-- Participation by the China Society for Human Rights Studies in the Universal Periodic Review Mechanism
By Zhang Xuan
Since its founding in 1993, the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS) has extensively participated in the human rights work of the United Nations (UN) and has actively carried out international exchange and cooperation. In May 2012, the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) initiated the second round of country reviews on human rights. As China’s biggest human rights research organization and enjoying special consultative status within the UN Economic and Social Council, CSHRS organized the compilation of an NGO shadow report and submitted it to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, which quoted the CSHRS report in the compilation of reports of certain stakeholders. From Oct. 22-25, 2013, China undertook the second-round country reviews on human rights organized by the 17th work team for universal periodic review, which was set up by UNHRC. The following is information on UNHRC and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), as well as thoughts on CSHRS participation in the universal periodic review mechanism.
Establishment and Mission of UNHRC
UNHRC is an intergovernmental agency that addresses human rights issues for the United Nations. Founded on March 15, 2006 under the auspices of Resolution 60/251 of the UN General Assembly, UNHRC has taken over the majority of the mission, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the former Human Rights Commission. UNHRC consists of 47 members, with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights as its secretariat. In contrast with the former Human Rights Commission, which was under the direction of the UN Economic and Social Council, UNHRC, which is under the direction of the UN General Assembly, has been upgraded to a higher level with a bigger role.[page]
In line with Resolution 60/251, the UN General Assembly mandates the UNHRC to address systematic and serious violations against human rights, enhance effective coordination within the UN system for promoting human rights, and push human rights issues into the mainstream. The main task of UNHRC is to promote human rights education, learning and consultation services, technical assistance and capacity building; organize fora on particular human rights issues; promote the progress of international laws on human rights; encourage various countries to fulfill human rights obligations; conduct universal periodic review of fulfillment of obligations and promises in each country; prevent human rights violations through dialogue and cooperation and address human rights emergencies in a timely way; submit annual reports to the United Nations General Assembly and provide advice on promoting and protecting human rights.1We can see from the above list that UNHRC is not only a mechanism that reviews defects in human rights conditions of particular countries or an agency that conducts universal periodic reviews that had not been included in the mandate of the former Human Rights Commission. UNHRC is a mechanism that analyzes and discusses human rights issues from the global and governmental perspective, and through the difficult procedure of making votes on resolutions, further develops and enriches human rights. As stated in Resolution 60/251, UNHRC serves as a platform for dialogue on all human rights issues. Through ceaseless intercultural discussion, interaction and disagreement, the further development of international laws on human rights is promoted.
NGOs and UNHRC
Nongovernmental organization (NGO) refers to nongovernmental, nonpartisan, nonprofit, public welfare-oriented, voluntary and legitimate social intermediary organizations.2 Article 71 of the United Nations Charter for the first time used the term “nongovernmental organizations” to refer to these entities. In line with Article 71, in 1968 the UN Economic and Social Council approved Resolution 1296, which gave NGOs consultative status. Resolution 1296 stipulates that such NGOs should have a certain international and representative character and should be able to represent particular and important segments of civil society in various countries throughout the world, and strive to address issues of concern to the UN Economic and Social Council and its affiliates, such as democratic participation and democratic decision-making.3 Meanwhile, Resolution 1296 categorizes NGOs. CSHRS is categorized as an NGO that enjoys special consultative status.[page]
Human rights NGOs have a long history of participating in UN human rights affairs. The inclusion of human rights articles in the UN Charter was largely the product of lobbying by the American Jewish Committee, which is an NGO.4 During the high tide of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s, due to fierce confrontation in the UN between the two blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union, human rights NGOs were not able to play an essential role in UN human rights affairs. But beginning in the late 1970s, a great number of local and regional NGOs appeared and built close networks with international NGOs. Furthermore, the U.S.-Soviet confrontation eased somewhat. As a result, the influence of NGOs in the UN increased rapidly. Since the 1990s, the connection between UN human rights agencies and NGOs has become closer. In the late stage of the Cold War, the UN tried to break through the intrinsic limitation of being bound by political considerations as a governmental mechanism, and utilized nongovernmental forces in the world to push forward human rights progress within the UN framework. With support from the UN and other special agencies, NGOs widely participate in the international human rights protection network led by the UN. To some degree, NGOs are the most important social force in the three-tiered human rights protection system composed of countries, society and individuals. The normal functionality of policies, treaties, institutions and agencies related to UN human rights work requires the participation, assistance, support and cooperation of NGOs.5Official statistics on NGO participants in the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, held from June 14-25, 1993, showed their great strength. A total of 3,681 representatives from 841 human rights organizations attended the congress, which represented the most NGO representatives in the history of UN human rights conferences.6
The establishment of UNHRC brought about a new stage for NGO participation in UN human rights work. Since the first meeting of UNHRC in June 2006, NGOs have broadly and substantively participated in the work of UNHRC. A total of 1,116 representatives from 180 NGOs attended the seventh UNHRC conference in March 2008. At that conference, NGOs submitted 98 written statements and made 224 spoken statements as well as organized 69 parallel activities. Luis Alfonso de Alba, the first president of UNHRC, said, “NGOs play an important role in promoting and protecting human rights on the national, regional and international levels. NGOs also play important roles through their participation in strengthening the credibility of the UN. NGOs provide valuable and vital advice to UNHRC, undertake substantive debate as UNHRC deliberates on certain issues, and therefore make great contribution to UNHRC’s institutionalization.” 7[page]
Active Participation by CSHRS in UNHRC Activities
Against the backdrop of globalization and informatization, the world political and economic situation is undergoing great transformation. Although the UN is still an international organization that consists of sovereign countries, NGOs are playing an even greater role in less political areas such as human rights and environmental protection. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Greenpeace are more and more involved in UN human rights work while the UN depends more and more on NGOs in dealing with human rights issues. CSHRS and other Chinese NGOs should continue to actively participate in various activities of UNHRC and other human rights organizations, trying hard to make their own voices heard.
It is undeniable that the Western human rights discourse system still occupies the dominant position. While commenting on human rights conditions in China, some people still hold the “clash of civilizations” view and only apply the Western-style model of human rights. It is as if they ignore the existence of the United Nations and UNHRC, which strive for harmonizing global civilizations with each other.8 With the rise of China, more Westerners with vision realize that China, which is itself a developing country, accepts most of the standpoints of developing countries and exerts a big impact not only on economic and political issues but also international human rights discourse. The West is more and more losing control over human rights discourse as the power to interpret human rights is shifting from the West to developing countries. Regarding human rights political issues, “Developing countries will determine the path of development of human rights.” 9[page]
German sociologist and philosopher Jürgen Habermas said in a speech in 2001 at Peking University, “It is possible to conduct cross-linguistic, cross-cultural, rational and understandable exchange in China. We could feel this during human rights discussions. At first, there were differences. But with this in mind, we continued our discussions and were finally able to achieve a common interpretation of human rights.”10 As Habermas said, we need more understanding, inclusiveness, exchange and cooperation, rather than prejudice, bias, misunderstanding and confrontation in human rights work. In the cause of furthering and protecting human rights, there is no best, only better.
(The author works for the China Society for Human Rights Studies.)
1.Resolution 60/251 of the UN General Assembly, UNHRC, March 15, 2006.
2.Sarah E. Mendelson and John K.Clenn, eds., The Power and Limits of NGOs, Columbia University Press, 2002, p. 2.
3.Wang Ying, “Research on relations between NGOs and the UN Economic and Social Council,” Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), vol. 36, issue 6, November 2009.
4.Cai Tuo, Liu Zhenye, “Human rights NGOs and the UN,” International Watch, issue 1, 2005.
5.Thomas G. Wiss, Leon Gordenker, eds., NGOs, the UN, and Global Governance, Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner, 1996, p. 56.
6.Felice Gaer, “Reality Check: Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations Confront Governments at the United Nations,” Third World Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 3, 1995, p. 396.
7.Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Working with the United Nations Human Rights Programme: A Handbook for Civil Society, 2008, p. 74.
8.Helmut Hubacher, “Double standards of Western politics,” Basler Zeitung, Feb. 4, 2011, p. 6.
9.“Geneva connect,” Neue Zuercher Zeitung, March 11, 2008, p. 16.
10.Harro Von Senger, “Switzerland, European nations and China in UNHRC,” Journal of Comparative Law, issue 1, 2013.
