Wang Yi Photo: fmprc.gov.cn

Multilateral human rights bodies should serve as platforms for constructive engagement and cooperation for all sides, rather than a battleground for group politics or bloc confrontation, China's top diplomat Wang Yi said at the High-level Segment of the 55th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council which began in Geneva on Monday.

Wang, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and Chinese Foreign Minister, delivered a speech via video link at the session, stressing that human rights bodies at the United Nations should carry out their work in a fair and objective manner, follow a non-selective and non-politicized approach, and place equal emphasis on all types of human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and civil and political rights.

Protecting and promoting human rights is a common cause for all humanity, Wang said, noting that at the moment, the world is becoming more turbulent, crises and conflicts keep flaring up, and deficit in global human rights governance is widening.

According to Wang, the ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict has cost the lives of nearly 30,000 civilians, and left close to 2 million people displaced. The situation is indeed saddening. It falls upon the entire international community to protect the human rights of all ethnic groups and all people in a fair, equal and effective way, Wang said.

We must stand against the attempts to use human rights as a pretext to interfere with other countries' internal affairs or curb others' development, he said. Wang also calls for adherence to openness and inclusiveness and respect for the diversity of world civilizations, and respect for all countries' right to independently choose their paths to human rights development. Countries should not impose their own values or development models on others, Wang said.

Wang advocates the pursuit of cooperation that benefits all, saying that consensus should be built through dialogue, and mutual learning enhanced through exchanges. Human rights must be protected and promoted by ensuring security, advancing development and enhancing cooperation. Emerging issues, such as the relationship between artificial intelligence and human rights, must be properly handled, Wang said.

As a responsible major country, China plays an active part in global human rights governance, Wang said. China has contributed efforts to the conclusion of a series of important international conventions and declarations on human rights. The vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind represents a shared aspiration of people of all countries. It also injects strong impetus into human rights protection worldwide, Wang added.

Wang said human rights protection is an ongoing process. There is always room for improvement and China is now working to deliver the fruits of modernization to its population in a more substantive and equitable way, and raising the level of human rights protection.

As our future is closely tied to that of people around the world, we will actively champion the common values of humanity, and work with all sides to build a community with a shared future for mankind, and make new contributions to the healthy development of the global human rights cause, Wang said.

Global Times