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Preface
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| In June 2012, with approval from the Chinese government, the Information Office of the State Council published the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012-2015) (hereinafter referred to as the Action Plan). It is China's second national plan on human rights since the promulgation of the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2009-2010) in April 2009. The formulation and promulgation of the National Human Rights Action Plan is an important step taken by the Chinese government to honor its solemn commitment on human rights, to ensure the implementation of the constitutional principle of respecting and safeguarding human rights and to advance China's human rights in a comprehensive way. Local governments at various levels and the relevant departments of the central government and state organs have attached great importance to the implementation of the Action Plan. Based on the principle of "each performing its own functions and sharing the work and responsibilities," they have incorporated the Action Plan into the work plans of their regions and departments and adopted effective measures to implement it based on mid- and long-term work plans in their respective fields. Enterprises and public institutions, mass organizations, social groups, media organizations, academic and research institutions and the general public have also been actively involved in publicizing and implementing the Action Plan. Under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government, and with the joint efforts of all parties involved, all targets and tasks set by the Action Plan have been fulfilled as scheduled. As stipulated in the Action Plan, a "joint meeting mechanism for the National Human Rights Action Plan" was created, consisting of the Information Office of the State Council and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - they jointly take the leading role in this mechanism - and relevant state legislative and judiciary organs, departments of the State Council, mass organizations and social groups, and is responsible for coordinating the implementation, supervision and assessment of the Action Plan. In the second half of 2014, the joint meeting mechanism launched a mid-term assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan, instructed relevant departments and government institutions to deliver reports on the implementation of the Action Plan, organized experts and scholars to carry out corresponding research and investigations, convened a mid-term assessment meeting on the implementation of the Action Plan to appraise and review the implementation of the Action Plan for the earlier period, and made arrangements on how to better carry out the Action Plan in the next phase. In July 2015, the joint meeting mechanism launched the final assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan. The final assessment was conducted in three stages -- investigation, evaluation and summary. From July to December 2015, the Information Office of the State Council took representatives of media agencies and human rights experts on multiple tours of investigation in Beijing, Liaoning, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Qinghai, Xinjiang and other regions where they conducted interviews and research and listened to comments and suggestions of people from all walks of life and the general public. Entrusted by the joint meeting mechanism, the China Society for Human Rights Studies arranged multiple trips for human rights experts and representatives of social groups to Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Chongqing, Dalian, Jinan, Wuhan and other places to conduct investigations on the implementation of the Action Plan. The joint meeting mechanism instructed relevant departments and institutions to make a self-assessment of the completion of their respective tasks concerning the Action Plan, and to submit written reports. On this basis, the joint meeting mechanism organized a team of human rights experts from relevant departments and institutions of the central government, mass organizations and social groups as well as the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, Nankai University, Shandong University, Southwest University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and other universities and research institutions. The team examined and analyzed the self-appraisals of each department and institution in accordance with the targets set by the Action Plan, solicited opinions and suggestions from member organizations of the joint meeting mechanism and all social sectors and finally formulated the Assessment Report on the Implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2012-2015). It is hereby promulgated as follows. |
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