FILE - In this Sept. 28, 2019 file photo, flags fly outside the United Nations headquarters during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly. (Photo: AP)
New York (People’s Daily) -- The Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the United Nations hosted a side event on right to development at the United Nations on Friday at which Ambassador Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said that imbalanced and inadequate development is still a serious problem.
Ambassador Zhang said unilateralism, protectionism and acts of bullying are on the rise. The international community must attach great importance to the right to development, put development at the core of the global macro policy framework and accelerate the implementation of the sustainable development goals, he said.
We must respect the social systems, development paths and the human rights protection models chosen by the countries themselves and adopt a people-centered development paradigm. We must be alert to individual countries’ attempt to make a fuss about the positioning of developing countries and create an enabling environment for developing countries.
Ambassador Zhang pointed out the Chinese government takes development as its top priority and the rights to survival and development as the primary basic human rights. China has embarked on a path of human rights development with Chinese characteristics and made remarkable achievements.
Facing the complex and changing international economic situation, the Chinese economy has maintained overall stability, with the quality of development steadily improving, new potential and space unleashed and business environment getting better, making people confident in the future.
Ambassador Zhang stressed that China gives sincere assistance to other developing countries in realizing the right to development and never attaches any political condition. Since the founding of the People’s Republic, China has provided nearly 400 billion yuan worth of assistance to more than 160 countries and international organizations and sent more than 600,000 personnel in assistance to developing countries. The Belt and Road Initiative has injected new impetus and created new opportunities for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Wang Linxia, Vice Secretary-General of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, introduced, with specific figures and cases, the historic achievements of the human rights cause since the founding of the People’s Republic of China.
Ambassadors from Belarus, Cuba, Nigeria, etc. and senior officials of DESA and OHCHR and Vice Secretary-General of the China Society for Human Rights Studies made statements. About 100 delegates from nearly 40 missions, including Russia, Italy, Singapore, India and Algeria, attended the event.
The participants agreed that the right to development is crucial to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They highly appreciated China's human rights development path and achievements, commended China's achievements in economic development and poverty alleviation as “world miracles”, which provided rich experience, material assistance and a role model for other developing countries to realize their development rights.
The international community should adhere to multilateralism, promote the right to development, oppose unilateral sanctions, "long arm jurisdiction" and other wrong actions, work together to address challenges such as poverty and imbalanced development, and achieve a bright future of common development and prosperity and the enjoyment of human rights for all.