Human Rights Action Plan of China (2021-2025)

VI. Participating in Global Human Rights Governance

China will fulfill its commitments to the international community with sincerity. It will engage in international human rights affairs, and lobby for and work toward a better global human rights governance system, so as to build a global community of shared future.

1. Fulfilling Obligations to International Human Rights Conventions

China will submit its performance reports to relevant human rights treaty bodies, engage in constructive dialogue with them, and adopt and implement suggestions that are reasonable and feasible in the Chinese context.

－Participating in the review by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of China's third report on implementing the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

－Completing its seventh report on implementing the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and submitting it to the UN Committee Against Torture for review.

－Completing its fifth and sixth combined report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of the Child, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict, and submitting it to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child for review.

－Completing its 18th-20th combined report on implementing the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and submitting it to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination for review.

－Participating in the review by the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of its second and third combined report on implementing the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

－Completing the ninth report on implementing the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and submitting it to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women for review.

－Encouraging domestic social organizations to take an active part in preparing the review of China's implementation of the human rights conventions it has joined, and supporting their efforts.

2. Engaging Substantially in the Work of UN Human Rights Bodies

China will engage substantially in the work of UN human rights bodies and play a leading and constructive role in maintaining the healthy and sustainable development of international human rights.

－Putting forward proposals and viewpoints in the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and other multilateral human rights bodies. China advocates for attaching the same importance to economic, social and cultural rights as to civil and political rights, to function in an impartial, objective and non-selective manner, and to oppose the politicization of human rights issues. It will campaign for 2024-2026 UNHRC membership. Chinese social organizations will be encouraged to play an active role in the activities of UNHRC and other multilateral human rights mechanisms.

－Participating in the UNHRC's human rights review. China will implement the proposals it accepted during the UNHRC's third round Universal Periodic Review for China. It will participate actively in the fourth round review. It will encourage Chinese social organizations to take part in relevant work in the fourth round, and support their efforts to do so.

－Continuing to work for the reform of UN human rights treaty bodies. China will urge them to work within the mandate of relevant treaties in an objective, fair and independent manner.

3. Joining in Constructive Dialogue and Cooperation on Human Rights

China will continue to take part in international human rights exchanges and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, to promote understanding and build consensus on human rights.

－Expanding exchanges and cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). China will continue to cooperate with the Special Procedures of the UNHRC, answer their communications, and invite them to visit China, as appropriate. China will continue to recommend Chinese experts for applying special procedure posts.

－Pushing forward human rights dialogue and cooperation with other parties. To improve understanding and mutual learning, China will continue to hold dialogues on human rights with other countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect. It will increase consultation and cooperation on human rights with other developing countries and groups of developing countries, and provide technical assistance in the field of human rights at the request of other developing countries. It will continue to host the South-South Human Rights Forum, and participate in the Informal ASEM(Asia-Europe Meeting) Seminar on Human Rights and other regional and sub-regional events on human rights. Based on the principles of seeking common ground while reserving differences, mutual respect, and mutual learning, China will engage in exchanges with political parties from other countries on human rights issues.

－Encouraging domestic social organizations to take an active part in international exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights and supporting their efforts. China will continue to hold the Beijing Forum on Human Rights, the China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights, the Sino-American Dialogue on the Rule of Law and Human Rights, and the China-Germany Seminar on Human Rights, among others.

4. Contributing to the International Cause of Human Rights

China consistently advocates the common values of humanity: peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom. It will promote more just, fair, reasonable and inclusive international human rights governance, and work to build a global community of shared future.

－Implementing the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in its full sense. China will continue to incorporate the agenda into its mid- and long-term plans, and ensure these are implemented. It will make a greater contribution to protecting and promoting the right to development by sharing experience, expanding cooperation, and assisting other developing nations to implement the agenda.

－Engaging actively in setting international agendas and creating rules in the field of human rights. China will help to improve global human rights governance, advocate a fair, just, reasonable and effective international human rights system, and contribute ideas and solutions to human rights development around the world.

－Continuing its assistance to other developing countries to improve their capacity for development. It will provide them with assistance and humanitarian relief. China plans to assist them through cooperative projects which will also improve their human rights. It will contribute to safeguarding world peace and development and protecting and promoting the right to development. It will increase its assistance to African countries－in particular to the least developed countries－and expand South-South cooperation to help reduce poverty, improve living conditions and promote common development.

－Working to build a global community of health for all. China will proactively respond to public health emergencies, and support the World Health Organization in its due role in global anti-epidemic cooperation. It will strengthen health cooperation (including traditional Chinese medicine) under the Belt and Road Initiative to build a "health silk road". It will implement the China-Africa public health plan to handle the challenge of emerging infectious diseases, and help Africa to establish a prevention, control and relief system. It will set up cooperative mechanisms for Chinese hospitals to pair up with 30 African hospitals, and accelerate construction of the headquarters of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, in order to improve the continent's capacity to control and prevent diseases.

－Promoting responsible business conduct in global supply chains. It will encourage Chinese businesses to abide by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in their foreign trade and investment, to conduct due diligence on human rights, and to fulfill their social responsibility to respect and promote human rights. It will participate and play a constructive role in negotiations on the UN business and human rights treaty.

VII. Implementation, Supervision and Assessment

China will ensure the implementation of the Action Plan in all fields and at different levels by improving its joint meeting mechanism, strengthening implementation and supervision, and completing the third-party assessment mechanism.

－Local governments at all levels and related central Party and government departments should attach great importance to the Action Plan, work out detailed measures for its implementation in accordance with their respective functions and regional conditions, and take pragmatic and effective action to guarantee the fulfillment of all its objectives and tasks.

－Under the joint meeting mechanism, China will conduct phased research, review, supervision and assessment, improve the third-party assessment mechanism, devise and set up a quantitative assessment index system, and release the assessment report in a timely fashion.

－The government will make the Action Plan a key component of human rights education, research, training and awareness raising campaigns, helping all Party and government officials to fully comprehend its importance and to conscientiously act on it.

－The state will encourage the news media to play an active role in covering, scrutinizing and assessing the implementation of the Action Plan.