By Chang Jian

On July 22, 2014, the second group of national human rights education and training bases was announced, increasing the number of national bases from the previous three to a total of eight, which reflects the advancement of human rights education and training in China and has far-reaching significance.

Establishment of such national bases is not only an implementation of the National Human Rights Action Plan, but also an innovation in China’s human rights education and training jointly boosted by the Ministry of Education and the State Council Information Office. The National Human Rights Action Plan (2009-2010) called for choosing a few higher-learning institutions that have led in human rights education to become national human rights education and training bases. The State Council Information Office, which chairs the interagency coordination meeting, consulted with the Ministry of Education to create such national bases, which aroused a strong reaction both at home and abroad and received broad coverage by both domestic and overseas media. During routine review of human rights conditions in China by the United Nations Human Rights Council, various countries cited several times the national human rights education and training bases and China’s National Human Rights Action Plan. The National Human Rights Action Plan (2012-2015), which was approved in 2012, called for adding at least five new national bases by 2015. To meet the requirement, the Ministry of Education and the State Council Information Office organized expert panels on March 17 to review all 10 institutional applicants, choosing Shandong University, Wuhan University, Renmin University of China, Fudan University and the Southwest University of Political Science and Law as the second group of national human rights education and training bases.

The establishment of the national human rights education and training bases is a national action that shows a clear stand and real actions by the Chinese government to respect and ensure human rights. It is also a basic effort toward promoting human rights education, training and knowledge popularization that offers experience to other countries and therefore draws extensive attention from the rest of the world.

Human rights education in primary and secondary schools and in universities and colleges, as well as human rights training among public servants and knowledge popularization among citizens are fundamental efforts that push forward the development of human rights. They enhance citizens’ awareness regarding respecting and safeguarding human rights, form attitudes and behaviors among public servants regarding respecting and ensuring human rights, and create a social culture that respects human rights. National human rights education and training bases are national human rights teams that have responsibility for human rights education and training. Their tasks include human rights research and education, covering programs for primary and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning. Their tasks are targeted not only at education but also at training for public servants. Their tasks also include human rights knowledge popularization and international exchange in the field. In order for national human rights education and training bases to fulfill their mission, it is necessary for them to set up effective work mechanisms.

First, all national human rights education and training bases should build a smooth channel of communication with the Ministry of Education and the State Council Information Office, as well as maintain close cooperation with the China Society for Human Rights Studies. On the one hand, the bases should try to gain support from the government for policies favorable to human rights education and training. On the other hand, the bases, as important think tanks for human rights, should offer policy advice to government agencies.

Second, the eight national bases should cooperate with each other while establishing a division of labor. On the one hand, each base should give play to its own strengths. On the other hand, they should build close connections to achieve cooperation and synergy.

Finally, all the national bases should become important platforms for human rights education and training in their own areas. The current national bases, scattered throughout the country, should build close contacts with regional human rights research centers in order to engage in exchange and cooperation, bring together regional resources in human rights education, and enhance the broad popularization of human rights knowledge.

Guided by the constitutional principle of “the state respects and ensures human rights” and stimulated by the National Human Rights Action Plan, China’s human rights education and training is facing unprecedented opportunities for development, particularly after the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, which decided to comprehensively deepen reform. The establishment of the new group of national bases will push forward human rights research, education, training and knowledge popularization. All the national bases should join hands, comply with historic trends, cherish opportunities for human rights development, and make greater contributions to the sustained, stable and comprehensive development of China’s human rights cause.

(This is a speech by Chang Jian, deputy director of the Human Rights Research Center at Nankai University, delivered at the ceremony announcing the second group of national human rights education and training bases.)