The 12th Sino-German Human Rights Symposium was held from July 13 to 14 in Beijing, with a theme of international law and human rights protection. Chinese and German participants at the symposium discussed international legal protection for sovereignty and civil rights, and coordination between international human rights conventions and national laws in respective countries, exchanged their views in a candid method and reached extensive consensus on related issues.

Huang Mengfu, former vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the China Human Rights Development Fund, and Cui Yuying, deputy director of the Information Office of the State Council, attended the opening ceremony.

Huang said the human rights dialogue mechanism between China and Germany helps build up a common, open and interactive platform of exchange for pushing forward human rights legal construction in a bid to promote the advancement of human rights in the two countries. He underlined that human rights protection requires appropriate attitudes and principles, which should integrate the universality of human rights and particularity of different countries, integrate international and domestic laws and integrate national sovereignty and human rights protection. China earnestly implements relevant norms of international law in human rights, considers the real conditions in China, transforms international human rights conventions into domestic laws in a strict and orderly legal procedure, and comprehensively, fully and effectively implements international human rights conventions in the country.

Cui discussed the latest development in China’s human rights cause. She said that the Chinese Dream has the same root and origin as China’s human rights, which has rich content and a concrete image. It also shows the aspiration of the Chinese people for a better future and the respect for various rights, which depicts a good picture of China’s human rights cause. She said adherence to the human rights principle should be adapted to the different histories, cultures and religious backgrounds of various countries. Under the precondition of the acknowledgement of the universality of human rights, various countries should be allowed to choose the most suitable path for developing human rights, which would be real respect for the rights of various peoples.

HertaDäubler-Gmelin, former minister of Justice in Germany and chair of the Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance Commission of the Bundestag, headed the German delegation. She said the attention to human rights is attention to the future. The incentives are the mishaps of the past. Inclusion of human rights in the constitutions of both Germany and China is an effort to build a peaceful international order. She said she hopes to build a long, stable and effective human rights dialogue mechanism between Germany and China, exploring human rights issues of extensive international concern.

In keynote speeches on learning from WWII, opposing wars and safeguarding human rights, many participants deeply analyzed lessons gained from human rights destruction in wartime, advocated peace and stability in the world and called on the international community to derive wisdom from the past, cherish peace and ensure human rights.

The China Human Rights Development Fund, the China Association for International Understanding and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung jointly organized the symposium, which was also part of the Sino-German legal exchange and cooperation agreement signed by the Chinese premier and German chancellor. Since 1999, the two sides have organized 10 such symposiums, which have had a positive impact on the international community.