China calls on US to re-engage in human rights review process

All United Nations (UN) member states should participate constructively in the process of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and report on their national human rights situation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said at a press briefing in Beijing on Tuesday, urging the U.S. to restore its cooperation with UN human rights review mechanism.

Lin made the remarks in response to a media query after the UN Human Rights Council had originally scheduled the fourth cycle of the UPR for the U.S. soon, but the U.S. representative refused to attend and the review failed to proceed normally, and that the Council recently negotiated and adopted a decision criticizing the U.S. for not cooperating with the mechanism.

"The Universal Periodic Review is an important mechanism created through the UN General Assembly by a resolution to strengthen human rights exchange and cooperation. UN member states should constructively participate in the review, make clear their human rights conditions, and be open to other parties’ constructive suggestions," said Lin.

"The U.S. issues so-called annual human rights report with irresponsible comments on other countries’ human rights conditions while refusing to fulfill its obligations to work with UN human rights agencies. This typical move of double standard fully shows that the U.S. does not truly care about human rights and takes a selective approach on UN mechanisms. China urges the U.S. to resume its cooperation with the Universal Periodic Review as soon as possible, accept all parties’ review, and actively address its own human rights violations," he noted.

"As we implement the Global Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping, China stands ready to work with the international community to practice multilateralism, put people front and center, and keep the international human rights cause on a sound track," the spokesman said.

The U.S. dollar weakened in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, fell 0.32 percent to 99.648 at 1900 GMT.

In late New York trading, the euro was up to 1.1607 dollars from 1.1523 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound climbed to 1.3324 dollars from 1.3189 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 158.82 Japanese yen, lower than 158.95 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar decreased to 0.7931 Swiss francs from 0.8008 Swiss francs, and it was down to 1.3895 Canadian dollars from 1.3937 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar slipped to 9.3935 Swedish kronor from 9.4895 Swedish kronor.