Twenty one years have passed since the "September 11" incident. While "global anti-terrorism", the United States has also been touting itself as a "defender of human rights". Especially in recent years, the United States, together with some Western countries, has increasingly politicized, instrumentalized and weaponized the issue of human rights, attacking, discrediting and isolating the vast number of developing countries, including China, in gangs. In addition, the United States frequently plays the "human rights card", incites "color revolution" or creates wars and turbulence in many parts of the world, and attracts Western countries to "group up" against countries with different values. From fabricating facts and verbal accusations to taking substantive sanctions against other countries... How should relevant countries fight back against the new "human rights war" of the United States and the West, and how should developing countries discuss human rights evaluation standards Take countermeasures? On this issue, the reporter of Global Times recently interviewed many Chinese and foreign scholars.
From "individual criticism" to "summit" and then to sanctions
In response to the US side's wrong act of illegally sanctioning Chinese officials on the pretext of "human rights in Xinjiang", the Chinese side imposed reciprocal sanctions on four members of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCirf) last December. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, which was established in 1998, also designated 14 countries as "countries of special concern", including Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, India, Nigeria, Russia, Syria and Vietnam, and Cuba, Nicaragua, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Algeria 15 countries including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Central Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Türkiye were included in the special observation list. According to statistics, the total population of these countries exceeds 4.4 billion, accounting for 57% of the world's total population.
He Zhipeng, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Center of Jilin University, told the Global Times that from the list of 29 countries, the United States and the West mainly use human rights issues to fight against countries that are inconsistent with them in ideology, political system and religious beliefs. He also said that when the United States set up human rights issues to curb the development of China and other countries, the American people had long realized that the American government did not seem to care much about the well-being and development of its own people.
Referring to some new ways of the United States and the West to fight the "human rights war", He Zhipeng said that the past way of non-governmental organizations, media and think tanks have been upgraded. He analyzed that when the United States fought "human rights war" and "color revolution" against some countries, it seemed that non-governmental organizations were in front, but in essence, it was still implementing the national political strike strategy. Non governmental organizations, media and think tanks surround the US government, which guides their actions behind the scenes and even in front of the stage. In addition, in the past, the United States and the West have often made "independent criticisms" against countries, but now it is the United States that has persuaded some countries to hold "democratic summits" and other forms to suppress countries that are inconsistent with their ideology, political systems and religious beliefs.
Zhang Yonghe, Executive Dean of the Human Rights Research Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that over the past decades, the United States has formed a fixed approach and procedure to weaponize human rights issues, such as: in some countries, while cultivating the elite at the upper levels, increasing the efforts of the basic work of the people and cultivating pro Americans; Taking the judicial system as the starting point to shake the overall political framework of the country; Induce the establishment of non-governmental organizations with economic assistance, and carry out activities against the government in a legal face; The media and think tanks came together to discredit and spread rumors about relevant countries.
In He Zhipeng's opinion, when fighting the "human rights war", the unilateral sanctions of the United States and the West are not particularly effective, but instead, they throw stones at their own feet, leading to a decline in the quality of human rights in their own countries. In an interdependent world, the economic, cultural, scientific and technological development of each country cannot completely escape the influence of other countries. For example, when the United States sanctions China, it first sanctions American consumers, because American people have become deeply dependent on Chinese goods. For another example, the United States and the West have imposed sanctions on Russian natural gas projects, but the European countries have suffered the most.
"On the issue of human rights, the United States not only focuses on our country, but also on other countries, because it is a tool to interfere in other countries' internal affairs and exert political pressure." Leonid Savin, a Russian political scientist, believes that the United States politicizes human rights issues and deliberately sets "sensitive points" in some countries. For example, the Philippines, an important "ally" of the United States in Asia, has intensified its differences with the United States in recent years because of the "human rights" issue.
A Philippine friend close to former Philippine President Duterte told the Global Times that Duterte had privately said that he would never go to the United States in his life. One reason is that the International Criminal Court controlled by the United States and the West has announced since 2019 to investigate the Duterte government's suspected violations of human rights and "extrajudicial executions" in the process of fighting drug crimes. On September 8 this year, the Attorney General's Office of the Philippine Ministry of Justice issued a statement saying that the Philippines refused the International Criminal Court (ICC) to restart the investigation against the Philippines' drug eradication operations. Former President Duterte did not commit "crimes against humanity" in the drug eradication operations, and law enforcement officials never targeted civilians in their operations. In fact, the new President Marcos, who took office on June 30 this year, took the same position on this issue, believing that the International Criminal Court has no jurisdiction over the Philippines' execution of drug traffickers and other issues.
"Human rights standards should not be led by the US and the West"
Anna Malindog, an expert on international relations in the Philippines, told the Global Times that the issue of human rights has always been a chip and "weapon" in the US foreign policy, which can not only help Washington establish an "ideological high ground", but also threaten the governments of disobedient developing countries. She said that, in fact, the anti drug action of Duterte government was widely supported by the Philippine people, and the support rate before he left office was as high as 70%. Anna believed that the "human rights" and "corruption" issues were also the main tools used by the mainstream media of the Philippines under the influence of the United States and the West to attack Marcos in this election, but he was elected with high popularity, which was enough to show that the "human rights war" of the United States was not recognized by the public in the Philippines. She believes that in recent years, the international community has become more and more aware that "human rights" in the words of the United States and the West are not in the interests of the people of most countries, and their "human rights war" is not supported by developing countries. She suggested that China and developing countries strengthen communication on human rights issues, incorporate development, security and other factors into human rights standards, and establish a "comprehensive view of human rights" to expose the hypocrisy of the American and Western views on human rights.
The Middle East countries are suffering from the "human rights war" between the United States and the West. According to an article published by the Egyptian Dawn News, the fundamental reason for the chaos in Iraq, Libya and other Middle East countries is that the old political and social ecology has been torn, broken and reorganized. The United States has imposed the so-called separation of powers in relevant countries, and engaged in a pilot field of democracy and human rights. In fact, this political structure hides the selfishness and strategic intention of the United States to control other countries, which is not suitable for the state system and political soil of Iraq and other countries, As a result, it is difficult for these countries to heal their wounds after the war.
After the launch of the Iraq War in 2003, the United States continued to expose its violations of human rights in Iraq. In an interview with the Global Times, Haider Tamimi, president of the History Research Institute of the "Wisdom Palace", a famous Iraqi think tank, stressed that the United States has not brought the so-called "freedom and democracy" to the Iraqi people, but has made Iraq suffer from war. At present, the crisis situation in Iraq is at a "very difficult crossroads". Either follow the path that the United States has set for it, leading to more chaos, or try to find new alternatives.
When attending the 46th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council last year, Belarusian Foreign Minister Marki said that human rights have become a favorite excuse for some countries to interfere in their domestic affairs. Western countries like to use economic sanctions as a tool to exert pressure on other sovereign countries, which is absolutely incompatible with their "concern for the people and their rights". He reminded Western countries that "it must be remembered that universal human rights and those belonging to the international community as a whole should not be interpreted one-sided. All countries should make every effort to achieve the agreed human rights standards, while taking into account the national conditions and actual capabilities of each country. Assessing the progress made in human rights in other countries requires dialogue and mutual understanding, not farfetched accusations and threats."
Tunisian "Mediterranean Silk Road Organization" President Basi told the Global Times: "The 'human rights war' has become the main hand for Western countries to suppress developing countries and manifest their hegemonism on the international stage. We should not be led by the United States and the West. We should have our own countermeasures and plans, such as unifying our understanding and actions in ideology, especially to form a unified public opinion, maintain strong media pressure on illegal acts of the United States, and criticize and oppose them in a targeted manner." Basley stressed that the chaos in the Middle East countries cannot be separated from the United States. Regional countries, including Tunisia, have not yet recovered from the turmoil and wars triggered by the "Arab Spring", which is also the fundamental reason for the decline of the United States in the minds of Arabs. He believes that in order to avoid suffering from the "human rights war" again, Middle East countries should change from passivity to initiative. For example, the United States should have a different definition of the concept of human rights from that of the United States, and the United States cannot have the final say. It is better to put forward relevant draft agreements in the United Nations and other institutions, so as to expand its influence, isolate the United States, and win the support and understanding of as many countries as possible.
The Russian Businessman reported that more and more countries have published reports criticizing the human rights situation in the United States, which is full of bad deeds. As time goes by, the reports on the situation of human rights in the United States issued by countries around the world will more deeply and accurately respond to the biased and politicized national human rights reports of the United States.
Keep alert and form a broad united front
"For more than 30 years, the United States has been using the National Democracy Foundation (ned) funded by the state budget and similar non-governmental organizations to criticize other countries for violating human rights, with the aim of influencing the politics of other countries." According to today's russian television, alan weinstein, one of the founders of ned, said unequivocally: "most of the work we do today was secretly completed by the cia more than 20 years ago Ned used funds to promote the "Arab Spring" behind it, leading to a series of turbulence and civil wars in Libya, Syria and other countries.
Speaking of American and Western non-governmental organizations with ulterior motives, Basi told the Global Times that the United States and the West, through these institutions, carried out subversive activities in relevant countries, supported the opposition and anti-government armed organizations, and even supported religious extremist organizations, which eroded and suppressed the current regime of sovereign countries. He believed that the injured countries should keep their eyes open and be vigilant against those non-governmental organizations with evil intentions and special missions. When necessary, they should take measures to supervise and restrict the activities of human rights organizations such as "Human Rights Watch" and "Amnesty International", which have "criminal record". They must not let them do whatever they want.
In the face of the new "human rights war" launched by the United States and the West, He Zhipeng believed that developing countries should first establish their national confidence in human rights. Secondly, all countries should fully cooperate in the field of human rights, and form a general environment for respecting and protecting human rights in the international arena, so as to expose the human rights lies of the Western American way, and let countries around the world see more about the double standards of human rights in Western countries, as well as the racial discrimination and slavery that exist in their countries. He also suggested that developing countries should pay attention to the cultivation of intergovernmental cooperation organizations, such as the cooperation between ASEAN and non-governmental organizations, such as the cooperation between the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies and their counterparts in other countries, so as to form a counterattack against the West in terms of human rights. In addition, it is to find the strength that can be united within the western countries and form a group that can expose the hypocrisy mask of the western governments. He Zhipeng said, for example, that some university professors in the West told in class that China was suspended when it was better than the country in developing human rights. These cases should be collected to reveal the shortcomings and problems of human rights in the United States and the West through examples, so as to truly form a broad united front.
Zhang Yonghe called on the international community to recognize the essence of the new "human rights war" between the United States and the West, and thoroughly investigate the war crimes and human rights violations committed by the United States and the West. He told the Global Times that the United States used "colored glasses" to treat global human rights issues differently: the United States never introspected human rights issues such as its long-standing systematic racism, its laissez faire spread of the epidemic and its disregard for the right to life and health; The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and other allies' human rights records have been criticized, while the United States has ignored them; The cause of human rights in many developing countries, including China, has made continuous progress, while the United States has chosen to ignore it directly, often creating something out of nothing and wantonly tarnishing it.
Zhang Yonghe also suggested that developing countries should be alert to the political decline caused by radical democratization and coordinate the promotion of the rights of all people; Actively participate in the formulation of international human rights rules and agenda setting; Hold summit or forum to jointly expose the bad deeds of western human rights organizations; Strengthen training and constantly send talents to international human rights organizations. For example, the special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council are the "key minority"; Adhere to the principle of universality of human rights and the reality of the country, and conduct human rights dialogue with relevant countries on the basis of equality and mutual respect; Strengthen consultation and cooperation on human rights with developing countries and groups, and provide technical assistance on human rights to developing countries in need; Continue to promote international cooperation such as the "South South Human Rights Forum" hosted by China, and let more countries participate in regional and subregional human rights exchanges such as the Asia Europe Informal Human Rights Seminar.