Explanation: The West is not a "judge" of human rights, International Criticism | This Human Rights Discussion in Beijing | People | Global | Human Rights

"President Xi's congratulatory letter reflects profound insight and reflection on the development of global human rights." During his participation in the high-end forum on global human rights governance in Beijing, Akmal Saidov, the first deputy speaker of Uzbekistan and director of the National Human Rights Center, accepted an exclusive interview with the International Sharp Review. He highly appreciated the initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping, comparing the security, development, and cooperation mentioned in it to the "three pillars" of human rights protection ".

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. This document proposes important principles such as "promoting and protecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms must be in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations" and "the international community should promote effective international cooperation, realize the right to development, and eliminate obstacles to development". It is regarded as one of the milestone documents in the history of global human rights development.

Today, 30 years later, the world has entered a new period of turbulence and transformation, with wars, conflicts, financial crises, and anti globalization posing severe challenges to global human rights development. In this context, where is global human rights governance heading? How does China, as an advocate and practitioner of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, view this issue? How will it be done again?

This is the latest proposal put forward by China on global human rights governance, which has strong practical relevance and provides important guidance for promoting international human rights cooperation, triggering widespread resonance among attendees.

Let's take a look at safety first. It is a prerequisite for human rights protection. At present, some countries are exaggerating "great power competition", inciting factions to confront, provoking wars and conflicts, constantly increasing global security risks, and posing a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of many people in these countries. At the forum, participants generally believed that the global security initiative proposed by China has important practical significance for improving global human rights governance. Jean Pierre Pagi, editor in chief of the French magazine "Free Thinking", gave an example of the Ukrainian crisis to the International Review. He believes that it is very important for China to constructively promote peace talks, and only by building a more comprehensive security framework that takes into account the concerns of all parties can the crisis be resolved as soon as possible.

Looking at development again. It is the foundation of human rights protection. In this regard, China has successfully lifted 770 million rural population out of poverty, achieved the poverty reduction goal of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule, and is promoting the achievement of common prosperity for all people. French entrepreneur Bertrand has traveled to various parts of China and is deeply impressed by China's poverty alleviation achievements, believing that "this is the largest and fastest poverty reduction achievement in world history.". He said at a recent forum that China has spent almost all its funds on enhancing national strength, enhancing people's well-being, and improving people's livelihoods, ensuring that people can enjoy stability, prosperity, and freedom more widely.

Commentators from International Review observed at the forum that guests from developing countries generally agree that the right to survival and development are primary human rights. For example, Uzbekistan is actively promoting China's beneficial experience in poverty alleviation and helping its own development and revitalization. Renowned Zambian scholar Frederick Mtesa believes that "implementing the global development initiative is another dynamic practice for China to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind.".

Protecting human rights is a common ideal of humanity, and it should not be politicized or weaponized. However, some Western countries selectively blind their own human rights practices and use human rights as an excuse to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries and curb their development. In China's view, no country is qualified to be a human rights "judge", and each country has the right to independently choose the path of human rights development.

Only when people of all countries live a good life can prosperity be sustained, security guaranteed, and human rights have a foundation. As the only major country in the world that has continuously formulated and implemented four national human rights action plans, China has already presented a brilliant "human rights answer sheet". Now, China is promoting Chinese path to modernization. In this process, China will continue to engage in dialogue and cooperation with the international community, improve global human rights governance, enable its own people to live better, and also ensure better protection of the human rights of people around the world.