Stop "buying a knife to let others stab yourself," China considers cutting the budget of the Human Rights Office, now the West is upset!
Recently, a seemingly obscure issue within the United Nations system has suddenly become hot — the budget of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This time, China and Russia led together with several countries to propose a significant reduction in the funding of this department, and the West is very upset this time.
The two-year budget of the OHCHR is close to 600 million US dollars, of which about 37% comes from mandatory fees paid by member states, and the remaining 63% is funded through voluntary donations by countries. Among these voluntary donations, Western countries such as the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, and Sweden are major contributors. In fact, just the United States alone accounts for nearly 18% of the total amount.
But the problem is not how much money is contributed, but rather "the power of speech" and "fairness." Chinese representatives have pointed out at multiple UN General Assembly meetings that the investigation reports of the OHCHR have shown clear bias in recent years. There are only six reports targeting the United States; nine reports on Israel's military actions in Gaza; and fifteen reports on civilian casualties in Ukraine. In comparison, there are 27 reports targeting China. Which country is safer and more civilized? It goes without saying.
Therefore, China began to reflect: why should we use our own money to fund an institution that often takes a magnifying glass to find our faults, while downplaying or even ignoring problems in the West? This is what is called "buying a knife to let others stab yourself."
As a result, since 2023, China and Russia have repeatedly proposed motions in the Fifth Committee of the United Nations (the Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Matters) to review the budget structure of the OHCHR, advocating for reducing the proportion of voluntary donations and increasing the share of fees, to reduce the ability of a few developed countries to influence its agenda through "targeted donations." They also suggested transferring some funds to more neutral projects such as the right to development and economic rights.
This move immediately faced strong opposition from Western countries. The European Union's permanent mission to the United Nations clearly stated that cutting the budget would "weaken the global human rights protection system," and countries such as Germany and Canada also voiced support for maintaining or even increasing funding for the OHCHR. Their reasoning is: this institution is an important tool for them to monitor all countries around the world, and it cannot be weakened because of the dissatisfaction of a few countries.
Original text: www.toutiao.com/article/1846738110073863/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.