The first Sino-European forum on human rights was held here at the European Court of Human Rights, where dozens of scholars, judges discuss how to better protect the rights of children.

 

Lu Guangjin, secretary-general of China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), said at the one-day forum that this was the first forum on human rights between China and Europe, so it marked an important step forward for the two sides' in-depth exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights.

 

Noting that China had about 280 million children, Lu said China had done a lot in improving and protecting the rights and interests of children. China had make the development of children protection into the country's general development plan, and under-5 mortality rate and low weight rate in China had achieved the goal set in the Millennium Development Goals well before the 2015 deadline.

 

Lu also noted that the humanitarian crisis, which were mainly caused by terrorism, violated seriously the rights of the children, and there are still so many people not able to go to school and have enough health care.

 

Lu called on China and Europe to discuss the rights of children in a candid manner and on the basis of mutual-respect , so as to cope together with the challenges in pursuing the rights of children.

 

Guido Raimondi, president of the European Court of Human Rights, said that the exchanges of views of this kind can promote mutual understanding and promote better implementation of human rights in different countries, and the forum also stood as a landmark for the cooperation between the Court and Chinese institutions.

 

Participants also exchanged views on issues including cracking down child-trafficking and illegal use of child labor.

 

The forum was jointly held by the European Court of Human Rights, the University of Strasbourg, China Society for Human Rights Studies and the International Institute of Human Rights.