The UN Human Rights Council: China’s New Political Playground?
Comprising 47 member states, the UNHRC promotes and protects human rights worldwide and conducts Universal Periodic Reviews (UPR) every four years.
China has shifted from a defensive to an offensive stance within the UNHRC, aiming to influence global human rights norms to favour state sovereignty and collective rights.
China’s growing influence in the UNHRC needs careful monitoring as it may significantly alter the international human rights agenda, moving it away from accountability towards greater impunity.