In June 1993, under the auspices of the United Nations, the international community convened the second World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. In order to facilitate the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the forty-sixth session of United Nations General Assembly, by Resolution 46/116, decided to convene regional preparatory session. From 2 to 6 November 1992, 41 African countries and 180 non-governmental organizations met in Tunis, the capital of the Republic of Tunisia, and adopted the Tunis Declaration. From 18 to 22 January 1993, the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean met in San Jose, Costa Rica, and adopted the Declaration of San Jose. From March 29 to April 2, 1993, the Asian Regional Preparatory Session of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna was held in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, where the ministers and representatives of Asian countries met and adopted the Bangkok Declaration. By issuing the Tunis Declaration, the Declaration of San Jose and the Bangkok Declaration, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia coordinated their positions on human rights, laying a foundation for the successful opening of the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna. 

 

The World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna adopted the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (hereinafter referred to as the "Vienna Declaration"). In 100 paragraphs, the Vienna Declaration contains the basic position of the international community on human rights and specific requirements for promoting the implementation of international human rights. The Declaration consists of a preamble and Parts (I) and (II). In the preamble, the Declaration mainly expounds the origin of human rights, the concept of the UN Charter on the purpose of respecting basic human rights and the concepts of following the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights conventions, and promoting the rationalization of international activities in the field of human rights, and clearly emphasizes that " recognizes and affirms that all human rights are derived from the inherent dignity and value of human beings". The main parts of the Declaration mainly includes a statement of position and a program of action. Part I of the Declaration sets out the basic position of the international community on the promotion and protection of human rights, while Part II focuses on six aspects - (A) Increased coordination on human rights within the United Nations system, (B) Equality, dignity and tolerance, (C) Cooperation, development and strengthening of human rights, (D) Human rights education, (E) Implementation and monitoring methods, and (F) Follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights to draft the Programme of Action. 

 

The Vienna Declaration is a very important human rights document adopted by the international community after the Cold War, and has played a very important role in coordinating the human rights positions of countries and promoting global human rights governance. The core ideas that run through the Vienna Declaration include: 1) human rights are a combination of universality and particularity; 2) international solidarity and cooperation;3) promote human rights in a fair, balanced and reasonable manner; and4) facilitate human rights through development. These ideas constitute the basic spirit of the Vienna Declaration. We believe that the Spirit of Vienna has been of great significance in promoting global human rights governance over the past three decades. 

 

 

If one can sum up the historical progress of the international human rights movement since the Second World War in one sentence, it is that the concept of universality of human rights has taken root among the people. This is reflected not only in the fact that the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms is listed as the basic purpose of the UN Charter, but also in the fact that the universality of human rights has become the ideological basis for the development of international human rights mechanisms. The Tunis Declaration, the Bangkok Declaration and the Declaration of San Jose all emphasize the universality of human rights and consider the interdependence and indivisibility of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights as the basis for considering human rights issues. On this basis, the Vienna Declaration clearly states that, "all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated. The international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis."  

 

Although human rights is considered to be a universal concept, its connotation and system are controversial. Similarly, although universality of human rights is also a commonly accepted concept, its connotation of is controversial too. It is generally believed that the universality of human rights includes the subject of human rights, the content and standard of human rights, and the universality of human rights value. [ White Guimei: The second edition of Human Rights Law, Peking University Press, 2015, page 23. ]However, even so, the subject and content of human rights are relative. In terms of the subject, on the one hand, the universality of human rights subject also gets through a historical process of developing from limited subject to universal subject. The universality of human rights subject is essentially the product of economic and social development, rather than transcendental, beyond time and space, and beyond region; on the other hand, even at present, the universality of human rights subject is controversial and discrepant in theory and practice. For example, some rights are guaranteed differently between citizenship and non-citizenship. As far as the content of human rights is concerned, it is often the case that different countries have disputes over the content and boundary of a same right. 

 

Because of this, the universality of human rights is not absolute, and the particularity or relativity of human rights is an objective social reality, which is clearly recognized in the Bangkok Declaration and the Tunis Declaration. The Vienna Declaration also states that, "while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms", which actually shows that the Vienna Declaration recognizes that human rights are the unity of universality and particularity. 

 

The particularity of human rights does not mean that countries can use this as an excuse to derogate from their human rights obligations or limit the core content of basic human rights. The particularity of human lies in: the particularities in the subject of rights, the types of rights, the content of rights, the limits of rights, the ways of protecting rights and the degree of human rights protection. 

 

Thus, the universality of human rights is not absolute, and it should be recognized that human rights are both universal and particular. In terms of global human rights governance, one-sided adherence to the universality of human rights and the promotion of a certain human rights system or pattern from a perspective beyond time and space or even regions will lead to human rights imperialism. One-sided insistence on the particularity of human rights and denial of the universal values of equality and freedom in human rights will annihilate mankind's tireless pursuit of human rights. In the process of promoting global human rights governance, all countries have the right to independently choose the path of human rights development, and various civilizations and countries should respect, tolerate, exchange and learn from each other. All things grow together without harming each other. Any human rights civilization is neither superior nor inferior, but only different in characteristics and regions, which not only reflect the pursuit of human rights ideals, but also the distinctive path of human rights development in the region. It can be said that human rights civilization in each region is the unity of universality and particularity of human rights. 

 

 

Solidarity and cooperation were not only a red line running through the Vienna Declaration, but also the theme of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, and the common aspiration of the international community at that time. As known to all, on the eve of the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993, the international community had just emerged from the shadow of the Cold War in which the United States and the Soviet Union fought for hegemony. During the Cold War, although the United Nations sponsored the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and some international human rights treaties, the fight between United States and the Soviet Union for hegemony and their ideological confrontation had trapped the human rights issue for a long time, and human rights issue also became a tool of political struggle. In the situation of bipolar confrontation, people were obviously pessimistic about the universality of international law and the application of international law to the entire international community. [

 

 Yang Zewei: The History of International Law, Higher Education Press, 2011, 310 pages. ]Viewed from today's perspective, the end of the cold War changed the situation of bipolar confrontation, made it possible to strengthen international cooperation, objectively promoted the globalization of international law, as well as the universalization of human rights. 

 

The Resolution 46/116 of United Nations General Assembly, the Tunis Declaration, the Declaration of San Jose and the Bangkok Declaration, all emphasize solidarity and cooperation without exception. For example, the Declaration of San Jose reaffirms the commitment of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to promote and guarantee full observance of human rights as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in any world and regional human rights instruments, through their own efforts and extensive, non-selective and non-discriminatory international cooperation. The Bangkok Declaration emphasizes "the recognition that the promotion of human rights should be encouraged through cooperation and consensus, not through confrontation and the imposition of incompatible values". 

 

That is why the Vienna Conference of 1993 was held in an atmosphere of solidarity and cooperation, which were also highlighted throughout the Conference. The Vienna Declaration reaffirmed the purpose of Article 56 of the UN Charter concerning cooperation between States and the United Nations in the promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and began by proclaiming "determined to take new steps forward in the commitment of the international community with a view to achieving substantial progress in human rights endeavours by an increased and sustained effort of international cooperation and solidarity". The Declaration contains 39 references to "international cooperation", "international cooperation and solidarity" or "cooperation". Among them, "enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights" is the core idea. First, the Declaration expounds the significance of international cooperation in human rights from the perspective of realizing the purposes of the United Nations, mentioning that "enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights is essential for the full achievement of the purposes of the United Nations". Secondly, the Declaration emphasizes international cooperation from the perspective of realizing the right to development. Thirdly, , the Declaration recognizes the important role of non-governmental organizations in the promotion of human rights and humanitarian activities at the national, regional and international levels, and emphasizes cooperation among international actors rather than only among States. Fourthly, the Declaration emphasizes cooperation between regional mechanisms and the United Nations. The Declaration stresses that "regional arrangements play a fundamental role in promoting and protecting human rights". Fifthly, the Declaration emphasizes in particular the strengthening of international coordination and cooperation in promoting the implementation of human rights. For example, in the section "(A) Increased coordination on human rights within the United Nations system", the Declaration "urges all United Nations organs, bodies and the specialized agencies whose activities deal with human rights to cooperate in order to strengthen, rationalize and streamline their activities, taking into account the need to avoid unnecessary duplication". 

 

Of course, we should not be overly optimistic about global human rights governance just because the Vienna Declaration emphasizes international solidarity and cooperation, or optimistic that solidarity and cooperation will henceforth be what the global human rights governance is all about. Indeed, even after the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna in 1993, political confrontations often occurred in the activities of the United Nations human rights mechanisms. The UN Human Rights Commission is facing a "credibility crisis" because of political rivalries. At the 76th meeting of the 59th Session of the General Assembly on December 23, 2004, it was pointed out by the representative of Cuba that, Developed countries are trying to hijack the work of the UN in the field of human rights and promote their own political interests, thus completely destroying the image of impartiality, equality, objectivity and fairness in the activities of the UN human rights mechanism...". [ Official Records of the 76th Plenary Meeting of the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, A/59/PV.76. ]China's Position Paper at the 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly issued in 2004 stressed that, China opposes politicizing human rights issues and applying double standards on human rights issues...Reforms will help reduce confrontation in the field of human rights, strengthen international cooperation and provide for the efficiency of human rights mechanisms." Eventually, the UN Human Rights Commission was replaced by the Human Rights Council in 2006. Even so, over the past three decades, guided by the purposes of international cooperation in the UN Charter and the spirit of international solidarity and cooperation in the Vienna Declaration, global human rights governance has been developing toward solidarity and cooperation. Solidarity and cooperation have gradually become the operating logic of the UN human rights mechanism. The UN General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, and the Human Rights Council all regard solidarity, cooperation and dialogue as the main means of promoting human rights in their reports, resolutions and other documents. The Human Rights Council, as the main human rights body within the framework of the United Nations, takes cooperation as its basic principle. The 60th Session of the UN General Assembly stressed that the work of the Human Rights Council should adhere to constructive international dialogue and cooperation. [ UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, A/RES/60/251.]The Human Rights Council has also emphasized that the Universal Periodic Review is a cooperative mechanism based on objective and reliable information and interactive dialogue. [ The UN Human Rights Council: Institutional Building, A/HRC/5/1. ]Furthermore, the Human Rights Council has repeatedly adopted resolutions promoting international solidarity and cooperation. In the regular meetings of the Human Rights Council, resolutions on the right to development, human rights and international solidarity, and the right to food occur most frequently, which also justifies it[ Mao Junxiang et al: United Nations Human Rights Council: History, Mechanism and Practice, Wuzhou Publishing House, 2023, p. 120. ]. 

 

 

Human rights are the common pursuit of all mankind. The realization of human rights for all is a value goal of global human rights governance. Global human rights governance is a global governance aiming at human rights as its value goal. Different from the primary responsibility of the government emphasized in domestic human rights protection, global human rights governance is a pluralistic governance that includes states and non-state actors. In this process, it involves the question of how to carry out governance by multiple subjects. The core in it is how to deal with the politicization and instrumentalization of human rights. 

 

In essence, the politicization or instrumentalization of human rights is to realize national interests in the name of human rights, which deviates from the ideal of human rights, takes human rights as a tool of political struggle, practices double standards on human rights issues, and interferes in the internal affairs of other countries in the name of human rights. These acts have seriously undermined the credibility of multilateral human rights mechanisms, trapped international solidarity and cooperation, and threatened the foundation of global human rights governance. During the Cold War, human rights became increasingly politicized, and some western countries practiced double standards on human rights issues. After the end of the Cold War, the politicization of human rights did not disappear, but was even further intensified. Western countries, posing as human rights judges, often put forward motions in the Human Rights Commission to review the human rights situation of specific developing countries, thus exacerbating political confrontation in the field of human rights in the international community. Meanwhile, western countries turn a blind eye to their Allies' human rights violations, which fully demonstrates their double standards and hypocrisy in the field of human rights. 

 

For this reason, developing countries have strongly called for a fair, balanced and reasonable approach to human rights issues,  which is reflected in the Bangkok Declaration, the Declaration of San Jose, and the Vienna Declaration. It is stressed in the Bangkok Declaration that, "there is an urgent need to democratize the United Nations system, eliminate selectivity and improve procedures and mechanisms, in accordance with the principles of equality and mutual respect, in order to strengthen international cooperation and ensure a positive, balanced and non-confrontational approach to the settlement and realization of human rights in all aspects", and that "human rights are not used by anyone as a condition for the provision of development assistance", and call on "respect for the principles of State sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of other States, and opposing use of human rights as a means of political pressure". At the same time, the Bangkok Declaration also emphasizes that "double standards and politicization in the application of human rights must be avoided". The Declaration of SAN Jose also emphasizes that "interdependence, universality, objectivity, impartiality, non-selectivity and the responsibility of all States to fulfill their obligations should be the guidelines for the study and implementation of international human rights instruments within the United Nations system". On this basis, the Vienna Declaration stresses in its first paragraph that "Considering that the promotion and protection of human rights is a matter of priority for the international community, and that the Conference affords a unique opportunity to carry out a comprehensive analysis of the international human rights system and of the machinery for the protection of human rights, in order to enhance and thus promote a fuller observance of those rights, in a just and balanced manner", and further "recognizing that the activities of the United Nations in the field of human rights should be rationalized and enhanced in order to strengthen the United Nations machinery in this field and to further the objectives of universal respect for observance of international human rights standards". 

 

Over the past thirty years, guided by the spirit of the Vienna Declaration on promoting human rights in a just, balanced and reasonable manner and with the strong appeal and efforts of developing countries, the international community has launched a campaign to eradicate the politicization, selectivity, double standards and non-objectivity of human rights. The culmination of this campaign occurred in 2005 during and around the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Prior to the 60th Session of the General Assembly, then-UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan submitted a supplementary note to the report titled "In larger freedom: towards development, security and human rights for all", proposing that the proposed Human Rights Council should establish a fair, transparent and viable peer review mechanism and avoid politicization and selectivity of the Commission on Human Rights as much as possible. [ A/59/2005/Add.1.]During the 60th Session of the General Assembly, developing countries collectively expressed their dissatisfaction with the Commission on Human Rights and called for the elimination of politicization, objectivity and selectivity in the UN's human rights work. [ National standpoint, detailed in the UN general assembly held during the 60th session of plenary meeting record "for many times, A / 60 / PV. 2, A / 60 / PV. 4, A / 60 / PV. 5, 60 / A/PV. 7, A / 60 / PV. 8, A / 60 / PV. 10, A / 60 / PV. 11, A / 60 / PV. 12,A/60/PV.13, A/60/PV.14, A/60/PV.14, A/60/PV.16, A/60/PV.18, A/60/PV.19, A/60/PV.20, A/60/PV.21, A/60/PV.22, A/60/PV.23, A/60/ pv. 24,A/60/PV.72, etc. ]Developing countries not only expressed their support for the establishment of the Human Rights Council, but also expected the future of the Council. They believed that the Human Rights Council should eliminate politicization and double standards, respect sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, and support the diversity of human rights concepts. [ Mao Junxiang et al: United Nations Human Rights Council: History, Mechanism and Practice, Wuzhou Press, 2023, pp. 40-42.]In March 2006, the UN General Assembly adopted resolution 60/251, which established the Human Rights Council, calling for universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity as the guidance for the work of the Council. Resolution 5/1 of the Human Rights Council also made clear that the Universal Periodic Review should be conducted in an "objective, transparent, non-selective, constructive, non-confrontational and non-politicized manner". In addition, the Human Rights Council fully reflects the voice of developing countries in terms of its size, distribution of seats, election of members and universal periodic review, making it more fair, balanced and reasonable. [ Mao Junxiang: From Country Reviews to Universal Periodic Reviews: Towards a Just International Human Rights Regime, Human Rights, No. 3, 2021. ]

 

 

Human rights, as an ideal, have two dimensions. First, human rights are mankind's aspiration to introspect inadequate economic and social development and pursue a better life. The fundamental reason why human beings pursue human rights tirelessly is that real life fails to meet the needs of people to pursue freedom and all-round development. After the free and full development of human beings has been achieved, human rights will no longer be an ideal. Thus, human rights, as an ideal, are themselves the product of inadequate economic and social development. Secondly, human rights are realistic demands that depend on the prospect of economic and social development. A society that realizes the free and all-round development of human beings is bound to be a society with highly developed productive forces and a society with extremely rich material and spiritual civilization. The realization of human rights is based on the level of economic and social development and the economic and social structure which it relies on. The realization of human rights should be based on a high level of development. 

 

The obstacles to advancing human rights, whether domestic or international, are not only internal factors such as resource endowment, economic level, science and technology, cultural tradition, but also external factors such as unfair and unjust international structure. In the process of modernization, many countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America not only failed to catch up with the pace and dividends of the industrial revolution, but also became victims of the Western Industrial Revolution. They suffered oppression and exploitation by colonialism, capitalism and imperialism in history, with the development gap between Western countries and them widened. Under the dual constraints of internal and external factors, many districts in Asia, Africa and Latin America are in a relatively backward human rights development. Therefore, as far as human rights protection is concerned, underdevelopment is the basic contradiction for countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Even for the western developed countries, development is the eternal theme of their history. The Industrial Revolution originated from the West was a typical historical process in which technological progress promoted economic and social development. Despite the world War interrupting the pace of development, developed countries have always been on the path of pursuing and then realizing modernization. With the outbreak of the international financial crisis in 2008, some western countries fell into a crisis of domestic governance, economic stagnation, rising debt and unemployment, which highlighted the importance of development. In short, development deficit is a common problem facing the international community and the biggest challenge to global human rights governance. 

 

The UN Charter reveals the close relationship between development and human rights. Article 1 of the Charter emphasizes "To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion", which actually deems development and human rights as two sides of one problem. The Declaration on the Right to Development discusses the relationship between development and human rights from two dimensions. First, the right to development is an inalienable human right, and equality of opportunity for development is a unique right of a state and of the individuals constituting it. Development is one of the basic attributes of human rights. Secondly, development is the approach to realization of human rights. To this end, on the one hand, international and domestic obstacles to development, such as colonialism, old and new, apartheid, all forms of racism and racial discrimination, foreign domination and occupation, aggression, threats to national sovereignty, national unity and territorial integrity and the threat of war, should be eliminated. Attention should be paid to the continued existence of serious obstacles to development and the full realization of the aspirations of all individuals and people of countries, caused by the denial of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, in addition to other matters; on the other hand, the policies for development shall be developed at the international and domestic levels. At the domestic level, the Declaration on the Right to Development emphasizes that "States shall take all necessary measures at the national level to realize the right to development" and that "appropriate economic and social reforms shall be undertaken to eradicate all social injustices". At the international level, the Declaration on the Right to Development emphasizes that "States have an obligation, individually and collectively, to take steps to formulate international development policies with a view to contributing to the full realization of the right to development" and that "as a complement to the efforts of developing countries, effective international cooperation is essential in providing those countries with appropriate means and facilities for overall development". 

 

Since the end of the Cold War, peace and development have become the theme of the times. The Vienna Declaration fully reflected the universal call of the international community, stating that "democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing" and that "States should cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development. The international community should promote an effective international cooperation for the realization of the right to development and the elimination of obstacles to development", and "Lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies at the national level, as well as equitable economic relations and a favourable economic environment at the international level". In September 2000, at the United Nations Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed on a set of time-bound goals and targets for eradicating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women. In September 2015, on the 70th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in its Resolution 70/1, which announced 17 Sustainable Development Goals, including challenges related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. In 2021, the 47th Session of the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution, stressing that "development and the realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing", that "extreme poverty impedes the full and effective enjoyment of human rights", and that "inclusive and sustainable development plays an important role in the promotion and protection of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights and civil and political rights". 

 

(The author is executive director of Center for Human Rights Studies, Central South University)