— Summary of Academic Views on the “2022 Beijing Forum on Human Rights”

 

WANG Fuliang*

 

Abstract: On July 26, 2022, the 2022 Beijing Forum on Human Rights, co-organized by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development, was successfully held in Beijing, with the theme of “Working Together Towards Fairer, More Equitable, Reasonable and Inclusive Global Human Rights Governance”. About 200 senior officials, experts, and scholars from more than 70 countries and international organizations delivered fruitful results in five parallel sessions on Sustainable Development and Human Rights Protection, Democracy and Human Rights Protection, Public Health Security and Human Rights Protection, Multilateralism and Global Human Rights Governance, and Open and Inclusive Development and Human Rights Protection.

 

Keywords: sustainable development · democracy and human rights · public health security · multilateralism · democracy and human rights

 

The China Society for Human Rights Studies and the China Foundation for Human Rights Development jointly held the “2022 Beijing Forum on Human Rights” on July 26, 2022, to advocate the democratization of international relations, support countries in carrying out international human rights dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect for sovereignty, and strive to promote the development of global human rights and the healthy development of global human rights governance. The theme of the forum is “Working Together Toward Fairer, More Equitable, Reasonable and Inclusive Global Human Rights Governance”. Vice-Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies Padma Choling, and Vice-Chairman of the 11th CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the China Foundation for Human Rights Development Huang Mengfu, attended the opening ceremony of the forum and delivered speeches. Nearly 200 dignitaries, former dignitaries, senior officials, experts, and scholars from more than 70 countries, diplomatic envoys and high commissioners from certain countries working in China, and representatives of UN agencies participated in the forum both online and offline. They reached a broad consensus after five parallel sessions on “Sustainable Development and Human Rights Protection”, “Democracy and Human Rights Protection”, “Public Health Security and Human Rights Protection”, “Multilateralism and Global Human Rights Governance” and “Open and Inclusive Development and Human Rights Protection”.

 

 

It is a common pursuit of human society to ensure that everyone enjoys human rights. At present, the combined impact of major changes and a pandemic both unseen in a century has made things more complicated. Global economic recovery becomes an arduous process, sustainable development is facing serious setbacks, and the full enjoyment of human rights by all is seriously challenged. The aspirations of people of all countries for peace, development, cooperation, and progress grow stronger.

 

 

Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, the CPC Central Committee, with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, has insisted on regarding respecting and safeguarding human rights as an important task of state governance, and pursued a people-centered philosophy of human rights in the great development of China’s human rights, adhered to the principle that the rights to subsistence and development are the primary basic human rights and that people’s happiness is the greatest human right. China has embarked on a path of human rights development that conforms to the trend of the times and national conditions.

 

According to Padma Choling, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, China has actively developed its whole-process people’s democracy and strengthened the legal protection of human rights, and the human rights of the Chinese people have been guaranteed to an unprecedented degree in the country. China has accomplished a great historic feat by eradicating extreme poverty in the country and has completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects. The sense of access, happiness, and security of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people has been enhanced, secured, and more sustainable. Scientific, precise, and effective prevention and control of COVID-19 in accordance with the law has been carried out. No effort has been spared to save the life of every patient, from babies born for fewer than 30 hours to elderly over 100 years old, strongly demonstrating the human rights value of putting people and life first. China has promoted fuller and higher quality employment, built the world’s largest education system, social security system, and medical and health system, vigorously improved people’s quality of life, continuously improved people’s well-being, and promoted the all-round development of people. Former Romanian prime minister Viorica D?ncil? believed that facing the impact of COVID-19 on human health, the Chinese government has always put people’s lives, health, and safety in the first place, and the dynamic clearing COVID policy, adopted by the government and fully backed by science, has achieved the most practical and effective results in prevention and control at the lowest cost. China is also implementing health and medical security measures covering all people and has made great progress, all of which provide experience and lessons to all countries in the world.

 

 

It is a great dream in human society for everyone to fully enjoy human rights, and the continuous development of human rights is the common undertaking of all mankind and the common goal of all countries in the world. However, the model of human rights protection and development is not singular. There are no simple, universal standards for human rights governance in the world. Human rights governance in any country must first be based on a country’s own national conditions, Constitution, and laws, which is the basic way and main approach to achieving human rights protection.

 

Huang Mengfu, vice-chairman of the 11th CPPCC National Committee and Chairman of the China Foundation for Human Rights Development, said that there is no best, but only better for human rights protection. Although countries vary in history, culture, system, and level of development, they share the same pursuit of peace, development, equality, justice, democracy, freedom, and other common values of mankind. In global human rights governance, we should not argue about which social system and ideology are better, but should adhere to and promote the common values of all humankind, and prevent human rights from becoming a tool of political hegemony. Former Slovenian president Danilo Türk said that because of the cultural differences and the diversity of human development paths in the world, human rights cannot in reality become a universal platform for shared values. Today’s international politics must take into account the requirements of universal human rights, but the implementation and protection of human rights depend on the relevant context, and the socioeconomic, historical, and political environment on which human rights protection is based. Priorities vary from society to society, from country to country, from community to community, and from region to region. Akmal Kholmatovich Saidov, the first deputy speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan and Director of the National Human Rights Center of the Republic of Uzbekistan, said that there is no universal, one-size-fits-all development model and that we need to take into account specific factors such as the history and society of all countries. We cannot impose a “unified standard” on other countries. Instead, we should consider specific conditions such as national traditions, religious traditions, social and historical factors, and so on.

 

 

In September 2021, General Secretary Xi Jinping, concerned with the well-being of all mankind, put forward a global development initiative at a UN conference, with the goal of building a global community of development, to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and strive to achieve stronger, greener and more healthy global development. Internally, China has developed its whole-process people’s democracy, always adhered to the principle of putting people first, combined the universal principle of human rights with its own reality, vigorously promoted economic and social development, continuously strengthened the protection of human rights by law, and effectively enhanced the rights of all people. The sense of access, happiness, and security of more than 1.4 billion Chinese people has been enhanced and secured, and is more sustainable. Externally, China has advocated the democratization of international relations, supported countries in choosing their own paths of democratic development, and stayed committed to actively conducting international human rights dialogue and cooperation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, striving to promote the development of global human rights and contributing Chinese wisdom to global human rights governance.

 

 

The United Nations Declaration on the Right to Development clearly states that “the right to development is an inalienable human right” and stresses that all human rights and fundamental freedoms can be fully realized only in the course of pursuing development. But the COVID-19 pandemic of has dealt a serious blow to the world economy. As Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Publishing Group (CIPG), mentioned in his speech, the newly released Global Development Report shows that in 2020, the average index of global sustainable development goals declined for the first time, and two-thirds of the 169 targets were threatened. The global poverty-stricken population has increased by more than 100 million, the first increase in more than 20 years, and the poorest countries and regions will likely be 10 years behind their timetable to achieve the sustainable development goals. Jean-Guy Carrier, former secretary-general of the International Chamber of Commerce and Senior Researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of the Renmin University of China, said that COVID-19 has exposed the existing problems in the international community and seriously impacted the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals. According to the latest report of the United Nations Secretary-General on the progress of Sustainable Development Goals, it is estimated that more than 100 million people fell into extreme poverty last year, millions of people were chronically hungry, and the pandemic deprived people of their basic human right to food. Ong Tee Keat, former deputy speaker of the House of Representatives in the Parliament of Malaysia and president of Malaysia’s Center for New Inclusive Asia, held that in the past few years, the outbreak of COVID-19, together with the existing military conflicts and climate changes, has led to unprecedented chaos in global governance. Even today, the world is still moving forward against various impacts and we are facing various existential problems, such as extreme poverty, food insecurity, fragile public health systems, and climate change affecting agricultural production, all of which will lead to further deterioration of sustainable development.

 

 

Improving the quality and level of human rights protection is one of our important goals to promote sustainable development. To fully realize human rights protection, we need to enhance development and create a strong driving force to promote human rights protection. All countries in the world should put promoting development and safeguarding people’s livelihoods in a prominent position when making global macro-policies, vigorously drive global sustainable development, and enhance the sense of access and happiness of the people of all countries. Ms. Lubamba, Adviser to the Minister of Human Rights on Combating Sexual Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shared the challenges faced by the government and society, as well as their efforts to improve the human rights situation and create conditions for sustainable development. She said that human rights protection can promote sustainable development, human rights provide important conditions for sustainable development, and the realization of human rights itself is a goal of sustainable development and an important factor in achieving good governance. All people should obtain real human rights, which is the core and goal of social and sustainable development. Nareeluc Pairchaiyapoom, director of the International Human Rights Division, Rights and Liberties Protection Department, Ministry of Justice in Thailand, stated: “Thailand will regard the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct (RBC) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) as beacons guiding us toward sustainable development. We are determined to further promote business development and human rights in this context under these three guiding documents.”

 

 

China is the largest developing country in the world and has experienced a history of modern development. The Chinese people are well aware of the value of development and the value of the right to development. The all-factor development that is innovative, coordinated, green, open, and shared by all people advocated by China is a comprehensive and sustainable development, which contains rich human rights ideas. In recent years, China has adhered to the people-centered development philosophy, accomplished the historic feat of solving the absolute poverty problem, built a well-off society in an all-round way on schedule, and greatly promoted the cause of human rights in the world. Last year, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward a global development initiative, which was widely echoed by many countries and international organizations. Not long ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward 32 measures to support global development, providing China’s plan for accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Hussein Askary, vice-chairman of the Belt and Road Institute in Sweden (BRIX), held that China has won a great victory in the battle against poverty in 2021. In the past 30 years, 800 million Chinese people have been lifted out of poverty, which is absolutely remarkable in human history. General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the important Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, which has achieved great success. More than 140 countries have closed the development gap and promoted financing and infrastructure construction around the concept of economic development and cooperation. China has also leveraged its historically unparalleled industrial and engineering capabilities to help other countries in the world build infrastructure. China has also increased its cooperation with developing countries in education and skills upgrading projects. Wang Wen, executive dean of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies of the Renmin University of China, stated that China’s human rights progress is actually positively promoting the new development of human civilization in the 21st century. In the past 20 years, China’s human rights progress has been constantly fulfilling and practicing the human rights theory in the world. The progress is actually helping developing countries to achieve better human rights progress and providing a better reference for them.

 

 

Democracy is the common value of all mankind, and it is the common pursuit of human society to protect human life, value, and dignity and realize human rights for all. In September 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the general debate of the 70th UN General Assembly that peace, development, equality, justice, democracy, and freedom are common values of all mankind. China recognizes that democracy is the common value of all mankind, respects democracy as the result of historical development, respects democracy as the result of people’s pursuit of liberation, and respects the inheritance of world political civilization. All of these reflect China’s magnanimity and global vision.

 

 

The people are the ultimate beneficiaries of democracy and human rights. Ultimately, it is up to the people of a country to decide the development path of their democracy and whether their human rights situation is good or not. Mizanur Rahman, director of the Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs and former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of Bangladesh, said that Western countries believe that human rights are individual rights and they claim that collective rights can be sacrificed for individual rights, but they do not recognize that individual rights can also be abused, which causes great damage to collective rights. Many Western countries, regardless of their differences in national conditions, demand that all countries abide by the same norms of human rights, but human rights cannot be developed without considering a country’s social and economic conditions and cultural backgrounds. Besides, the West has attempted to impose its human rights concepts and views on other countries and peoples, thus reducing human rights to a political tool for interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, leading to the violation of their real human rights and triggering social and political unrest. Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, the director of the Thailand-China “Belt and Road” Research Center, said that democracy and human rights, and of course freedom, are the core values that Western countries always talk about. They always appear as guardians and launch ideological wars in the name of democracy, human rights, and freedom. If other countries and regions do not give in, they will immediately wield the stick of economic sanctions and political suppression. Yu Tao, vice-president of the CIPG, held that in the past 100 years, the Communist Party of China has led the Chinese people to develop the country’s whole-process people’s democracy, promote human rights and legal protection, and safeguard social equity and justice. It can be said that the Chinese people have enjoyed more extensive, fuller, and more comprehensive democratic rights, which is fundamental because we have closely integrated China’s democracy and human rights development with Chinese culture and China’s specific national conditions to ensure constant exploration and development. The practice has fully proved that only by taking into account national conditions and the needs of the people can a suitable path be found for the development of democracy and human rights.

 

 

The development of democracy and the protection of human rights are concrete, dynamic and historical processes, and the progress of democracy and human rights depends on a certain economic basis as well as social and cultural conditions. Development is the theme of human society and the key to promoting democracy and human rights. Only by achieving high-quality economic and social development can we create more favorable conditions and provide the most fundamental guarantee for people to enjoy more rights, and build a broad social consensus for promoting the development of democracy and human rights. Yu Yunquan, president of the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies, stated that China has always developed democracy and protected human rights based on national conditions, correctly understood the relationship between democracy and human rights development, regarded development as the priority, promoted national development with democracy, and promoted democracy and human rights on the basis of national development. Professor Li Yunlong at the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Governance) said that poverty alleviation is an action of major human rights protection implemented by the Chinese government between 2016 and 2020. While solving the poverty problem, China also effectively promotes democratic development and citizen participation, which is an important form of democracy. Rural residents and poor people have deeply participated in the whole process of poverty alleviation and promoted the development of participatory democracy. At the same time, the fight against poverty has promoted democratic supervision, and the right to know and the right to supervise of citizens have been effectively safeguarded in the process. Poverty alleviation is a successful practice of China’s grassroots democracy, which has effectively promoted the development of democracy in the country.

 

 

Since entering the new era, China has paid more attention to high-quality development and highlighted the authenticity and effectiveness of development. China has vigorously promoted whole-process people’s democracy, with clear systems, diverse practices, and good results. Juan de Dios Parra, secretary-general of the Latin American Association of Human Rights, held that China has made the most far-reaching material progress in human history in the past 40 years. China’s progress has not only had a significant impact on the real life of more than one-fifth of the world’s population, but also served as a model for an extremely effective path of development. Professor Augusto Soto at ESADE Business School in Spain said that during the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping announced that the country had achieved the goal of building a well-off society in an all-round way. As China’s economy becomes strong enough, common prosperity has become one of the top priorities of the national leadership and part of the national policy development plan. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s people-centered philosophy also explains the Chinese government’s efforts to save people’s lives at all costs during the pandemic. China’s experience is highly important for countries on all continents. That includes tackling climate change and promoting “carbon neutrality,” which is the next challenge to improving the living standards for all of us not just in China, as well as a new step in the progress of global human rights. Mustafa Hyder Sayed, executive director of the Pakistan-China Institute, said that the essence of human rights is to enable people to live a better life, which is a basic human right that all human beings should enjoy. Under the leadership of General Secretary Xi Jinping, China has vigorously promoted the whole-process people’s democracy, become the first large developing country to completely eliminate extreme poverty, and nurtured a vibrant middle class. These achievements fully demonstrate that it is not Western-style liberal democracy that secures the benefit of human rights. Instead, a system based on principles, equality and fairness, and justice, like the one adopted by China, benefits not only the people at home but also those from neighboring countries and beyond.

 

 

The right to the highest attainable standard of health is a fundamental human right indispensable to the exercise of other human rights. The right to health is universally recognized in international human rights instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The right to health is a fundamental right that is a prerequisite for the enjoyment of other human rights. Everyone has the right to the full enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health to live in dignity. The realization of the right to health requires a strong public health system.

 

 

People are born with the basic rights to life and health. In the face of such a major global public health crisis as COVID-19, the state has the responsibility and obligation to take all necessary and appropriate steps and measures to control, mitigate and eliminate the public health crisis to the maximum extent to protect people’s rights to life and health. Lu Zhi’an, vice-director of the Fudan University Human Rights Research Center, believed that the subject of responsibility in terms of public health is generally the government and public institutions. Now private institutions can also play a part. Therefore, public health involves a collective responsibility of society. Public health is about protecting the individual’s right to health, and the right to public health is also a basic human right. That is why the purpose of improving and developing the public health system is to promote and protect human rights. Martha Delgado Peralta, undersecretary for multilateral affairs and human rights at the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that the right to health, as a fundamental right, involves all aspects of human life and should be based on the principles of non-discrimination, accessibility, convenience, acceptability, quality, credibility, universality. Wang Chenguang, vice-chairman of the China Health Law Society and a professor at Tsinghua University, said that the concept of human rights is a collective concept, including many specific human rights. The right to health is the most basic human right. The rights to health and life are at the top of the rights system. The right to health, the right to life, and other human rights should be treated in a balanced manner in COVID-19 prevention and control. Human rights are the symbol of civilized society, and they are constantly evolving with human society. Professor Man Hongjie at the School of Law, Shandong University, said that from the perspective of human rights, the right to health is related to the theory of individual human rights and public health, and the view of the right to health as a human right has been generally accepted. The core of the right to health as an individual human right lies in the availability of medical services, but this right is somewhat limited when we deal with contemporary health problems, so scholars have put forward the concept of the public right to health. This concept implies that the obligation of the state extends from guaranteeing citizens equitable access to medical resources to applying public health measures to achieve the goals of health promotion and disease prevention. Within the framework of the public right to health, the state is certainly obliged to take various measures to actively respond to public health problems, including chronic diseases. Professor Liu Hongchun at the School of Law, Yunnan University, said that to promote the healthy development of public health, it is necessary to involve the government, enterprises, social organizations, and citizens through equal participation, consultation and dialogue, and win-win cooperation. We also need to respect and protect human rights as a link to promote the healthy development of public health to build a comprehensive and effective social governance subject system and promote the orderly and sustainable operation of the system.

 

 

COVID-19 poses an unprecedented challenge today and the world is still struggling to deal with it, even more than two years after its outbreak, because of its scale and devastating effects. Facing this crisis of the century, governments of all countries should have worked together to take positive measures to protect the people’s rights to life and health, but the United States and some other Western countries have taken anti-pandemic actions for their political purposes. They have chosen passive measures such as “lie flat and do nothing” and ignored the lives and safety of the broad masses of the people in order to win votes for the private interests of their party. These are typical irresponsible anti-pandemic measures involving political purposes. Chen Yunliang, vice-chairman of the China Health Law Society and dean of the School of Law, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, said that in many countries around the world, such as the United States, France, and the United Kingdom, we can see from the news that there is constant opposition to wearing masks, nucleic acid testing, lockdowns, and vaccination. They even demonize these public health measures, citing infringement on individual freedom and human rights and opposing the measures in a big way. It has to be said that an important reason for COVID-19 not being effectively or completely controlled is these opposition campaigns. The traditional view of human rights is based on individuals, emphasizing that the freedom of life and property of individuals is solemn and inviolable. Those people oppose public health policies on the grounds that these policies infringe on their individual human rights. In other words, the biased and limited view of individual human rights has affected global anti-pandemic actions. Zhang Yonghe, executive director of the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said that a government that cannot guarantee the rights to life and health of its citizens will lose people’s trust. The right to life is the basis and prerequisite of all rights. The existence of life gives meaning to other rights, so there must be a value ranking of rights, and the value of the right to life should be ranked first.

 

 

The report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China regards Healthy China as an important national strategy. On the occasion of the 20th National Congress in October 2022, China has promoted Healthy China in an all-around way. It gives priority to securing people’s health and thoroughly implements the Healthy China Action Plan. These are important measures for China to fulfill its international human rights obligations under international human rights standards and they demonstrate the fact that the Chinese government believes people’s rights to life and health are the primary human rights. The Communist Party of China and the Chinese government adhere to the basic concept of putting the people first, uniting and leading the people of all ethnic groups to achieve leapfrog development in the cause of health, and promote historic human rights achievements in China. At the same time, China upholds the spirit of internationalism and humanitarianism, and always pays attention to and supports other developing countries in improving people’s livelihood and seeking development.

 

Peter T. C. Chang, deputy director of the Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya, said that China’s concept of “building a Silk Road of Health” is crucial, and that facing the COVID-19 infringement on the human right to health, China resolutely gave away its IPRs, established production bases in Malaysia and other developing countries, and played a key role in the promotion of vaccines in Malaysia, helping ensure affordable access to health care and vaccinations for all. Liang Wannian, director of the Institute for Healthy China at Tsinghua University, held that China is making every effort to build a people-oriented integrated medical service system and further improve the universal health insurance system, drug supply security system, graded diagnosis and treatment system, comprehensive supervision system, and public health system. The development of the public health system is an important task and proposition for China’s health undertakings. China has been building a strong public health system, making sustained efforts in disease prevention and control, promoting health books and health education, improving maternal and child health, integrating medicine, treatment, and care for the elderly, as well as disease management. Jiang Yi, deputy director of the Department of Public Administration, School of Public Health, Chongqing Medical University, stated that upholding and promoting the common values of all mankind is the proposition and advocacy of China’s concept of human rights. General Secretary Xi Jinping has vigorously promoted the common values of all mankind, advocated for building a community with a shared future for mankind, and put forward the important judgment that the development of human rights is the common cause of all mankind. China’s concept of healthy development represents the pursuit and yearning of human beings for a better life, the full protection of the rights to peace, security, subsistence, development, and the environment, and has become China’s plan for global governance and international human rights protection. Gong Xianghe, executive director of the Institution for Human Rights of Southeast University, believed that the restriction of emergency actions by the government on social rights is necessary and legitimate. An important criterion for deciding whether social rights are restricted is to examine whether the state’s obligation to realize social rights has been actively fulfilled. Therefore, whether there is a restriction depends on whether the state has taken sufficient and reasonable measures to gradually realize the rights in question, and whether the state has considered to some extent the most urgent needs of the vast majority of vulnerable groups in society. The temporary restrictive measures taken by the Chinese government in the prevention and control of COVID-19 are not merely restrictions on social rights. They protect these rights and even expand their scope. Professor Zhou Yan at the School of Politics and Public Administration of Southwest University of Political Science and Law said that in the theory and practice of human rights, the rights to life and health have always been considered basic human rights. In China’s fight against COVID-19, General Secretary Xi Jinping has always stressed that people’s life, safety, and health should be put in the first place. China has always considered people’s rights to life and health as the focus and protecting the basic rights of every citizen as the starting point. Therefore, the basic human rights of our citizens have been respected and guaranteed during the pandemic.

 

 

Global human rights governance is of vital importance to global development. There is no best but only better way to protect human rights, and all countries have the right to choose their own path of human rights development. Different civilizations and countries should respect, accommodate, communicate with and learn from each other. China actively promotes the common values of all mankind, practices real multilateralism, actively participates in the building and reform of the global governance system, including human rights, and strives to build a community with a shared future for mankind.

 

 

Global human rights governance involves not only human rights, but also international peace, security, development, and other issues. We should advocate a global human rights concept of inclusive development and on this basis promote mutual respect, openness, and inclusiveness in human rights governance. We should adhere to the path of multilateral human rights cooperation and governance under the leadership of the United Nations, to effectively respond to the challenges and risks of modernization for all mankind.

 

Hector Constant Rosales, permanent representative of Venezuela to the United Nations Office at Geneva, mentioned that multilateralism in the field of human rights is one of the main pillars of the world order after World War II, and it is fully reflected in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. According to Providence Umurungi, head of the International Justice and Judicial Cooperation Department at the Ministry of Justice of Rwanda, multilateralism has proved to be the cornerstone of human well-being. For more than 70 years since the end of World War II, multilateralism has brought unprecedented peace and prosperity to mankind. Through multilateralism, the world has been able to shape a world order based on rules and we cannot afford to lose or abandon this order. Professor Cássius Guimaranes Chai at the Federal University of Maranh?o in Brazil stated that governments around the world can take different measures to promote global democracy and ensure the well-being of people. In view of the corresponding relations involved in international law and the protection of human rights, we should focus on democratizing international decision-making and promoting it based on transparency through a multilateral mechanism. Professor Li Erping at the School of Management and Economics of Kunming University of Science and Technology took the Lancang-Mekong countries as an example and said that each country has its own characteristics in terms of human rights concepts, human rights protection systems, and practices, which represents a typical multilateralism of human rights protection. Countries in the world choose their own human rights protection mechanisms, which are the most suitable for themselves based on their own cultures, economies, and social development stages. There is no uniform international human rights protection mechanism in the world, let alone a universal Western human rights protection mechanism.

 

 

Diversity is not only the inherent attribute and beauty of human civilization, but also the source of vitality and power for world development. Therefore, different civilizations should coexist in the spirit of “harmony in diversity” and ending the “end of history” is inevitable in the development of civilization. There is no universal “model” for human rights as an important manifestation of human civilization. We must uphold equality and respect and follow diversified development paths based on the national conditions and people’s needs of all countries.

 

Alena Douhan, UN special rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights, stated that unilateral coercive measures are used as a manipulative political tool, seriously threatening global solidarity, universal values, development, and human rights protection, and will lead to a series of problems such as rising mortality rate, declining life expectancy and quality of life, food shortage, and hunger in the world. Mao Junxiang, Executive Director and Professor of the Human Rights Center of Central South University, held that the forcible implementation of foreign systems and models in a country or region violates not only the self-determination of all countries in the development of human rights, but also the basic norms of international relations. The code of conduct for global human rights governance is an international system of norms. Global human rights governance is about rules, but rules alone are not enough. It requires effective respect, interpretation in good faith, and strict application of international norms by all parties. In recent years, certain countries have taken unilateral actions, undermined the international human rights order, and abused the international rule of law, which highlights the necessity and urgency of promoting global human rights governance on the basis of international law. Huang Jinrong, a researcher at the Institute of Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the United States is the biggest spoiler and destroyer of multilateralism and the global human rights governance system today. The country puts its domestic human rights standards above international ones and is accustomed to promoting its own limited concept of human rights abroad in the name of international human rights. All these reflect the deep-rooted thinking of American exceptionalism and hegemony. The US concept of human rights seriously endangers the authority of the international human rights protection system established by the United Nations, causes serious divisions in the international community on human rights issues, and seriously hinders the genuine realization of international human rights.

 

 

Faced with the distortion of multilateralism and the impact on global human rights governance by the United States and some other Western countries, China reiterates win-win cooperation, adheres to genuine multilateralism, and sets global human rights governance in the right place. On the one hand, in response to some disorders in global human rights governance, China has repeatedly spoken out on behalf of many countries in the United Nations Human Rights Council to resist and reverse the trend of undermining multilateralism and global governance. On the other hand, China has put forward the concepts of building a community with a shared future for human beings, common values of all mankind, and the global development initiative, showing the way forward for global human rights governance.

 

Maria Francesca, director of the Center on China Studies of the International Relations Institute of the National University of La Plata, Argentina, said that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s vision of a community with a shared future for mankind embodies the concept of a five-in-one global community involving politics, security, economy, culture, and ecology, all of which are elements of human rights protection in the United Nations. It is also fully in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In other words, the community with a shared future for mankind is a concept that transcends the relationship between countries and is based on our common obligations to unite different nations, civilizations, and religions in the world. Liu Xiaomei, a researcher at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that since 1840, the process of revolution, construction, and reform in China has been a process of unremitting efforts to strive for, respect, safeguard and develop human rights, and a process of advancing the Chinese people’s rights to subsistence and development, as well as the protection of various rights. A series of valuable concepts advocated by China in the field of human rights, as well as the great achievements and experience of China’s human rights practice and human rights undertaking, are of great significance for enriching the meaning of global human rights governance, opening up a new path for global human rights governance, and promoting the development of global human right governance in a more equitable and reasonable direction.

 

 

In today’s world, openness, inclusiveness, diversity, and mutual learning are the main themes. In the 21st century, although countries have different histories, cultures, and systems, they should live in harmony with each other, treat each other equally, respect and learn from each other, and reject all arrogance and prejudice. Only in this way can all countries develop together and share prosperity. Building a well-off society in an all-round way means that China stands at a new starting point for the development of human rights. This requires us to adjust the focus of human rights development strategy in time to align with the new historical conditions and the new needs of social members in the new era toward more open, inclusive, and sustainable human rights protection. That is how we achieve the general objective of free, comprehensive, and harmonious development for all more effectively.

 

 

A society should be inclusive and abundant, and civilizations should be splendid because of their diversity. The rich and colorful concepts and practices of human rights development in various countries should become the source of prosperity for the international human rights undertaking, rather than the source of confrontation and rivalry among all parties. All countries should have the right to independently choose the path of human rights development suited to their national conditions, and different countries, civilizations, and ethnic groups should communicate on an equal basis, learn from each other, complement each other and make common progress. Zhang Wanhong, executive director of the Institute of Human Rights of Wuhan University, held that the process of concluding the Business and Human Rights Treaty launched by the United Nations in 2014 fully reflects the governance thinking of multilateralism, and the text of the draft treaty also reflects the requirements of multilateralism. We should continue to uphold the concept of a community with a shared future for human beings, positively engage in the process of the treaty, work with other countries to advance a system of rules on business and human rights that embodies our shared values, and make economic globalization more open, inclusive, balanced, and beneficial to all. Former Slovenian president Danilo Türk said that in order to develop human rights, it is necessary to strengthen global cooperation and ease geopolitical and ideological tensions. Cooperation should take precedence over competition and confrontation, which is not only the requirement of politics and development but also the requirement of human rights. We should gradually establish a more reasonable, equitable, and fairer global human rights governance system and maintain the system with the United Nations as its core.

 

 

Some Western countries such as the United States call themselves the “ones chosen by God” and insist that they have the “highest human rights standards” and the “best human rights practices”. They are always playing the role of “human rights teachers,” and frequently use so-called annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices to criticize and make irresponsible remarks on the human rights situation of other countries. Namizata Sangaré, president of the National Human Rights Council of Cote d’Ivoire, stated that today’s world order has undergone tremendous changes because of war, inequality, poverty, terrorism, cyber crime, and climate change. China advocates cooperation rather than confrontation, openness rather than isolation, and common benefit rather than the zero-sum game. Such an idea is worth encouraging. Yun-Tso Lee, director of the Institute of International Studies of the Development University of Chile (Universidad del Desarrollo), believed that since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948, the Western countries have interpreted the document in their own ways according to their history and values. The United States and its European allies promote superiority of their own democratic political systems, define human rights as a form of capitalist economic development, and illegally interfere in the sovereignty of other countries as they please. Aymeric Monville, secretary of the national committee of the Pole of Communist Revival in France, said that the United States ignores its extremely mediocre human rights situation, but uses the protection of human rights as an excuse to criticize China’s religious beliefs and national development issues, which is a typical international human rights bullying. Kwon Gi-sik, president of the Korea-China City Friendship Association, stated that the endless shooting incidents, discrimination, and violence against people of color in the United States are a full reflection of the current poor human rights situation in the United States. We must resolutely stop the abuse of human rights for political purposes and oppose the “double standards” on the issue of human rights.

 

 

Global human rights governance can promise a bright future for all mankind. Global affairs need to be discussed by all and they must not be decided by a few countries. Multilateralism is an important foundation for maintaining the basic stability of the international order. It is of vital importance for maintaining world peace and promoting common development. We must firmly practice multilateralism, accommodate the core interests and major concerns of all countries, and listen to the views of all parties, especially the voices of developing countries in global human rights governance. Taurai Kandishaya, the National Coordinator of the Citizens Forum, a Zimbabwean NGO, held that we need to re-examine and revise the concept of human rights and democracy. The core of human rights should be universality, solidarity, progress, and objectivity. Human rights are universal rights that everyone should enjoy. We should take the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as the foundation of the human rights undertaking in the world and strengthen our understanding in the fields of environment, climate change, health, and individual rights. Professor Xiao Junyong at the Center for Sci & Tech and Human Rights Studies Center for Science and Technology and Human Rights Studies of Beijing Institute of Technology advocated the combination of deliberative democracy with the concept of a community with a shared future for human beings. The Human Rights Action Plan launched by China calls for expanding the scope and depth of consultation, improving the system of consultation between urban and rural communities, broadening the institutional channels for people to participate in grassroots governance, and rejecting suspicion, sanctions, and even armed conflicts between countries. We should advocate the global governance concept of dialogue and consultation, co-building and sharing, win-win cooperation, exchange and mutual learning, and green and low-carbon effort. In the information age when science and technology and human rights develop together, Professor Qing Na of Dianchi College of Yunnan University said that in order to establish an early risk warning mechanism for online violations, especially online violence, we should always adhere to the principle of cyberspace governance by law, considerations at multiple levels, and active engagement, and deal with practical problems according to different national conditions, public opinion and the structure of internet users.

 

(Translated by SU Yilong)

* WANG Fuliang ( 王福亮 ), Vice Dean, School of Law, Research Fellow, Center for Sci & Tech and Human Rights Studies, Beijing Institute of Technology.