The Chinese Government has all along attached much importance to the protection and promotion of human rights and to the major role played by international instruments on human rights in the protection and promotion of human rights.Up to the present,Chinahas acceded to 19 international treaties on human rights, giving full expression to the unshakable confidence and determination of the Chinese Government to ensure the citizens the enjoyment of all rights.With regard to the international treaties on human rights that it has acceded to, the Chinese Government has always adopted a responsible attitude to fulfil the obligations it has undertaken.It has carefully prepared and submitted the relevant reports on the execution of the treaties, accepted the deliberation of the relevant treaty agencies and conducted exchanges and dialogues with those agencies on the basis of equality and mutual respect.The Chinese Government has also actively participated in the work of the United Nations of drafting a new legal instrument on human rights, making its due contributions to the development of the international cause of human rights.

OnAugust 29, 2002, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of China approved the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.On December 3,Chinadeposited the instrument of approval to the Secretary General of the United Nations.ForChina, the Protocol went into effect onJanuary 3, 2003.

Chinacompleted in 2002 the writing of the second periodic report of the People's Republic ofChinaunder the Convention on the Rights of the Child.The report is the second national report on the execution of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which comprised three parts: the principal report written by the Central Government, the report of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region written by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the report of the Macao Special Administrative Region written by the Macao Special Administrative Region. The second periodic report gave an overall account of the execution of the Convention byChinafrom 1996 to 2001.The report will be submitted to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2003.

The drafting of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment which lasted for 10 years was completed in 2002.Because of the significant differences among the parties in the negotiation on the question whether a compulsory "international mechanism for visits and inquiries" should be set up for the Protocol, the Drafting Group could not reach consensus on the draft protocol through consultation.In December 2002, the UN General Assembly adopted the Protocol by vote.China participated in the drafting of the Protocol from beginning to end, and supported the strengthening of international cooperation in the sphere of prohibiting torture, but at the same time held that the international mechanism of making compulsory visits and inquiries in places of custody of the countries to the convention in any time and at any place as provided for in the Protocol failed to respect fully the sovereignty of the countries to the Convention.Therefore,Chinaobtained in the vote on the Protocol by the UN General Assembly.