On March 25, Mr. WANG Chao, President of Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs and President of United Nations Association of China, made an oral statement at the General Debate on Item 8 of the 49th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.

President Wang stated that development is a priority of the UN. The 2030 Agenda entails the right to development. China put forth the Global Development Initiative, which takes the implementation of 2030 Agenda as its starting point. The GDI aims to promote addressing the most urgent problems and challenges in development faced by the world, especially developing countries. Its principles of “prioritizing development”, “people-centered development”, and “leave no one behind” fully reflect its view of the promotion and protection of human rights. The GDI is committed to promoting the timely fulfillment of all 17 SDGs and will greatly promote the rights to life and development, and make important contributions to the international human rights cause.

President Wang stressed that the international community must reject the politicization and double standards of human rights, promote balanced progress of the two categories of human rights and the right to development, and steer global human rights governance toward greater fairness, equity and inclusiveness.