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Statement by Adviser LIU Zhenghua of the Chinese Delegation on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (item 10) at the 60th Session of the Commission on Human Rights (Geneva, March 29, 2004) 2004/04/16 Mr. Chairman, I would like to start by thanking the High Commissioner for Human Rights for presenting his analytical study on the fundamental principle of non-discrimination in the context of globalization. The report made in-depth analysis of the increase in commercial and cultural exchanges caused by globalization and the accompanying inequalities among and within states. It pointed out that observance of the principle of non-discrimination will help make the globalization process more inclusive and equitable. This report can serve as a very good theoretical basis for the Commission in its deliberation on the impact of globalization on the realization of economic, cultural and social rights. The Chinese delegation would like to take this opportunity to share with you some ideas on the realization of economic, culture and social rights. 1. The international community should take measures to correct the prevailing imbalance between two categories of human rights. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action states, "All human rights are indivisible, inter-dependent and inter-related." Economic, social and cultural rights, together with civil and political rights, are the two pillars of the international human rights regime. As such, both are of equal importance, with one complimenting the other. In its 60 years of existence, the Commission has done a lot to promote economic, social and cultural rights, but it has met with considerable resistance in the endeavour. This resistance is rooted, to a large extent, in a reluctance to recognize or give sufficient weight to the concept embodied in those rights. My delegation would like to use this occasion to once again call on the international community to respond positively to the legitimate demand of the developing countries for greater prominence to be given to economic, social and cultural rights so as to promote fuller enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all peoples. 2. The responsibility of realizing economic, social and cultural rights falls first and foremost on national governments. But international cooperation is indispensable. It is the view of this delegation that compared with civil and political rights, economic, social and cultural rights are more dependant on conditions which can only be secured by economic growth and can therefore only be realized gradually. For that reason all governments should bear in mind their national circumstances and freely choose a development strategy which will gradually ensure economic, social and cultural rights for their peoples. At the international level, enhanced international cooperation, and in particular greater assistance and support from the developed countries to the developing ones to help the latter create necessary conditions for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, would usefully compliment national efforts in this area. 3. Discussions on drafting an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights should take into consideration the intrinsic nature of such rights. The Working Group on an optional protocol met recently to discuss in great depth the possibility of setting up a mechanism for individual complaints on those rights. The Chinese delegation attached great importance to that meeting and participated actively in its discussions. We believe that while judicial remedy is a major channel to implement those rights, the special characters of the economic, social and cultural rights would make it difficult to draft a set of unified legal standards to ensure their realization. Such an approach, therefore, has its limitations. Moreover, in discussing setting up an international monitoring mechanism on those rights, one should bear in mind the need to find means and ways to respect the sovereign right of national governments to formulate policies for social and economic development, and ponder over the feasibility of  a quantitative criteria and make sure not to duplicate the mandates of other UN institutions. Mr. Chairman, During the past year, China made significant progress in promoting economic, social and cultural rights.             First, in 2003, China's GDP totalled 1,400 billion US dollars and its per capita GDP reached for the first time 1,090 us dollars. For a developing country with a population of 1.3 billion, this breakthrough is the outcome of many years of hard work by the Chinese people and it also augurs well for greater respect and better guarantee of the economic, social and cultural rights of the Chinese people. Secondly, on June 27, 2003, the Chinese government submitted on time to the United Nations its first periodic report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The report, from the perspective of national legislation and practice, gave a full account of the activities undertaken to implement the Covenant in such fields as social security, culture, education, science and technology, broadcasting, audio-visual industry, media and press, public health and sports. It also listed the difficulties and problems in the process. We are looking forward to its review at the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. Mr. Chairman, In the spirit of naming and shaming advocated by the American representative, I would like to touch briefly upon the human rights situation in the United States. This No.1 developed country of the world has been quite apathetic to the economic, social and cultural rights of its workers. This has led to such serious problems as poverty, hunger and homelessness. According to the statistics of the 2003 report of the US Census Bureau, the impoverished population in the country had increased to reach 34.6 million. And the proportion of the needy children had gone up to 16.7 percent. Homeless population had totaled more than 3 million. The situation of health insurance has worsened. The number of Americans without health insurance in 2002 increased by 5.7 percent over 2001. The United States has always insisted that other countries should comply with the human rights standard and strengthen cooperation with the UN human rights regime and has urged them to do so. However, it has to date not ratified the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. We hope that the United States will invite the Special Rapporteurs on the right to health, on the right to education and on adequate housing to have an inspection there so as to provide us with a comprehensive report of the economic, social and cultural rights situation in this most developed country. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

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