國際人權思想萌芽於西歐，國際人權法基本上是傳承此一思想。實行社會主義的 中共，有其自己認為正確的人權實施先後次序，北京認為實施人權為一國之內政，他國不得 干涉，並駁斥外國對其人權的批評。中共並自作第三世界人權問題的代言人，利用人權作為 工具以發展與第三世界國家間的關係。自一九八九年「六四」事件後，以美國為首的西方國 家，每年均向聯合國人權委員會提出譴責中共違反人權案，但由於該會成員多為第三世界國 家，所以譴責案均未獲得通過。然而在國際社會壓力下，中共已加入了十八個國際人權協定 ，著手立法促進人權，並釋放一些政治犯。

　　　　　Human rights thought originated in Western Europe, but has been generally accepted in international human rights law. As a socialist country, China has her own methods of practicing human rights. Moreover, China has said that the practice at human rights is a matter of a country's own domestic affairs and should be free form external interference. Therefore, she has offen refuted accusations of human rights violations. Moreover, China also has been using human rights as a tool to woo Third World countries. After the Tienanmen Square incident in 1989, the United States and Western countries proposed resolutions in the UN Commission on Human Rights condemning Beijing's human rights violations. These resolutions were, however, defeated every year because most members of the Commission are Third World countries. Due to pressure from the international community, however, Beijing did improve her human rights record somewhat, having accepted eighteen international human rights compacts, begun reforming human rights laws, and releasing some political prisoners.