global human rights governance.

At a time when the postwar international order faces unprecedented challenges and the complexity of global issues — from artificial intelligence to climate change — demands a renewed commitment to cooperative global governance, the Global Governance Initiative put forward by China, which has garnered support from over 150 countries and international organizations, embraces a vision of a more inclusive and equitable international system that upholds the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Wang's call for adherence to the international rule of law and the rejection of double standard in the name of "human rights" represented a broader critique of selective interventionism. By advocating the "golden rule" of noninterference in one another's internal affairs, China is reaffirming the foundational principle of nations respecting each other's sovereignty.

Central to this is the principle of sovereign equality and the need to respect each nation's unique path of human rights development. As Wang said, true progress must be rooted in a country's specific national conditions and responsive to its people's needs. This perspective challenges the one-size-fits-all approach that seeks to impose external standards with ulterior motives.

By positioning the right to development as a central tenet of the multilateral human rights agenda, China underscores its belief in development as the fundamental guarantor of human rights. This approach seeks to ensure that economic progress translates into tangible improvements in people's lives. It elevates poverty alleviation, education and healthcare from policy issues to the foundational basis for all human rights.

Recognizing that social justice is rooted in both sustainable peace and economic prosperity, China has consistently urged countries to join hands and take a balanced approach that integrates security and development. It is in this light that Wang's call for a renewed commitment to multilateralism and his urging that countries resist unilateral actions and protectionism should be viewed.

Highlighting China's recognition of the importance of dialogue and mutual learning among civilizations, Wang proposed that countries should engage in open exchanges to learn from each other's experiences and best practices, so as to foster a more harmonious global community. This perspective encourages cultural diversity and mutual respect, countering narratives that pit civilizations against one another.

It is deeply ironic that some countries, which routinely apply a double standard on human rights and lecture others endlessly on the subject, are also the very ones that show no hesitation in trampling on the rights of people in other countries.

China has adhered to a people-oriented approach and made remarkable achievements in advancing human rights, including promoting the adoption of resolutions at the UNHRC on advancing human rights through development and on economic, social and cultural rights.

This year marks the start of China's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period, and the country will continue advancing its whole-process people's democracy, ensuring the achievements of modernization benefit people in a more equitable manner.

Human rights must not be an ornament for democracy, nor a cover for hegemonism. The annual sessions of the UNHRC should be a platform for building consensus, forging cooperation and uniting action-oriented efforts, not for amplifying differences and finger pointing. More efforts should be made to advance reforms in global governance structures to better reflect the realities of a multipolar world and ensure that developing countries have a greater voice in decision-making processes so as to promote improved human rights governance.

China is willing to collaborate with all nations to build a more equitable international order in which the global human rights cause can be advanced and the challenges it faces better addressed.