UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday
was re-elected for a three-year term to the 47-member UN Human Rights Council.
China's re-election victory was contained in the
result of the election of 18 members of the UN human rights body at the 63rd
session of the UN General Assembly.
The 63rd session of the 83rd Planary
meeting of the UN General Assembly is held at the UN headquarters in New
York, the U.S. May 12, 2009. Eighteen UN members were elected to the UN
Human Rights Council during the meeting on Tuesday. China won 167
favorable votes from the 191 member states present, winning another
three-year term in the Council from 2009 to 2012. (Xinhua/Shen
Hong) Photo
Gallery>>>
Following one round of secret ballot on Tuesday
morning, China won 167 favorable votes from the 191 member states present,
winning another three-year term in the Council from 2009 to 2012.
Since China was elected as an founding member of the
Council in 2006, it has made remarkable achievements in the field of human
rights and fulfilled the pledges and commitments made during its last campaign
for membership of the Council, a spokesman with the Chinese Permanent Mission to
the United Nations said.
Chinese Permanent Representative to the
United Nations Zhang Yesui (1st L front) fills in his ballot during the
63rd session of the 83rd Planary meeting of the UN General Assembly held
at the UN headquarters in New York, the U.S. May 12,
2009. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>
"China contributed a lot to the institution-building
of the Council, and has undertaken its first Universal Periodic Review (UPR)
with an open and frank attitude and in a highly responsible manner, "the
spokesman told Xinhua.
Before re-election to the Human Rights Council, the
Chinese government made solemn commitments on promotion and protection of human
rights by presenting another aide-memoire of the pledges and commitments to the
United Nations, the spokesman said.
On April 13, China published its first working plan
on human rights, the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010),
pledging to further protect and improve human rights conditions.
Representatives cast their votes during
the 63rd session of the 83rd Planary meeting of the UN General Assembly
held at the UN headquarters in New York, the U.S. May 12,
2009. (Xinhua/Shen Hong) Photo Gallery>>>
This action made China one of 26 countries that have
responded to the United Nations' call to establish a national human rights plan
since 1993.
The Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, which is
the major United Nations body working to promote and protect human rights, was
set up by the General Assembly on March 15, 2006, to replace and build upon the
achievements of the 60-year-old Commission on Human Rights.
The members of the Council are elected by a secret
ballot in the General Assembly and must receive at least 97 votes of the
Assembly's 192 countries. Members serve for a period of three years and shall
not be eligible for immediate re-election after two consecutive terms.
In 2007, the Council established a UPR to assess
human rights situations in all 192 member states of the United Nations every
four years.
The UPR reviewed China's human rights record in
February this year, acknowledging China's efforts in human rights protection,
especially its progress in promoting the right to development and poverty
reduction.
Besides China, the other 17 countries elected to the
Council are Cameroon, Djibouti, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, Bangladesh, Jordan,
Kyrgyzstan, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Russia Federation, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay,
Belgium, Norway and the United States.
UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (Xinhua) -- The United States on
Tuesday was elected for a three-year term to the 47-member UN Human Rights
Council for the first time.
The U.S. election victory was contained in the
outcome of the election of 18 members of the UN human rights body at a plenary
meeting of the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly. Full story
