Review and Comments on China's Firm Opposition to Double Standards Imposed in UN Human Rights Bodies -For the 30th Anniversary of the  Adoption of Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

I. Introduction: For the first time China has expressed its resolute opposition to double standards in the report to NPC of the CPC.

It was stated in the report at the twentieth NPC of CPC that, "China respects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of any country, and upholds the equality of all countries, regardless of their size, strength, or wealth. China respects the development path and social system independently chosen by the people of any country, and firmly opposes hegemonism and power politics in any form, the Cold War mentality, interference in other countries' internal affairs and double standards."This statement was made for the first time in a report to the NPC, containing the key guidelines and measures China has practiced in the UN human rights bodies over the years to firmly oppose double standards. As early as on September 14, 2020, at a joint meeting with Angela Merkel, the then Prime Minister of Germany holding the rotating EU presidency, Charles Michel, the President of European Council, and Ursula von der Leyen, the President of European Commission, President Xi Jinping also stressed that, "I believe EU can solve its own problems with human rights. China rejects any human rights 'preacher' and opposes any'double standards'", which is an official statement made by the leader of both Chinese government and CPC on an international occasion resolutely opposing double standards on human rights. These comments and statements summarized China's valuable experience in consistently opposing double standards over the years, and are of great significance to global governance of human rights.

For a long period, UN human rights bodies have been where China mainly exposes and opposes the double standards imposed by the US and other western countries. In memory of the 30th anniversary of the adoption of theVienna Declaration and Programme of Action, this document intends to, by giving examples, review China's positions and views on human rights in the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council over the years.

II. China's Position and Views Firmly Opposing Double Standards in the Commission on Human Rights

In 1946, the United Nations Economic and Social Council established the Commission on Human Rights during its first session of meeting.

The World Conference on Human Rights was to be held in Vienna in 1993, mainly for the purpose of promoting normal international cooperation in human rights and harmony, mutual understanding and respect among all MemberStates, as well as reflecting the views of countries with different political, economic and social systems or different historical, religious and cultural backgrounds on human rights. However, the Commission on Human Rights was then shadowed in a cold war atmosphere featuringfierce rivalries between opposing political groups and ideologies. In this regard, the representative of China pointed out in a speech given to the Commission on Human Rights as early as in 1991 that, "double standards, selectivity and utilitarianism are currently quite prevalent. Some western countries abuse human rights to seek power politics, interfere in other countries' internal affairs, and impose political pressure on small and weak countries, which has seriously undermined international cooperationin human rights, poisonedinternational relations and hinders the achievement ofhuman rights objectives". Therefore, the Chinese representative underscored that the UN should first find proper basic norms in the UN Charter when handling issues of human rights. Any state using human rights issues to peddle its own ideology and values, or interfering in other countries' internal affairs on the excuse of human rights, would trap the World Conference on Human Rights in a "Cold War" atmosphere, which shall be avoided from the very beginning.

Later, on the eve of theWorld Conference on Human Rights in 1993, the Chinese representative also pointed out in a speech at the Commission on Human Rights that, "Like any other developing countries, China believes that the World Conference on Human Rights to be held in Vienna will be successful and will help to promote international cooperation in human rights. China hopes that the conference of the Commission will be held in a new atmosphere which is marked by constructive dialogue between equal partners based on mutual respect". It was also stated particularly in the speech that, "China upholds the principles of objectivity, impartiality and non-selectivity on human rights as set forth in the UN Charter and will unswervingly abide by these principles". "As known by everyone, some western countries have built one set of standards for their own groups and another for developing countries. For example, they have adopted many resolutions on the human rights situation in developing countries, but none targeted at any country in their own group". "It's hard to believe that western countries don't have any problems with human rights. This is how double standard is set, and this is why western countries use the human rights issueto impose political pressure on China. ”

Due to the efforts of and cooperation between developing countries and China, the United Nations held a historic World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna from 14th to 25th June, 1993. The outcome document of theConference, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, is a common plan to strengthen human rights activities across the world, and restates that, all countries shall be obligated to, in accordance with the provisions of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other instruments concerning human rights, ensure their education aims to enhance the respect for human rights and fundamental freedom. We can say that, the consensus reached by the countriesand the documented outcome is a victory for China and many developing countries in their firm opposition to double standards.

III. China's Position and Views Firmly Opposing Double Standards in the Human Rights Council

On March 15, 2006, the United Nations decided to set up the Human Rights Council in place of the Commission on Human Rights. The Human Rights Council has condensed the agenda for each conference into 10 fixed items, the Item 4 of which is "Human rights situations that require the Council’s attention".The fairly flexible topics in the agenda enable the US and some other western countries to continue adopting resolutions condemning a certain country under the agenda. Item 6 on the agenda is "Universal Periodic Review", which was intended to overcome the malady of selectivity, having each Member State's performance of its commitments to human rights evaluated by other States. However, the US and some other western countries have repeatedly used it to propose double standards against China and other developing countries.

Therefore, China continues firmly opposing double standards while working with the Human Rights Council. For example, during the interactive dialogue with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention at the 51st conference, the Chinese representative pointed out that, we note with regret that most of the negative information in the report submitted by the Working Group was directed at developing countries, which once again indicates that double standards are prominent in the current UN human rights mechanism. China hopes that the Working Group will perform its duties objectively and impartially, abide by the code of conduct in the special mechanism, adequately respect the materials provided by the countries concerned and the judicial sovereignty of each country, and give up politicizing issues of human rights.

It is particularly notable that, in the Human Rights Council, China made precise response to the double standards imposed by the United States and some other western countries, that is, by "paying a man back in his own coin". For example, during the second round of the Universal Periodic Review on the US at the 30th conference in May 2015, the Chinese representative suggested that the US approve as soon as possible the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, as proposed by China as early, as in November 2010 when the US was reviewed at the 16th conference of the Human Rights Council. We hit the mark! the US often accuses other countries of violating human rights, but it even has never joined these core international conventions on human rights, which is a typical double standard.

IV. China Firmly Opposes Double Standard Because it Relates to National Sovereignty and the Principle of Non-Interference in Other Countries' InternalAffairs

Between China, and the US and some western countries, the sovereignty-human rights connection is amajor issue which has continually produced severe conflicts in the practices of international relations. Upholding the Marxist view on human rights, the Chinese government and its scholars always believe that, human rights issue is basically an affair within a state's sovereignty, so the sovereignty of any country must be respected and no interference shall be made in its internal affairs. For the purpose of promoting and protecting human rights, each country has the right to establish and implement properpolitical, economic, cultural, social and legal systems based on its actual situations, choose a human rights development pattern adapted to its own national conditions, and determine the specific contents and priority of human rights. Furthermore, these national actions shall not undergo any external intervention in any form, or otherwise,  interference in internal affairs would occur. 

The US and some other western countries and scholars consider instead that, human rights are the common value goal of mankind beyond borders, classes and nations, and insisting that human rights are mainly within the scope of a country's sovereignty is against the requirements of the times, since human rights are superior to sovereignty, so they can interfere in the internal affairs of any other countries on the excuse of human rights. This has caused widespread and extreme politicization of issues of human rights, giving some countries an excuse to interfere in internal affairs of other countries or even invade them. Therefore, the Chinese government and scholars decisively advocate the depoliticization of human rights, and firmly oppose any country using issue of human rights to promote its own values, ideologies, political standards and development patterns, and evaluating itself and other countries based on different human rights standards. Any country shall have its human rights situation ultimately identified by its own people.In fact, the supremacy of human rights over sovereignty has become the theoretical basis forgreat powers to push hegemonism.

There are many other disagreements between China and some western countries in issues of human rights,  and the major disputes over practices of double standards and the relationship between sovereignty and human rights have always arisen and will arise continuously in the international community and the UN human rights bodies.

V. Different Values of China, the US and Some Western Countries in Human Rights

In his special address entitled "The Torch of Multilateralism Lights the Road Ahead for Mankind" at the dialogue of Davos Agenda, the World Economic Forum on January 25, 2021, President Xi Jinping pointed out that, "Any differences in historic culture and social systems of countries have existed since ancient times and are inherent in human civilization,  since diversity is what human civilization exists on, and an objective reality lasting for ever. What is really terrible is not variance, but arrogance, prejudice and hatred, or even the attempt to divide human civilization into grades, and to impose one's own historic culture and social systems on others", which is a profound theoretical critique of double standards from the perspective of human values.

As recordedin theAnalects of Confucius -Zi Lu,Confucius said that "gentlemen seek harmony but not uniformity", which means that gentlemen get well along with each other, but do not necessarily agree with each other.  It is one of the excellent traditional values commonly accepted in China. In other word, it is prettynormal for people to hold different views on an issue, and consensus should be reached through the exchange and communication of opinions and ideas. One can tolerate others' independent opinions, but does not have to hide his own different view. People should not spoil the friendly atmosphere even if they fail to make any agreement on things at once, but wait to see whose opinion is justified by the practices and time. China's practices in UN human rights bodies are exactly to "seek harmony but not uniformity" -to decisively hold its standpoint in any major issues of principle, seek common ground while reserving differences without avoiding any differential views, and refuse any double standards, provided that, the sovereignty of any country shall be respected and no interference committed in internal affairs of any country; power politics and hegemonism must be rejected so as to show full respect to different human civilizations.

As said by Confucius in the Analects of Confucius -Yan Yuan, "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you", which advocates that one should be obliged to exercise self-restraint, that is, to take into account others' feelings, not to over-exercise his own rights, not to cross the boundary between others and himself, and which, as one of these outstanding traditional values, is in absolute conflict with double standards. Basically, countries are supposed to handle matters in UN human rights bodies in the same way, but the US and some western countries always impose on others their own opinions about almost every issue, and "only look at the speck in other's eye, but pay no attention to the log in their own eyes". In my opinion, the US and some other western countries should not use their own concepts, theories, systems, standards and models of human rights as the absolute and unique scale to measure and judge the human rights situation in developing countries, nor in particular, impose their own culture of human rights on other states and nations, even if they deem their own human rights situation as a perfect thing.

Another popular western proverb says "one man may steal a horse while another may not look over a hedge", a metaphor indicating that some persons commit whatever they like, but impose harsh demands on others, or even forbid others to exercise their legitimate rights. This proverb is also a satire on those who play with double standards. The US and some other western countries have used issues of human rights as a political tool to suppress developing countries including China, use their hegemony of speech to act as the law-executor in the UN human rights bodies, practice double standards while ignoring their own problems in human rights, and accuse other countries while exempting themselves, or even play therole of human rights 'preacher' and arbitrarily order other countries to as they like, completely abandoning the purposes of protecting human rights advocated by the United Nations.

Empirically, a double standard is a principle or policy that is applied in a different manner to similar things, without proper justification, by some persons based on their own preference or vested or expected interests, or to different stages of one thing, ending up as inconsistency, conflict or contradiction. However, for along period the US and some other western countries have consistently acted in this way, judging their own and other countries' economic, political, cultural, social and legislative conditions based on double standards of human rights.

From the perspective of traditional values, the double standards played with by the United States and some western countries are ideologically rooted in western centrism (or Euro-American centrism), or institutionally rooted in the dominant position of their so-called liberal democracy in the international community. Relying on their western-centrist values and democracy exporting strategies and actions, they have played with double standards up to now. Therefore, only by adhering to their own development path and model to realize the modernization of national governance, can developing countries including China fundamentally get rid of the western discourse system with double standards. 

VI. Conclusion: China Adamantly Opposes Double Standards so as to Further Resolve theChaos in Global Governance of Human Rights.

Global governance of human rights is based on international human rights norms such as the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the mechanism focusing on the UN human rights bodies. In the process of participating in the drafting, adopting and practicing these international human rights norms, China, on the premise of recognizing the universality of human rights values, has made efforts to incorporate the human rights propositions and concepts of China and other non-western countries into the west-led international human rights system, thus enriching the concept and connotation of international human rights. I believe that, in the new era of building a community with a shared future for mankind, how to further resolve the chaos in governance of human rights and resolutely oppose double standards have become key practical issues to be faced.

(The author is professor at Law School, Renmin University of China)