Peace is fundamental premise, foundation for human rights protection: Chinese diplomat

Delegates attend the opening of the 34th Human Rights Council (HRC) session in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb 27, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

GENEVA - A senior Chinese diplomat on Monday stressed that to realize sustained peace so as to promote and protect human rights, all countries should establish equal partnership, pursue cooperation and maintain peace through development.

Liu Hua, special representative for human rights affairs of China's Foreign Ministry, made the remarks at the 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council.

"Peace has become the common aspiration of people of all countries, as well as the fundamental premise and foundation for the promotion and protection of human rights," she said.

"The world is far from tranquil, traditional and non-traditional security threats are intertwined, posing a threat to world peace and human rights of people of all countries," she added.

The diplomat told the UN Human Rights Council that in order to achieve sustained peace, all countries should make efforts to establish equal partnership first.

"All countries are equal, and should respect each other and treat each other as equals. The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of each state must be respected, the social system and development path independently chosen by each state must be respected," she noted.

In addition, she added, countries should settle disputes through peaceful means, that is, to settle disputes through communication and consultation, resolve conflicts through political negotiations.

Liu also stressed the role of cooperation in maintaining peace, saying that countries should stick together like passengers in the same boat, and adopt a holistic approach to address traditional and non-traditional security threats.

"We should be committed to multilateralism, and give full play to the central role of the United Nations," she said.

The senior diplomat also highlighted the importance of development.

"Peace and development are mutually reinforcing. We should effectively implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, achieve balanced global development, thus providing a solid foundation for maintaining peace," she said.

According to Liu, in order to promote world peace, respecting diversity of civilizations is also very important.

"Different civilizations should co-exist in harmony, facilitate exchanges and mutual learning, draw on the experience of each other to achieve common progress, and serve as the bond for maintaining world peace," she said.