By Xinhua,
Beijing : China will draft its first national action plan to protect human rights in the country, the government said Tuesday.
The action plan would cover aspects such as improving government function, expanding democracy, strengthening the rule of law, improving people’s livelihood, protecting rights of women, children and ethnic minorities and boosting public awareness of human rights, a release of the State Council, the Chinese cabinet, said.
The action plan will be drafted by a joint panel of the state council and the foreign ministry, assisted by more than 50 departments, public associations and non-governmental organizations, including the country’s legislature, top political advisory body, supreme court the National Development and Reform Commission.
“As the first of its kind, the plan will leave important effect on the country’s human rights development in the future,” said Dong Yunhu, vice president and secretary general of the China Society for Human Rights Studies.
The government issued the first white paper describing the country’s human rights situation in 1991, officially adopting the concept of “human rights” in its political strategy.
Since then, the country has issued 40 such documents on human rights protection but there was no state action plan.
The government has not set a timeline for drafting the action plan or its implementation.