US needs to consider human rights proposal of China
A Chinese resolution calling for “mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of human rights” was adopted by an overwhelming majority, 28:1, at the 37th Session of the UN Human Rights Council. The US cast the only “no” vote on the resolution, with Western countries including Australia, Switzerland and Britain abstaining.
“It is clear that China is attempting through this resolution to weaken the UN human rights system and the norms underpinning it,” Jason Mack, a senior US diplomat was quoted by The New York Times as saying, adding that China was seeking to glorify the vision proposed by its leader.
For a long time, Washington has been acting as a dominant player in the international discourse system, and is habituated to pointing a critical finger at countries with political systems different from the West’s. Do they really care about human rights?
No. What are fundamental human rights? Right to life should be fundamental. If life cannot be protected, what human rights should we talk about? The whole world understands this. The children in Zimbabwe, one of the poorest countries in the world, understand. American high school students understand too. They took to the streets last weekend with adults including their parents and teachers calling for an end to gun violence.
What they want is simply human rights: to live without fear of a bullet. American elites in Washington don’t seem to understand. Or they may understand, but they dare not acknowledge it.
For a long time, they have been regarding themselves as superior judges of the global human rights cause, blindly insisting that they are the best defenders of human rights.
Opposing China’s proposal to the UN Human Rights Council, the United States was actually worried about status. Washington’s role as the superior judge of human rights had been shaken. In fact it’s already a case of the emperor’s new clothes.
China clarified in its new proposal that Beijing hopes to promote and protect the development of human rights in various countries through dialogue and cooperation.
For this cause, we suggest that Washington’s gun control issue be introduced into the discussions of the UN Human Rights Council and through discussions the international community can reach a consensus. We urge the US government and lawmakers to take immediate action to improve the human rights record in their country.
Through such discussions, the US may also gradually realize the real situation. If Washington can participate in dialogue and cooperation as an equal member with other players, it will contribute greatly to the cause of global human rights.