Mr. Chairman,

Economic, social and cultural rights figure prominently among all human rights and fundamental freedoms and thus deserve high attention from all governments and the international community. Although they have made tremendous efforts in promoting and protecting these rights over many years, the developing countries are still faced with an uphill task in genuinely realizing these rights due to various constraints and difficulties that they encounter.

As a result of the prolonged irrational international economic order, the developing countries do not have decision-making power or the rights to equal participation in the international economic field or more specifically, in the international economic organizations, which has led to their being further marginalised in the process of globalization. The gap between the rich and the poor has been further expanded. The total foreign debts owed by the developing countries have reached 250 billion US dollars; while low-income countries, which constitute more than half of the world's population, account for only 6 percent of the world's income. The developed countries, which have only one sixth of the world's population, possess about 80 percent of the world's income. The one fifth of the world's population living in the developed countries consume about 69 percent of the world's resources. One quarter of the countries in the world today cannot even supply safe water to their peoples. One third of the developing countries cannot afford public health. 1.2 billion people live on less than one US dollar a day. Over 130 million children in the developing world cannot go to school while 250 million children under 14 have to work as child labor, often under dangerous or unhygienic conditions. In low-income countries, the annual spending on public health is less than 10 US dollars per person, and only 5 percent of the world's population have access to the Internet.

Faced with these alarming figures, the international community as well as all the governments concerned cannot simply sit reflecting on them. Rather, they should also take actions. In this connection, I would like to share some of my observations.

First, the international community should, on the basis of full participation and democratic consultation, make joint efforts in formulating effective international rules so that the process of economic globalization can be correctly guided and managed in a direction in favor of narrowing the North-South gap, of ensuring common development and prosperity and of benefiting all, especially the developing nations and of promoting a more balanced, stable and sustainable development of the world economy. The developing countries should have the equal right to participate in the decision-making and rule-formulation in the international economy, which constitutes an important basis for achieving economic, social and cultural rights.

Second, the developed countries should demonstrate sincerity by adopting specific steps to create favorable conditions and environment for the developing countries to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights. Heavy debt burdens have seriously hindered the economic development of the developing countries. We urge the developed countries and international financial institutions to speedily honor their commitments. The Chinese Government has started to implement its last year's commitment to reduce and cancel the debts owed by some African countries to China to the volume of 10 billion RMB Yuan. This fact highlights the maximum sincerity on the part of China, itself being a developing country, in promoting economic and social development of the African countries. The developed countries can as well make their contributions to helping the developing countries in achieving economic, social and cultural rights by reducing and canceling debts, increasing ODAs and inviting the developing countries to equal participation in formulating international rules of the game.

Third, the international community and the United Nations should stress equal treatment at two levels, i.e. (a) is to treat equally all human rights and fundamental freedoms, rather than valuing more civil and political rights at the expense of economic, social and cultural rights, and (b) is to treat equally all members of the international community, and refrain oneself from exaggerating those less desirable problems in the developing countries with a microscope while covering up those of their own and other countries with a fig leave.

Mr. Chairman,

On 28 February this year, the National People's Congress of China adopted a decision to ratify the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This is an important step taken by China in the field of human rights.

The Chinese Government has all along valued the principle of universality of human rights. Thanks to unremitting effort over many years, China has found a correct approach to promote and develop human rights in line with China's national conditions. In recent years, China's economy has been growing in a sustained, healthy and rapid manner, with the reform program moving in depth, resulting in tremendous changes across China's vast social domains. With the successful completion of China's 9th Five-Year Plan, the living standards of the Chinese people have reached a new high, and people's enjoyment of human rights has also been further enhanced. The Chinese Government is making its continuous effort to further improve and develop the cause of human rights. A social safety net in its initial form has been set up in China, and tremendous progress has been made in creating new jobs for the unemployed, and a new breakthrough has been witnessed in further commercialization of public housing, and progress has been evident in virtually all social domains such as culture, education, science and technology, TV and the media, the press, public health and sports. Indeed, China ahs scored new successes is promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights of the Chinese people.

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights is extensive in content and has a bearing on all aspects of China's economic and social life. China's relative short duration for completing the legal procedure of approving the Covenant fully demonstrates China's commitment to promoting and protecting human rights and carrying out international cooperation in the field of human rights. It also shows the firm determination and confidence on the part of the Chinese Government in protecting all economic, social and cultural rights of the Chinese citizens. The Chinese Government will make further effort in promoting and protecting human rights.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.