Full Text: Progress in China's Human Rights in 2012(17)

Taking an active part in formulating international human rights instruments and related rules. The Chinese government actively participates in and promotes the intergovernmental process of the UN General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system ("process of the General Assembly"). In November 2011 China submitted to the OHCHR the Opinions on Strengthening the Effective Functioning of the Human Rights Treaty Body System, and sent a delegation to the first unofficial consultation on the "process of the General Assembly" held in July 2012 to set forth its position and assertions on improving the human rights treaty body system. In 2010 and 2011 the Chinese government sent delegations to the Open-ended Working Group meetings for the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on Communications Procedure, and joined the consensus on the optional protocol at the 17th session of the Human Rights Council and 66th UN General Assembly. In September 2011 the Chinese government put forward a written opinion to the Committee against Torture on the General Opinion on Article 14 of the Convention against Torture (working document) drafted by the committee. China also recommended its experts as members of the CESCR, Committee Against Torture, CERD and CEDAW.

Increasing mutual understanding and learning from each other's experience through dialogues on human rights. China upholds the principles of equality and mutual respect when carrying out bilateral dialogues and communication in the field of human rights with related countries. In the past three years China has held human rights dialogues with the United States, the European Union, Great Britain, Germany, Australia and Switzerland. It has sent legal experts to have dialogues with their US counterparts, held the EU-China Human Rights Seminar and conducted technical cooperation projects on human rights with Australia. Since 2010 the Chinese government has sent delegations to the 10th, 11th and 12th ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Informal Seminar on Human Rights, and taken an active part in discussions of related topics. From 2010 to 2012 the China Society for Human Rights Studies, together with some other organizations, held the third, fourth and fifth sessions of the Beijing Forum on Human Rights, discussing the relations between human rights and development, culture, science and technology and the environment. The Forum has become an important stage for international human rights dialogues and exchanges involving both developing and developed countries.

Working closely with other countries, China will spare no efforts to promote the healthy development of human rights worldwide.