China urges ‘sovereign equality,’ tells UN council that no country can be 'human rights teacher'

By Saadet Gokce

ISTANBUL (AA) – Speaking to the UN Nations Human Rights Council, China’s foreign minister on Monday called on all countries to uphold “sovereign equality” and stressed that no country can teach others about human rights.

The current international situation is “complex and intertwined” and the post-World War II international order as well as the global human rights governance are facing new challenges, Wang Yi told the high-level gathering via video link, according to a Foreign Ministry readout.

He urged countries to uphold “sovereign equality” and to safeguard “the original aspirations of global human rights governance.” No country can act as a “human rights teacher,” he added.

“Only a path of human rights development rooted in a country's specific national conditions and responsive to the needs of its people can lead to broader prospects,” Wang said.

Wang called for more equitable participation, decision-making, and benefit-sharing among all countries, with greater attention to the voices and demands of the Global South. “We must abide by international rule of law and solidify the foundation of global human rights governance.”

All countries should jointly uphold the “golden rule” of non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries and “resolutely reject words and deeds that create double standards in the name of human rights,” Wang said.

He also called for multilateralism and addressing the challenges to global human rights governance.

All countries should "reject of all forms of colonialism and racial discrimination, and properly address new issues such as artificial intelligence, climate change, and human rights," he added.

Wang stressed that the international community should place the right to development at the center of the multilateral human rights agenda, making progress visible, tangible, and accessible.

He said Beijing will continue developing its “whole-process people’s democracy” to ensure that “China’s modernization can benefit all people more extensively and equitably,” as the country begins its 15th Five-Year Plan this year.

Beijing is willing to work with all countries to “promote common development and prosperity, uphold international fairness and justice, safeguard common values of humanity, and build a community with a shared future for all mankind, so that the progress of human rights civilization can benefit the whole world,” he added.