China, developing countries increasingly join forces against West-weaponization of human rights
Human Rights Council at the United Nations in Geneva Photo: VCG
Using human rights topics to attack developing countries, drawing small circles to smear countries with different systems, spreading groundless rumors or even starting wars under the disguise of anti-terrorism efforts … such moves have often been used by the US and some other Western counties. With the start of the 51st regular session of the Human Rights Council on September 12, a number of US-led Western countries have ramped up efforts in pushing such "battle" against developing countries. The US and some Western forces' fierce hyping of topics about China's Xinjiang region is only the latest example of using human rights as a weapon to slander China and other developing countries. The Global Times reporters interviewed Chinese and overseas scholars on how developing countries could respond. US attack strategy Using human rights as a weapon has been a tradition of the US, and the release of the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices by the US Department of State has been criticized by analysts as a move to wield this stick. For example, to cooperate with the slandering of China's policies in its Xinjiang region, the US Department of State not only listed China as a "Country of Particular Concern" in its 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom but also attacked China's religious policies in Xinjiang, Xizang and other regions. Aside from China, 13 other countries, including Myanmar, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, India and Russia, have also been listed as countries of "particular concern"; meanwhile, 15 countries, including Cuba, Nicaragua, Sudan, Egypt and Kazakhstan, have been listed as countries for "special observation." The US-made reports on human rights have faced criticism from many countries, and analysts pointed out that these reports target developing countries while purposely neglecting problems such as racism in Western countries. The listed dozens of countries of "particular concern" or under particular observation in the US report showcased that the US kept attacking countries that don't share its ideology, political system and religion. Instead of really taking care of the human rights situation in others countries, the US just wants to contain these countries by setting the agenda on human rights, He Zhipeng, a professor of international law at the School of Law with Jilin University, told the Global Times. Coordinating nongovernmental organizations, the media, and think tanks to hype human rights topics is also among the tactics that the US and its Western allies have used, and in recent years, such tricks have also been updated, He said. When starting a "human rights battle" against a country, NGOs have been used as the vanguard, and media and think tanks become amplifiers of the US government. And when organizing the siege of a certain country, the US would pull its allies into the campaign and expand the attack on wider platforms, He said, noting that one example is the US' "democracy summit." In December 2021, US President Joe Biden held the Summit for Democracy but analysts said Washington just exposed the US' geopolitical purpose since it was a small clique and the US dares not invite many countries that have different political systems from its own. The US' unilateral sanctions against other countries based on groundless accusations of human rights issues will also hurt the interests of the US and the West, He said. For example, the US has banned imports from China's Xinjiang region by citing concerns over so-called forced labor issue. Transnational corporations and many US companies have expressed increasing concerns over such a move given its negative impact on the stability of global supply chains. Aside from imposing pressure from the outside, the US and some Western forces also cultivate and incite pro-US forces inside the target countries, especially among the elites to discuss and hype topics related to human rights, challenge these countries' judicial systems and set NGOs to attack the local governments, said Zhang Yonghe, professor and executive dean of the Human Rights Institution of Southwest University of Political Science and Law in Chongqing.
Malindog-Uy told the Global Times that topics on "human rights" and "corruption" are also the main tools that media under the influence of the US used to attack the incumbent Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr during the election campaign, but Marcos Jr still won. This also shows that US' attempts to hype human rights issues in the Philippines have had little traction among the people.
Developing countries can also actively participate in setting international rules and the agenda in the human rights field, as well as expanding communication based on mutual respect, said Zhang, noting that promoting international dialogues on human rights among developing countries can also help promote international human rights pursuit.
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