United Nations in the field of human rights. In 1989 it had shown vigour in adopting resolutions on human rights violations in China, Iran, East Timor, and Guatemala. It was to be hoped that its decision not to take action critical of the outrageious human rights situation in Iraq would be corrected at the present session. 2. In its resolution 1989/5, the Sub-Commission had requested the Secretary-General to transmit to the Commission on Human Rights relevant information from reliable sources on the situation in China. The International League for Human Rights (ILHR) was one of those whose information had been included in the Secretary-General's document (E/CN.4/1990/52). On 2 September 1989 the Chinese Government had declared that the Sub-Commission's resolution brazenly interfered in China's internal affairs and ran counter to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and violated the norms governing international relations. It had declared it to be illegal and null and void (A/44/504, 6 September 1989). In a letter to the Commission dated 23 January 1990, China had again rejected the resolution and impugned the integrity of the members of the Sub-Commission, stating that a few of them had "plotted" and imposed "their own will on the Sub-Commission to serve their political aims" (E/CN.4/1990/55). That argument denied the universality of human rights and the work of the Sub-Commission. Some Chinese officials had defended the repression by placing China above international scrutiny and international norms, arguing that China had its own system of human rights. 3. ILHR's continuing examination of human rights conditions in China revealed that the Chinese Government's violent suppression of human rights in June 1989 had been replaced in 1990 by less violent but equally vigorous and oppressive measures with regard to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly and association. The Chinese Government had asserted that the 
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the situation of human rights in China, with a focus on the Chinese government's actions and the reactions of the United Nations and other organizations. The text mentions specific resolutions and documents related to human rights, as well as the Chinese government's responses to these initiatives. This suggests that the primary topic is human rights, which is a fundamental aspect of human dignity and a core principle of the United Nations.

**Category**
Humanitarian aid and relief, Human rights