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Reflections on Participation in United Nations Commission on Human Rights Lung-chu Chen The annual six-week session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights ended on April 27. Although I did not have the time to attend the entire session, I did manage to go to Genera to attend the session for 2 weeks in mid-April. I was there on behalf of the International League for Human Rights, a well-known Human Rights NGO. It was nice to observe, participate, and interact with both governmental and non-governmental representatives there.
The U.N. Human Rights Commission is the main human rights body in the U.N. The Commission is highly politicized. Among its 53 state members, some respect human rights, some abuse human rights, and many are somewhere in between.
The subjects for consideration ranged from general measures for improving human rights protection to concrete situations of human rights violations in different countries. The most controversial ones related to complaints about human rights violations in specific countries. The U.S. proposal to censure China for its violations of human rights in particular became the focal point of contention between the pro- and anti-human rights forces.
The U.S. resolution sought to condemn China for its repression of Falun Gong practitioners and of the Tibetan people. China, as in the past, responded by submitting a “no action” resolution to avoid discussion of the substance. Through this procedural manoeuvre, China again escaped a U.N. censure. China’s “no action” resolution was adopted, 23 in favor, 17 against, 12 abstentions, and 1 absence.
On the surface, China seemed to “win” again, thanks to what is called a coalition of “human rights mafia.” But China was haunted during the session by the protests of Falun Gong practitioners and others. Procedural manoeuvring is no solution; living up to the international human rights standards should be the answer for China.
(The writer is Chairman of the Lung-chu Chen New Century Foundation and a Professor at New York Law School.)
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