Commentary: Time to address the politicizing of human rights

The "shaming" of China by human rights record has been a default position that certain nations often retreat to.

Unfortunately, for those outspoken critics, rather than strengthening their "cause," the current brouhaha lifts the veil on a culture of hypocrisy, ulterior political motives and scapegoating.

The United States and 11 other countries expressed concern over "worsening" human rights in China at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland, on March 10.

The accusation was provocative.

America is using this pretext to attack China, despite its own less-than-perfect record. As such, it is disappointing, although not surprising, that it conveniently forgot to mention the great strides China has achieved in this regard.

The Human Rights Council meeting coincided with China's annual parliamentary session, which might explain why those raising objections did so. Perhaps they were just too busy with the council to listen to reports on poverty alleviation; educational and medical equity; or judicial reform?

These achievements were designed for, and felt by, the people of China. Yet, the self-proclaimed "human rights guardians" of the world seem loath to acknowledge them.

This "selective blindness" is driven by prejudice and the show was put on to serve nothing more than political interests.

Since the nations involved may have skeletons in their respective cupboards, they would be best advised to remember that adage regarding stones and glass houses.

Take America for instance, its torture of prisoners, breach of its own citizens' privacy, and deep-rooted racism is well documented.

There is no end to human rights protection for any nation, especially in a nation such as China, which has a large, multiethnic population.

The move, led by the United States, could be seen as nothing more than a refusal to understand China's bigger human rights strategy and the paranoia on the smaller details could be detrimental to the dialog between China and the West on the wider human rights issue.

Besides, confrontation, such as this, runs counter to the objective of the Human Rights Council, which was established in 2006 to enhance cooperation and coordination.

This eagerness to judge might indicate that certain nations have a long way to go before they let go of that outdated Cold War mindset.

Unfortunately, a mentality such as this does not bode well for global governance and the cause of international human rights. Endi