LHASA -- All-round and historic progress has been made in human rights cause in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to a white paper released on Friday.

The document, titled "Human Rights in Xizang in the New Era," was released by the State Council Information Office at a press conference held in Lhasa, capital city of the region.

The Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese government have implemented effective measures to develop the economy, improve living standards and people's wellbeing, promote ethnic unity and progress, and protect the basic rights of all the people in the region, it said.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012, respecting and protecting human rights has been made an important part of the Party Central Committee's guidelines for the governance of the region, according to the document.

The CPC has maintained a people-centered approach to human rights and a commitment to ensuring human rights through development, and has vigorously promoted whole-process people's democracy, it said.

The Party has strengthened legal protection of human rights, and coordinated efforts to increase people's civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights, so as to achieve well-rounded development and common prosperity for all people from all ethnic groups, according to the white paper.

Today, Xizang enjoys political stability, ethnic unity, economic development, social harmony, and amity among different religions, the document said.

Its environment is sound, and local people are content with their work and daily lives. This progress represents a remarkable achievement in protecting human rights on the snowy plateau, it said.