I. Overview
1. Development and Organization
The Human Rights and Humanitarian Law Research Center, Peking University Law School, was originally called the Human Rights Research Center and was established on April 25, 1997. The research center has developed into a university-wide research institution that is composed of teachers and researchers from the Law School, the Department of Sociology, the Research Institute on Population, the Department of Philosophy, the School of International Relations and the School of Government.
The center has published a large number of human rights research works and textbooks, enriching human rights theoretical literature and teaching resources. The center has organized international and domestic academic forums on human rights issues, and offered legal advice to China’s legislative, administrative and judicial authorities on compliance with and adoption of international human rights conventions. Since 2004, the center has collaborated with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University in Sweden to provide master’s degree programs in human rights at Peking University Law School, which was the first higher-learning institution in China to offer human rights education. As of this year, 245 students have graduated from the center.
The center now has 16 staff members, with 10 from the law school, including six professors, three associate professors and one administrative employee. Luo Haocai, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, is honorary director. Prof. Gong Renren of the law school is director; Prof. Bai Guimei of the law school is executive director; and Prof. Chen Zhishang of the Institute of Hominology of Peking University is advisor to the center.
Otherpersonnel include Prof. Hu Yukun of the Institute of Population, Prof. Luo Yanhua of the School of International Relations, Prof. Shen Mingming of the School of Government, Prof. Tong Xin of the Department of Sociology and Associate Prof. Xu Chun of the Department of Philosophy. Together they form a cross-generational and cross-disciplinary group of experts.
2. Facilities and Funds
The center’s administrative office covers 12 m2. Its research office of 25 m2is open to full-time and part-time faculty. The center has total floor space of 162 m2.
The center has its own research funds and its ownfinancial account at the university.
II. Mission
1. Human Rights Education and Training
One of the main tasks of the center is to build a robust human rights educational system. Over the past decade, the center has offered human rights courses to undergraduate and graduate students at Peking University, including eight courses for graduate students as well as general courses in human rights for undergraduate students.
The center also pays great attention to training teachers and lawyers, and providestrainingprograms for college teachers from remote areas. Its efforts help produce new research talent for human rights research organizations and ensure their sustainable growth.
(1) Master’s degree programs in human rights at Peking University
In 2004, the center collaborated with theRaoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at Lund University in Sweden to set up – at the Peking University Law School -the first permanent master’s degree program in human rights in Mainland China. This wasalso the third permanent master’s program in human rights in Asia. The establishment of this program is a milestone in human rights education in China.
Each year, the one-year program enrolls 25 graduate students, most of whom are regular graduate students at Peking University. The program offers eight courses related to human rights law through Peking University Law School. The students, while pursuing their own master’s degree programs, take these courses. After completing their required credits, the graduate students obtain certificates issued by both Peking University Law School and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute. The program provides students and teachers with rich Chinese and English materials for study and research and helps students find all sorts of domestic and international internship opportunities.[page]
The program’s required courses are:Human Rights and the Rule of Law, International Human Rights Protection Mechanisms, Seminar on Human Rights Protection, and Core Rights. Elective courses are: International Criminal Law, Regional Human Rights Protection Mechanisms, Rights Protection for Minorities, Rights Protection for Women and Children, Commerce and Human Rights,and International Humanitarian Law. The Human Rights Special Topics Seminar Series, organized for the master’s program and held each fall, has received a lot of supportfrom Chinese and foreign human rights experts, activists and government officials. Well-known professors Guo Daohui and Li Buyun, Prof. Wu Qing, who is also deputy to the National People’s Congress, Richard Desgagne, regional legal counsel to the International Committee of the Red Cross, Wyndham James, director of the Save the Children China Program, and officials of other international organizations have given lectures to master’s degree classes.
Since 2004, the program has admitted 10 new groups of students. Altogether, 213 students have graduated. Of these graduates, most are now focused on human rights. They include a human rights official in the International Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a program officer for the International Committee of the Red Cross, research associates at the Legal Affairs Office of the United Nations, an associate professor in human rights law at Shanghai Jiaotong University, an assistant program officer forChina’s International Poverty Reduction Center, a literacy aid program officer at the Ministry of Education, a director at the China Philanthropy Institute at Beijing Normal University, a research fellow focused on the protection of minority rights from the Chahar Institute, a research assistant at the China Institute of International Studies, as well as personnel at Green Peace, Save the Children and the Raoul Wallenberg Institute.
(2) Training program for Chinese human rights lawyers
The China Human Rights Lawyer Training Program was subsidized by the European Union delegation to China and Mongolia andhosted by the center. Itwas also co-sponsored by the All China Lawyers Association and the association’sConstitutionand Human Rights Committee. The program ran from 2010 to 2012. The center, with the assistance of the All China Lawyers AssociationConstitutionand Human Rights Committee, organized six training courses for Chinese lawyers.
Usingtraining in human rights theory, real practice, moot courts and international exchange, the program was aimed at training human rights lawyers, who were expected to influence others’ human rights awareness and mobilize more people to the cause of human rights development in China.[page]
The program trained 223 lawyers from 28 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. After the training, they actively participated in local public interest lawsuits. With their human rights awareness having been raised, those lawyers mobilized more people to participate in human rights protection. Lawyer Wang Hao, who was trained in 2010, sued a hot-pot restaurant for using gutter oil and sued Tencent for rights infringement. Lawyer Liu Caifen, who was trained in 2011, offered pro bono legal consultation in Shandong Province. Lawyer Lu Xuan, who was trained also in 2011, registered a nongovernmental organization, Save Our Planet, in Shanghai. Lawyer Lei Zhifeng, who was trained in 2012, was involved in a lawsuit nominatedas one of the top 10 public interest lawsuits in 2012 and has actively participated in public interests lawsuits in Hunan Province.[page]
(3) Other training programs
The center has also organized programs such as an advanced seminar on international human rights law for Chinese college teachers, a teacher training course in international human rights law, a summer seminar on international humanitarian law and an annual meeting related to human rights educationin Chinese universities.[page]
2. Human Rights Research
The centerhas organized on several occasions international and domestic academic forums on human rights. It has offered legal advice on international human rights conventions to the Chinese legislative, executive and judicial branches, compiling and translating academic publications on human rights and publishing human rights documents.
(1) Symposiums
In 1996, the center cooperated with the University of Ottawa to organize the international symposium, Domestic ImplementationofInternationalHuman Rights Conventions.
In 1999, the center cooperated with the University of Hong Kong to organize the international symposium,RightsProtection and Judicial Fairness.
In 2004, the center cooperated with the United Nations Development Programme to organize the international symposium, Promoting Development on the Basis of Rights.
In 2009, the center cooperated with the International Labor Organization to organize the symposium, InternationalLabor Standards and Legal Mechanisms.
In 2011, the center cooperated with the International Committee of the Red Cross to organize Peking University-ICRC First Summer Symposium on Humanitarian Law.
In 2012, the center cooperated with Utrecht University of the Netherlands to organize the symposium, Rights of the Disabled.[page]
(2) Seminars
Each fall, the center offers master’s degree candidates a series of seminars on human rights. Over the last decade, this series has received supportfrom Chinese and foreign human rights experts, activists and government officials. Recognized human rights experts Prof. Li Buyun and Prof. Guo Daohui have given lectures to the seminars. Guest speakers have included Richard Desgagne, regional legal counsel to the International Committee of the Red Cross;Wyndham James, director of the Save the Children China Program;Justice Edwin Cameron of South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeals; Prof. Zhang Konglai, an AIDS expert with the Ministry of Health; Cui Xiaoli, research fellow at the State Council Development Research Center; Prof. Zhou Daoluan of the Supreme People’s Court of China; Dr. Yang Jia, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference; Dr. Cheng Kai, vice president of the executive board of the China Disabled Persons’ Federation; Prof. GuiXien, an AIDS expert in China; and Li Tao of the Beijing Cultural Communication Center for Facilitators.
Seminar topics have included:Six decades of RefugeeConventions:Achievements and Challenges, presented by an official of the United Nations High Commissioner’s Office on Refugees; The China Century and the World’s Constitutional Civilization, presented by Prof. Guo Daohui;The Special Implication and Significance of the Human Rights Concept, presented by Prof. Li Buyun; The Centrality of Legal Pluralism, presented by André Laliberté: The Main Contents of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and Its Implementation in China, presented by Prof. Liu Bohong.[page]
(3) Long-term cooperative research with the University of Ottawa Law School
Since 1995, the center has cooperated with the University of Ottawa Law School, organizing several symposiums and publishing Chinese and English proceedings. Research topics have included:Human Rights and Development: Chinese and CanadianPerspectives (1995-1996); and China’sImplementation of International Human Rights Conventions (2001-2003).
(4) Research results
Books published by the center include:Introduction to International Human Rights Law (electronic version), 2013; Teaching Reference Materials on Human Rights Law, Peking University Press, March 2012; Human Rights Law, Peking University Press, 2011; Observations on the Rights of HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B Virus Carriers (internal publication), 2009; Observations on the Rights of Chinese Women (internal publication), 2009; Observationson the Rights of Chinese Farmers (internal publication), 2009; Observations on the Rights of Chinese Minorities (internal publication), 2009; Promoting Development Based on Rights, Peking University Press, 2005; Empirical Survey of the Criminal Defense System, Peking University Press, 2005; Human Rights Issues from the Perspective of the Rule of Law, Peking University Press, 2003; Selected Documents of International Human Rights, Peking University Press, 2002; Judicial Fairness and Human Rights Protection, China Legal Press, 2001; andInternational Human Rights and Development: Chinese and Canadian Perspectives, Law Press, 1998.
(5) Advice to government
-- Legislative consultation on the Population and Family Planning Law, the Employment PromotionLaw and the Convention on Protectionof theRights of the Disabled.
-- Participation in international human rights dialogues organized by governments, including the Sino-Norwegian Dialogue, held in Bali, Indonesia; the Human Rights Education and Prohibition of Torture Dialogue, held in Austria;the Sino-European Human Rights Education and Abolishment of the Death Penalty Dialogue, held in Beijing; the Protection of the Rights of Minorities and ChildrenDialogue;and the Sino-U.S. Human Rights and Sovereignty Dialogue, held in Qingdao.
-- The Beijing Human Rights Forum organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies[page]
3. Cooperation with the United Nations
In 2006, the center, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme, organized two international symposiums on reviewing China reports on eliminating all forms of discrimination against women.
In 2011, the center, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme and the China International Center for Economic and Technical Exchange of the Ministry of Commerce, organized the Symposium on Fighting Discrimination Against HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B Virus Carriers and Patients.
4. Human Rights Activities
The center has always paid great attention to exchange and other friendly activities with domestic and overseas human rights institutions and embassies.
In 2007, the center cooperated with the Norwegian Embassy in China to organize an international symposium on women rights, Nora and Sisters. Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg attended the symposium and gave an address.
In 2006, the center cooperated with the University of Ottawa Law School to organize a large-scale symposium on fighting discrimination against HIV/AIDS and hepatitis B virus carriers and patients. Leading officials of the Ministry of Health, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the All China Federation of Trade Unions and the China Foundation for Hepatitis Prevention and Control, as well as officials from the World Health Organization China office and the United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS attended. Chinese actor Pu Cunxin addressed the symposium.[page]
III. Development Plan
1. Short-term Plan
(1) Continue to cooperate with international organizations and law schools.
(2) PublishHuman Rights Education and Research
(3) Hold a domestic symposium every year and an international symposium every three years.
(4) Expand human rights training.
(5) Continue to organize human rights symposiums.
(6) Perfect the human rights education website.
(7) Continue to perfect the master’s degree programin human rights and offer elective courses in human rights at Peking University.
2. Long-term Plan
The center plans to conduct academic research in interdisciplinary areas (such as the September 2014 Symposium on Cross-cultural Human Rights Dialogue)by applying for key interdisciplinary research projects and undertaking international exchange programs. It plans to improve education popularization, utilize its interdisciplinary strengths, integrate academic resources at Peking University with the rest of the world, and develop the center into a high-caliber human rights research and education institution.
The center will deepen cooperation with the University of Ottawa Law School in human rights research, continuously offer human rights training and expand such training to primary and middle school teachers, cooperate with human rights research institutes at other universities, and developa second master’s degree program in human rights at Peking University.
