TNAG-2353-FCO40-3423-Visits-by-Lord-Caithness--Minister-of-State-for-Foreign-and--1991 — Page 128

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In April 1955, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai signed the "Draft Final Communique of the Asian-African Conference" (also known as the "Bandung Declaration") at the Asian and African Conference held in Bandung, Indonesia. The communique declared that the conference fully supports the fundamental principles concerning human rights laid down in the UN Charter, and made the "respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations” the first of the ten principles of peaceful co-existence.

In May of the same year, Zhou Enlai, speaking at an enlarged session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said that "the ten principles contained in the Bandung Declaration also include respect for fundamental human rights and for the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations All these are the principles that have been consistently advocated by the Chinese people and adhered to by China”.

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In his speech during the general debate at the 41st session of the United Nations General Assembly held in 1986, the Chinese foreign minister, when mentioning the 20th anniversary of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, pointed out that "the two covenants have played a positive role in realizing the purposes and principles of the UN Charter concerning respect for human rights. The Chinese government has consistently supported these purposes and principles."

In September 1988, the Chinese foreign minister pointed out in his speech at the 43rd session of the United Nations General Assembly that the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights" is "the first international instrument which systematically sets forth the specific contents regarding respect for and protection of fundamental human rights. Despite its historical limitations, the Declaration has exerted a far- reaching influence on the development of the post-war international human rights activities and played a positive role in this regard".

China has taken an active part in the UN activities in the sphere of human rights. Since resuming its lawful seat in the United Nations in 1971, China has sent its delegation to attend every session of the UN Economic and Social Council and of the UN General Assembly, and has taken an active part in deliberation of human rights issues and stated its views on the issue of human rights, making its contributions to enriching the connotation of the concept of human rights.

Chinese delegations attended as observers the UN Human Rights Commission's sessions in 1979, 1980 and 1981. China was elected a member of the Human Rights Commission at the first regular session of the UN Economic and Social Council and has been a member ever since. Since 1984 the human rights affairs experts recommended by China to the Human Rights Commission have been continually elected members and alternate members of the Sub-Commission on

Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. The Chinese members have played an important role in the sub commission. They have become members of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations and the Working Group on Communications affiliated to the sub-commission. China has

SWB

taken an active part in drafting and formulating international legal instruments on human rights within the UN, and has sent delegates to participate in working groups charged with drafting these instruments including the UN convention on the rights of children, the international convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and their families, the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the declaration on the right and responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the declaration on the protection of rights of persons belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities. The meetings of these working groups paid much attention to the suggestions and amendments put forward by China.

Since 1981 China has participated in every session of the governmental experts group organized by the UN Commission on Human Rights to draft the declaration on the right to development and made positive suggestions until the declaration on the right to development was passed by the 41st Session of the UN General Assembly in 1986. China energetically supported the commission on human rights in conducting worldwide consultation on the implementation of the right to development and supported the proposal that the right to development be discussed as an independent agenda item in the human rights commission. China has always been a co-sponsor country of the human rights commission's resolution on the right to development.

Since 1980 the Chinese government has successively signed, ratified and acceded to seven UN human rights conventions, namely the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, the international convention on the suppression and punishment of the crimes of apartheid, the convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, the international convention on the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, the convention relating to the status of refugees, the protocol relating to the status of refugees, and the convention against torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Chinese government has always submitted reports on the implementation of the related conventions, and seriously and earnestly performed the obligations it has undertaken.

China has always upheld justice and made unremitting efforts to safeguard the right of Third World countries to national self-determination and to stop massive infringements on human rights. As is well known, China has for many years made unremitting efforts to seek a just and reasonable resolution of a series of major human rights issues, including the questions of Cambodia, Afghanistan, the occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, South Africa and Namibia,

and Panama.

China pays close attention to the issue of the right to development. China believes that as history develops, the concept and connotation of human rights also develop constantly. The declaration on the right to development provides that human rights refer to both individual rights and collective rights. This means a breakthrough in the traditional