China calls for revisiting original purpose of promoting human rights

A Chinese envoy on Monday called on the international community to revisit the original purpose of promoting and protecting human rights as the Human Rights Council marks the 20th anniversary of its establishment, urging concrete action over politicization.

Speaking at a general debate on human rights situations during the 61st session of the UN Human Rights Council, Li Xiaomei, deputy head of the Chinese delegation, noted that March 15 marked the 20th anniversary of the UN General Assembly resolution establishing the Human Rights Council.

However, she pointed out that multilateralism and the global human rights cause are facing unprecedented challenges. Regional situations are profoundly impacting international peace and security, bringing human rights and humanitarian disasters, Li said.

The politicization, instrumentalization and double standards on human rights are intensifying, she said, noting that all 13 country-specific mechanisms of the Human Rights Council target developing countries. These mechanisms consume tens of millions of dollars while real human rights issues deserving priority are not given sufficient attention.

China urges all parties to take the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Council as an opportunity to revisit the original purpose of promoting and protecting human rights, conduct dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, and do tangible things to advance the human rights cause, Li said.

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

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, went up 0.52 percent to 100.092 at 15:00 (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro declined to 1.1516 dollars from 1.1542 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound fell to 1.3341 dollars from 1.3360 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 159.41 Japanese yen, higher than 159.00 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.7902 Swiss francs from 0.7847 Swiss francs, and it advanced to 1.3701 Canadian dollars from 1.3697 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar climbed to 9.3346 Swedish kronor from 9.2737 Swedish kronor.