The UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday concluded its first review of China's human rights record, acknowledging the country's efforts on human rights protection.

The review, made at the fourth session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) in Geneva, attracted much attention since the mechanism was formally launched in April 2008.

Some Western countries and several non-governmental organizations had prepared to rebuke China's human rights record at the session and the Western media also followed the review closely.

However, to their disappointment, the 47-member council acknowledged China's efforts on human rights protection in the review report passed on Wednesday, and recommended China share with the international community, in particular developing countries, its experience in promoting the right development and poverty reduction.

China's tremendous achievements in the promotion and protection of human rights were praised by many countries during the review.

Valery Loshchinin, the Russian ambassador to the UN office in Geneva, said he was impressed by China's "big leap forward" in the human rights field, particularly in social and economic life.

"Especially the poverty reduction, which was very difficult to do in such a vast country with such a big population," Loshchinin said.

A representative from Pakistan called China's achievements "unprecedented" as it realized the goal "within a generation's time while other countries would need a hundred years."

The representative from Gabon said the review provided "a chance for China to show its progress."

In an interactive dialogue of the review, representatives from 60 countries voiced their opinions about China, among which nearly 50 countries expressed appreciation of China's rapid growth especially in the fields of politics, economy, social development, culture, democracy and legal system.

Countries including Pakistan, Algeria and Sri Lanka firmly opposed politicizing the human rights review, stressing Tibet is an inalienable part of China.

They said Tibet and other related issues put forward by a small number of countries were in fact interference in China's internal affairs.

Representatives from Egypt, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil and others also praised China's human rights report as "constructive, transparent and open."

The head of Nepal's delegation, Dinesh Bhattarai, also appreciated China's role in and contribution to the Human Rights Council in "making it transparent, non-political and non-selective."

Indeed, the UN review on China's human rights not only presents China's achievements to the world, but also shows the country's confidence in the human rights cause.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)