Advance of fair human rights governance unstoppable

The most important question to be asked in any debate on human rights is this: What right do the governments of Western nations have to lecture developing countries on human rights?

These former colonial powers enslaved vast populations in Asia, Africa and Latin America in centuries gone by. They perpetrated unspeakable massacres, genocides and atrocities. They looted the resources of their colonies to fatten themselves.

And yet, even after their empires crumbled and the era of colonialism ended decades ago, they continue to pretend they are the greatest defenders of freedom, democracy and human rights.

In recent decades, too, these predatory Western powers, led by the United States, have waged wars and ignited civil wars, wasted trillions of dollars on lethal weapons and killed tens of thousands of innocent people, with Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria being some recent examples. Yet they deliver sermons on human rights and even impose illegitimate sanctions on those countries that do not follow their diktats.

For example, I recently traveled extensively in China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. It was once one of the less developed provincial regions of China. Today it has built physical and social infrastructure — airports, highways, high-speed trains, schools, hospitals, museums and tourism facilities — that are better than those in many European countries. It has some of the world's leading solar and wind energy farms and manufacturing units. The Uygurs and other ethnic groups, even in rural areas, enjoy good living conditions.

In Xinjiang, I saw with my own eyes that the Western propaganda about violation of human rights is a complete lie. In fact, China is proving that people-oriented development, peaceful coexistence, harmonious integration of various ethnic communities and strong action against extremism, terrorism and separatism offer the best way to protect human rights. Yet Western nations have specifically targeted Xinjiang to accuse China of human rights violations and have even imposed sanctions on several companies located in Xinjiang.

Thoughts on the West's double standard filled my mind when I participated in the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, which was held in Beijing on June 14 and 15. China hosted the conference to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action of 1993. The most important outcome of this conference was the unanimous view that human-centric development, dignified living standards for ordinary people and peaceful social relations form the foundation for human rights.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action affirmed the indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of human rights, and placed equitable development benefiting a majority of the global population at the very center of the human rights discourse. For example, only 15 percent of the global population of 8 billion live in Western countries. They have disproportionate control over financial resources, media and global governance institutions. The remaining 85 percent live in the Global South — developing countries, underdeveloped countries and emerging economies. Therefore, the principle of demographic justice demands that the minority not deny the needs and suppress the aspirations of the majority.

Large populations in the Global South are deprived of their basic human rights because they are still suffering from poverty and various manifestations of slow, inadequate and unbalanced development. Child labor and impairments in children's education; disintegration of families, problems faced by senior citizens and proliferation of urban slums; poor access to clean water, sanitation and healthcare; large numbers of disabled people, unemployment, sex trafficking and denial of justice to women, minorities and other marginalized communities; and vulnerability to pandemics such as COVID-19 and large-scale migration of refugees are among the direct outcomes of a situation in which neither development nor security is guaranteed to the populations of the Global South.

It is against this background that we should view the three important initiatives proposed recently by President Xi Jinping — the Global Development Initiative, Global Security Initiative and Global Civilization Initiative. All three initiatives are interrelated and mutually supportive.

In particular, the Global Development Initiative has galvanized worldwide attention to strengthening global development partnerships and cooperation, and has given fresh impetus to efforts to realize the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, the initiative urges international cooperation in eight critical areas: poverty alleviation, food security, COVID-19 and vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization, the digital economy and connectivity. Any unbiased person can see that cooperation in these areas benefits not only the people in the developing world, but also constitutes a win-win for both the developing and developed countries.

Development is a fundamental human right. How can we secure this right for all people? As an answer to this question, I presented six ideas at the Beijing Forum.

First, the world community must reiterate that holistic development for all people on the planet — that is, economic, social, cultural, intellectual, spiritual and ecological development — is both a fundamental human need and an inalienable human right.

Second, there should be universal recognition that poverty and lack of development are among the greatest violators of human rights. Therefore, the eradication of poverty and equitable development worldwide must be made the highest priority by the international community. Similarly, wars and violent conflicts are also among the greatest violators of human rights. Therefore, militarism and an arms race must be strongly opposed and ended. The world should have reliable new mechanisms for peaceful and just resolution of disputes. The jungle principle of "might is right" must be thrown into the dustbin of history.

Third, the diversity of religion, culture, language and civilizational traditions, as well as people's choice of political and governance systems as per their specific historical journeys, should be respected. No attempt should be made to enforce uniformity on others, in the belief that certain traditions and systems are inherently superior.

Fourth, no system or model of development and governance is entirely perfect. Therefore, there is a need for mutual learning to constantly improve national development paradigms and governance models.

Fifth, no country or set of countries should be permitted to establish their hegemony or domination over the rest of the world. Therefore, the West's attempts to contain the inevitable rise of developing countries through illegal sanctions, decoupling of economies and division of the world through creation of new military blocs must be strongly opposed.

Sixth, the much-needed new architecture for global human rights governance should fully reflect the need for a new system of democratic global governance. This includes radical reform of the UN system, which should adhere to the principles of global democracy, in which all countries are regarded as equal, regardless of their size or economic ranking.

The march toward fair global human rights governance has begun. It is unstoppable.

The author is an advocate of India-China-Pakistan cooperation for a New South Asia and was an aide to former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.