— Summary of Academic Views at the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance

 

SUN Benxiong*

 

Abstract: On June 14-15, 2023, the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, jointly hosted by the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, was held in Beijing under the theme of “Equality, Cooperation and Development: The 30^th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance.” Participants conducted in-depth discussions and exchanges on topics such as “International Cooperation and Global Human Rights Governance,” “Global Development Initiative and the Realization of the Right to Development”, “Global Security Initiative and Human Rights Protection,” “UN Human Rights Mechanisms and Global Human Rights Governance,” and “Human Rights Protection in the Digital Age.” The event helped build international consensus and yielded fruitful achievements.

 

Keywords: global human rights governance · international cooperation · a community with a shared future for mankind · digital human rights

 

In keeping with the guiding principles stated in the Report to the 20^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that “China will follow a Chinese path of human rights development, actively participate in global human rights governance, and promote all-around development of human rights,” the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, jointly hosted by the State Council Information Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the China International Development Cooperation Agency, was held in Beijing on June 14 and 15, 2023. Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Commitee sent a congratulatory letter to the forum. Li Shulei, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Secretary of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, read General Secretary Xi Jinping’s congratulatory letter and delivered a keynote speech at the opening ceremony. Over 300 Chinese and foreign guests from nearly 100 countries and international organizations, including United Nations agencies, attended the forum. Under the theme of “Equality, Cooperation and Development: The 30^th Anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and Global Human Rights Governance,” the participants conducted discussions and exchanges on topics such as “International Cooperation and Global Human Rights Governance,” “Global Development Initiative and the Realization of the Right to Development,” “Global Security Initiative and Human Rights Protection,” “UN Human Rights Mechanisms and Global Human Rights Governance,” and “Human Rights Protection in the Digital Age.” The event helped build international consensus.

 

 

General Secretary Xi Jinping said in his congratulatory letter that today, mankind is once again at a pivotal crossroads, where global human rights governance is facing severe challenges. China stands for safeguarding human rights with security, respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries, calling on all countries to follow the path of peaceful development, and putting into action the Global Security Initiative. In this way, we can create a peaceful environment for realizing human rights. China advocates for human rights with development, putting into action the Global Development Initiative, making development more inclusive, beneficial to all and sustainable, and ensuring fair entitlement to human rights by people of all countries through their own modernization paths that have their own characteristics. China stands for advancing human rights with cooperation in the spirit of mutual respect and equality, putting into action the Global Civilization Initiative, and deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. The world can build consensus through dialogues and work together to promote human rights development. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed that by putting the people above all else, China has pursued a human rights development path that follows the trend of the times and suits its national conditions, strengthening human rights protection in the course of advancing Chinese modernization so as to ensure the full and free development of every individual. China is ready to work with the rest of the world to act on the principles enshrined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, push for greater fairness, justice, reason, and inclusiveness in global human rights governance, and promote the development of a human community with a shared future and create a better world for all.

 

The participating guests generally believe that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s three propositions based on his profound understanding of modernization as well as innovative practices demonstrate his broad global vision and profound historical perspective, sharing Chinese wisdom for tackling global development problems, addressing international security challenges, and promoting mutual learning among civilizations. Christopher Mutsvangwa, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of Zimbabwe’s ruling Zanu PF party, Secretary for Information and spokesperson, said that Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping is a visionary leader, and that they are encouraged by his congratulatory letter which points out the way forward for global human rights governance. Ermek Checheibaev, Deputy Director of the Institute for Strategic Research under the President of the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, said that the Global Security Initiative put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping is fully in line with the latest global trend and can act as the basis and conceptual framework for addressing global security problems and pursuing the goal of benefiting mankind. Nathali Carolina Berrios, an expert in human rights and international law at the Department of Multilateral Organizations of the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the Global Development Initiative put forward by General Secretary Xi Jinping provides a platform for policy dialogue and coordination in development and cooperation, and is another successful initiative to advance human rights. Fabio Marcelli, Former Director of the Institute for International Legal Studies (ISGI) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), said that the current global war clouds are posing an unprecedented threat to human rights, and it is necessary to refer to the initiative of the Chinese government and respect the multicultural nature of the world, jointly promote humanity’s common values, foster international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation, and value the inheritance and innovation of civilization to meet the needs of human rights around the world.

 

 

Since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the 18^th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, China has continuously summed up the experience in the evolution of human society and, in the great practice of building a socialist country, advanced its cause of human rights, participated in global human rights governance, and contributed Chinese solutions for advancing the global cause of human rights.

 

 

Human rights are concrete and realistic, based on history. National conditions vary from country to country, and there are differences in history, culture, social system and level of economic development. We must and can only explore a path of human rights development based on the actual conditions of the country and the needs of its people. Akmal Saidov, the First Deputy Speaker of the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of Uzbekistan and Director of the National Centre for Human Rights, said that China has been sparing no effort to promote and protect human rights and has made brilliant achievements. Ma Zhaoxu, Vice Foreign Minister of China, stressed that China has always actively participated in global human rights governance, fulfilled its international human rights obligations, and conducted extensive exchanges and cooperation with all parties in human rights.

 

Chinese and foreign guests spoke highly of the historic progress that China has made in human rights, saying that China unswervingly follows its own path of human rights development and has performed a miracle in the history of human rights protection. Aslan Abashidze, Dean of the Department of International Law at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations in Russia, said that China’s contribution helped achieve 70 percent of the global poverty reduction goals and met the poverty eradication target set out in the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development 10 years ahead of schedule. This is more than just a major achievement for China; it also represents a major victory for mankind. Veronika Sintha Saraswait, Convenor of the China Studies Research Unit Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said that “Putting people’s interests first is the essence of human rights. The Chinese government has always adhered to the people-oriented and people-centered philosophy of development, and continuously promoted the all-round development of working people, demonstrating that the Chinese government attaches importance to human rights.” E. Paul Chet Greene, the Foreign Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, said that China makes the people the true masters of their own fate through effective civil and political consultation. Robert Lawrence Kuhn, Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation in the United States, stressed that China implements a system of whole-process people’s democracy, and learns about public opinion through the feedback mechanism. Even without elections in the Western sense, it has extensive contacts with different voters, and expands citizens’ participation in political affairs in an orderly way to ensure that the people enjoy extensive rights and freedoms in accordance with the law.

 

 

Respect for and protection of human rights is a basic principle of modern civilization. The international community should foster cooperation, strengthen exchanges on the basis of mutual respect, and work together to advance progress in human rights. Christopher Mutsvangwa said that China has blazed a new trail in cooperation with Africa and is resolutely responding to the changing times and new challenges in global affairs. Luo Zhaohui, Director-general of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, said that China improves the economic and social development as well as people’s wellbeing in developing countries and promotes the common development of all countries through such means as a suite of projects, technical assistance, emergency humanitarian relief and human resources training.

 

Chinese and foreign guests agreed that China has always fulfilled its responsibility to participate in UN human rights affairs, plays an increasingly important role in the field of international human rights, and receives growing international recognition. Peter He, a former Swiss military attaché in China and a sinologist, said that China is a model for meeting the goals set by the United Nations and has now become one of the most reliable pillars of the United Nations. Eduardo Klinger Pevida, a member of the Academy of Sciences of the Dominican Republic, stressed that China leads by example by advocating that hundreds of millions of people worldwide should enjoy human rights, and has reiterated at the United Nations the urgency of eliminating racism and systemic discrimination. Namizata Sangaré, President of the National Human Rights Commission of Côte d’Ivoire, said that the Forum on Global Human Rights Governance hosted by China gives us an opportunity to ponder on the challenges facing world peace and respect for and protection of human rights, and is of practical significance.

 

 

Respect for and protection of human rights is the common cause of mankind, and all countries are needed to jointly create conditions for the realization of human rights. Crispin Kaheru, a member of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, said that in the context of the rapidly widening gap between the rich and the poor, the worsening hunger crisis and the rise of terrorism in the world, China has ensured the exercise of right to development and led the trend by putting forward methods and sharing experiences, inspiring many countries in the world. Jiang Jianguo, a member of the Standing Committee of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs and Executive Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that China has always kept to the mission of making new and greater contributions to mankind, and firmly believes that durable prosperity can be achieved, security be guaranteed, and human rights have a foundation only when people of all countries lead a good life.

 

Chinese and foreign guests believed that China has been promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, providing more public goods in the global field of human rights, advancing human rights in diversity, independence and openness, and bringing diversity to human rights. Patricia Narsu Ndanema, Chairperson of the Human Rights Commission in Sierra Leone, said that the right to development is a fundamental human right recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, but many countries in the world have been plagued by poverty, inequality and underdeveloped economy, and that China’s experience and initiatives shared in recent years have offered new solutions to these problems. Stephen Brawer, Director of the Belt & Road Institute in Sweden, said that the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by China is a path to peace, a path to the development of human rights in a true sense, and a path to eradicating global poverty. Zhang Weiwei, Director of the China Institute of Fudan University, said that the Chinese modernization has far outperformed the Western-led development model in eradicating poverty, primarily because China has always regarded the people as the cornerstone of the country. It can be expected that more and more developing countries will draw on China’s experience from the perspective of advancing human rights.

 

 

Without peace and stability, there can be no human rights. Only by safeguarding human rights with security, jointly resisting hegemonism and power politics, seeking solutions to the security deficit and global security dilemma, and following the path of peaceful common development can we create a peaceful environment for the realization of human rights.

 

 

Security is the most fundamental requirement of mankind and the basis for the realization of human rights. It also concerns world peace and stability as well as the future of humanity. James Mouangue Kobila, the Head of the Cameroon Human Rights Commission, said that the right to peace is an inalienable right of all persons, groups and peoples to life, dignity and peaceful coexistence. Wang Lifeng, Deputy Director of the Human Rights Research Center of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that peace and development are fundamental for each other, and that without peaceful development, there can be no right to subsistence and development. Li Changlin, a professor at the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science & Law, said that the right to security is both a manifestation of people’s happy life, and an important human right. Li Wanlin, Dean of the Law School of Kunming University of Science and Technology, said that stability and prosperity are closely related and complement each other, and that the stability of social order is the priority for meeting the goal of prosperity. Xu Jianying, a researcher at the Institute of Chinese Borderland Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, stressed that terrorism is a threat to the protection of human rights, and that a safe and stable social climate is the prerequisite for the protection of human rights, in light of Xinjiang’s counter-terrorism practice. He said that Xinjiang, which is the primary region for China to fight terrorism and extremism, has always explored effective methods to oppose “East Turkistan” terrorism and eradicate extremism under the legal framework in light of the reality over the years, which ensures safety, life and stability for the overwhelming majority of the people to the greatest extent, and lays the groundwork for protecting the human rights of people of all ethnic groups.

 

The participants believed that there can be no development without a peaceful environment, that security is closely linked to the protection of human rights, and that the proposition of safeguarding human rights through security has pointed out the way forward for and given an impetus to lasting peace and development in the world. Zhu Zhongbo, Director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies of China Institute of International Studies, said that the protection of human rights in the international field of security faces a host of challenges, and that upholding the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security will help the international community build consensus and pool forces to tackle security challenges. Xiao Junyong, Executive Director of the Center for Sci&Tech and Human Rights Studies of Beijing Institute of Technology, stressed that China and the United States have every reason to coexist amicably and carry out win-win cooperation. The global human rights governance mechanism has a bright future only when China and the United States respect each other and collaborate.

 

 

Win-win results are the common choice for global human rights governance. Hegemonism and power politics undermine regional peace and stability, and cause the greatest damage to the international cause of human rights. Global human rights governance should resist human rights hegemony and oppose hegemonic and bullying acts. Mazango Mboya de Saint-Cyr, the Commissioner for International Cooperation and Multilateral Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Central African Republic, said that the wellbeing of the people is the greatest human right, that we should spare no effort to make the people around the world play a leading role in advancing and benefit from the cause of human rights, rather than become the victims, and that the major countries must fulfill responsibility to ensure that human rights are no longer slogans that everyone mouths arbitrarily in their own interests at international conferences. Yang Qingwang, a professor at the Law School of Central South University, said that the theoretical basis for the universal realization of human rights is that human rights are regarded as the common ground of a community with a shared future for mankind and global good governance, and that the use of human rights as a weapon of hegemony will fundamentally undermine this consensus on values. He said that the universal realization of human rights is not only a key yardstick for gauging the development of human rights, but also an important requirement for opposing the exploitation of human rights by hegemonism.

 

Participants held the view that the trend of the times featuring peace, development and win-win cooperation is irresistible, and that we should guard against the practice of politicizing and instrumentalizing human rights issues by the West led by the United States. Rao Ningning, Director of the Non-traditional Security Assessment Center for the Cum-Himalayan Region at the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science & Law, believed that unilateral economic sanctions, whether comprehensive or targeted, imposed by the United States, cause significant human rights risks and will lead to humanitarian disasters. Hua Guoyu, an associate professor at the Law School of People’s Public Security University of China, said that some values that are not suited to the Asian region should not be overemphasized in the new era, and that we should resist the infiltration of power politics under the pretext of human rights and encourage the development of human rights in the Asian region through sincere consultation and cooperation. Wu Xi, a professor of human rights law at Southwest University of Political Science & Law, said that Asian countries have been the target of the U.S. human rights diplomatic offensive, and that in the new historical era, Asian countries need to build consensus on human rights, respond to the Western say in human rights, and guard against the United States’ attempt to “politicize human rights issues”. In view of the development process of the human rights cause in Xizang, Zhang Yun, Director of the Institute of History of the China Tibetology Research Center, stressed that the anti-China forces in the West led by the United States and the separatist elements of the Dalai group are the biggest obstacle to the development and progress of human rights in Xizang, and that smashing their criminal scheme is an important guarantee for advancing the cause of human rights in Xizang.

 

 

In today’s world, peace and development remain the underlying trends of our times, but the world is undergoing rapid and dramatic changes. It is necessary to establish a new security framework that focuses on cooperation and development and that is oriented towards building a better life for mankind. William Jones, Washington Bureau Chief of Executive Intelligence Review and a foreign senior researcher at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said that the world has currently entered a wholly different era, and that after China put the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative and, in a sense, the Global Civilization Initiative, which includes two other initiatives, on the agenda, a framework has been created to replace the global architecture that is causing conflicts. He said that the world can no longer be a slave to the U.S. policy that completely disregards the interests of the majority, and that necessary forces must be mobilized to put China’s security initiative atop the global agenda. Ong Tee Keat, President of the Belt and Road Initiative Caucus for Asia Pacific (BRICAP) in Malaysia, said that global human rights governance is in a disappointingly chaotic state. The escalating bellicose rhetoric, coupled with the intensifying war machine by Cold War mentality powers, will only lead the world to self-destruction. The timely launch of China’s Global Security Initiative offers a viable global security architecture that addresses conventional and unconventional security issues. Han Qingxiang, a national first-grade professor of philosophy and social sciences and a former member of the School Affairs Committee of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that the historical limitations of the Western view of human rights have been exposed, and that China embraces a view of human rights in the new era that is based on China’s reality and oriented to the world and the future, providing a new option for mankind to achieve new modernization.

 

Participants believed that it is necessary to pool the wisdom and power of the international community to remove obstacles to development in today’s world and promote global human rights governance. The pragmatic cooperation initiatives put forward by China inject strong positive energy into improving global human rights governance. Peng Jianjun, a professor at the School of Law of South-Central Minzu University, said that ensuring global security and building global human civilization provide an enabling environment for global development; the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind regards inclusiveness and mutual learning as the engine for advancing and protecting human rights; the Global Development Initiative emphasizes paying attention to the special difficulties of developing countries, addressing unbalanced development of countries, and enabling all countries to share opportunities for development. Liu Hongzhen, Vice President of Jilin University Human Rights Institute, said that the articulation and synergy between the Global Development Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative is a key measure to explore the implementation mechanism of the right to development. Kong Linlin, a senior reporter at China Media Group, said that the West is taking a step backwards and entering a dead end in terms of social development and human rights governance, while human rights in China are being protected as never before. China should confidently spread its view of human rights and practical experience, expand exchanges and cooperation in the field of human rights, and use its experience and wisdom to benefit more developing countries.

 

 

Development is an eternal theme of human society and the key to fixing all problems. The best form of development is people-oriented sustainable development, and should keep to the people’s principal position, meet the people’s yearning for a better life, continuously realize, safeguard, and advance the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people, and ensure that development is for the people, by the people and to the benefit of the people.

 

 

Chinese and foreign guests believed that the right to development is a key component of basic human rights and is a universal and indivisible right. Sudheendra Kulkarni, an Indian writer, said that the all-round development of all people on the Earth is not only a basic human need, but an inalienable human right as well. The international community should universally recognize that poverty and underdevelopment are the severest violations of human rights, and take measures to eradicate poverty and achieve equitable development worldwide. Yanaki Stoilov, professor of Theory and History of the State and the Legal Systems at the University of Sofia (St. Kliment Ohridski) in Bulgaria, said that the right to development is a complex right. It is an individual right and also a right that can be enjoyed by any country. It is necessary for all countries and international organizations to endeavor to ensure the right conditions for its realization. Alexandros Modiano, President of the Greek West-East Urban Governance Institute, from the perspective of the characteristics of the realization of the right to development, said that the right to the city aimed at ensuring that all urban residents enjoy the benefits of urban development without discrimination or exclusion, which can be regarded as an important component of the right to development.

 

Participants said that the right to subsistence and the right to development are the primary basic human rights, and only development can better safeguard the basic rights of the people and meet people’s needs for a better life. Dai Jun, an executive director of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that the right to development is a natural extension of the right to subsistence, and a conscious cognition and rational grasp of the modes of existence. It is essentially the respect for, continuation and extension of life. To maintain and realize the right to development is to maintain the survival of life and improve life quality in a conscious way from a long-term perspective. Man Hongjie, Director of the Public Health Governance Center of East China University of Political Science and Law, said that development is not a patent, but a right, and that the right to development is a passive human right, by which everyone’s opportunity to develop freely should be free from undue restrictions and deprivation. At the same time, it should be a positive right, and the state and society should provide help and assistance for the free development of all. Li Erping, a professor at Kunming University of Science and Technology, said from the perspective of China’s successful experience in advancing human rights through development that the various rights are interdependent, and the right to development is the most fundamental human right, and that the global human rights governance advocated by the Chinese government also focuses on economic, social and cultural rights while Western countries focus only on civil and political rights.

 

 

People’s happy life is the paramount human right. The people’s principal position can be truly reflected only when they enjoy human rights. Michela Arricale, Co-chair of the Italian Centre for Democracy and Promotion, said that the right to development can be fully realized only when all human rights written on paper are translated into reality for all people, and that the rights are only the prerogative of elites until they belong to everyone. From the perspective of the promotion of human rights by the Global Development Initiative, Fan Jinxue, a distinguished professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, said that the Global Development Initiative is an expression of the core human rights concept of putting people first. It embodies China’s global vision, global view, responsibility as a major power and the view of all under heaven by aligning its human rights development with the development of human rights in the world. It has important and profound practical significance and theoretical value for promoting the building of a global development community with a shared future and advancing human rights in the world. He Shiqing, a professor at the Law School of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, stressed that human existence is the historical starting point of mankind and also the logical starting point of law, and that human needs are the engine for the emergence of law. If a law is not based on and geared to the people, it will lose its fundamental value and be alienated. Wei Nanzhi, Director of the Social and Cultural Research Office of the Institute of American Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that in today’s world, humanity has reached an age of great progress, great transformation and profound changes, and that in order to address the development deficit, we should promote win-win and shared development, follow the “people-centered” development approach to enable the vast majority to enjoy the fruits of development, and achieve sustainable green development between human society and nature. Zhang Qi, Deputy Director of the International Liaison Office of the Shanghai Institute of American Studies, said that the northern perspective of Global North masks the structural problems in international migration and the protection of migrants’ human rights, and that the Global South must go beyond the perspective of migration and development featuring the free movement of migrants, pay attention to the structural inequality in development, and establish a new global migration governance and human rights protection mechanism with people and social justice.

 

 

Development is the key to better protecting human rights. We should consistently ensure and improve living standards, and protect and promote human rights through development. Magdalena Rybicka, Executive Director of the Center for Asian Studies at Vistula University in Poland, said that socioeconomic inequality is a significant challenge for the world today, and in this context, the vision of sustainable development offers opportunities for sustainable and equitable development of humanity at the global and local levels. Zheng Yongnian, a professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Dean of the Institute for International Affairs, Qianhai, said that rights are rooted in history and are the product of development, and that all countries and regions that develop according to the order of development, distribution, and democracy have made good progress in rights, and those that do not follow this order perform badly in terms of rights, and even face serious problems. Zhang Yunfei, a council member of the UN Association of China, said that development is the master key to addressing all problems, including human rights-related problems, and is the basis for enjoying other human rights. He stressed that only through development can we eliminate the root causes of conflict, guarantee the basic rights of the people, and meet the people’s ardent expectations for a better life. Yin Kuijie, Secretary of the Party Committee of the School of Political Science and Law of Northeast Normal University, said that without economic development, there would be no solid material foundation for human rights, and that all countries should consistently prioritize development, and provide a more solid and reliable foundation for advancing human rights based on their own national conditions and people’s requirements. Penpa Lhamo, a researcher at the National Institute of International Strategy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said from the perspective of historical achievements in protecting the rights and interests of Tibetan women that the right to development is an inalienable right, and that for more than 70 years since the peaceful liberation of Xizang, the Constitution, laws and local regulations have greatly empowered Tibetan women and provided them with full development opportunities and conditions, protecting Tibetan women’s right to development across the board.

 

Participants believed that the practice of human rights is diverse, and the global human rights cause requires the concerted efforts of all countries in the world. Strengthening exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations with different human rights will help to advance the cause of human rights in all countries. Li Yunlong, a professor at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance), said that the Western countries’ path of promoting Western freedom and democracy to realize human rights has failed to significantly improve the human rights status in most developing countries, and that the approach to promoting human rights through development adopted by China and many other developing countries has become increasingly attractive, opening up bright prospects for global human rights development. Chen Youwu, Dean of the School of Law of Guangdong University of Technology, said that global development is the basis and driving force for global human rights governance, and has played a vitally important role in global human rights governance. Global human rights governance is the requirement and guarantee for promoting global development. There can be no global development without global human rights governance.

 

 

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action is a crucially important human rights document adopted by the international community after the Cold War. This document combines the universal and special nature of human rights, and upholds the basic principles of international cooperation, pointing out the way forward for global human rights governance.

 

 

Currently, global governance is confronting challenges. Human rights, as the common goal of all countries and the common cause of mankind, point out the way forward for global human rights governance. Veronica Birga, Chief of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that crises go beyond national borders in today’s increasingly interconnected world, and the human rights ecosystem can promote country-to-country cooperation and coordination, increase a sense of collective responsibility, and play a positive role in improving global governance. Lu Guangjin, Vice President of the China Society for Human Rights Studies and a professor at Jilin University, said that there are still problems we cannot afford to overlook in the development of human rights in the world, and solidarity and cooperation are fundamental means for advancing human rights in the world. Liu Xuebin, an associate professor at Jilin University, also said that the international community is currently facing eco-environmental problems such as environmental pollution, ecological crisis induced by climate change, and the near extinction of many animals and plants. Global cooperation is needed to deal with these problems, which pose challenges to the protection of the right to development. From the perspective of peace and stability in the Middle East, Ha Guanqun, Director of the Institute of Human Rights Publicity at the Human Rights Research Center of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, said that in order to realize the right to development in the Middle East, it is necessary for the governments of Middle East countries to develop development strategies and policies in line with their national conditions and also for the international community to make a concerted effort. Buthayna Sha’ban, Special Adviser to the President of Syria, said that some Western countries have taken highly radical and dangerous measures to try to promote hegemonism around the world, which has undermined the protection and promotion of human rights worldwide. It was hoped that all countries around the world could work together to promote and protect our fragile rights. Woo Su-keun, President of the Korea-China Global Association, also said that some countries even today still put economic, military and political pressure on other countries under the pretense of human rights. To strengthen global human rights governance, all countries in the world shall pool wisdom and strength and carry out open

cooperation.

 

 

All countries have the right to independently choose their path of human rights development, and different civilizations and countries should respect each other, be mutually inclusive, carry out exchanges and learn from each other. Haider Al-Tamimi, Head of the Institute of Historical Research at the Bayt Al-Hikma, a think tank in Iraq, said that the human rights status in a country must be gauged from the perspective of its people, culture, customs, traditions and social nature, and there is no one-size-fits all definition of human rights in the world. Li Junru, Former Vice President of the Party School of the CPC Central Committee, said that democracy, freedom and human rights are the common aspirations of mankind. The United States has American-style democracy while China has Chinese-style democracy, and both types of democracy are in line with their respective national conditions. He stressed that a truly democratic global governance system should respect the democracy practice adopted by countries around the world to protect the civil and political rights of their peoples, and allow peoples of other countries to explore forms of democracy realization that suit their national conditions. Mao Junxiang, Executive Director of the Human Rights Center of Central South University, said that human rights civilization in various regions is the integration of the universal and special nature of human rights. There is no distinction as to the quality of human rights civilizations, except differences in characteristics and regions, and common development is the fundamental way to improve global human rights governance. Qian Jinyu, Executive Deputy Director of the Human Rights Research Center of Northwest University of Political Science and Law, said that the monism of Western human rights civilization has declared the “end of history” and negated the infinite development of human rights civilization. As mankind enters the 21st century, the evolution of human civilization shows that civilizations are diverse in a certain sense. He pointed out that the expression and practice of pluralism of civilization in the field of human rights is the theory of diverse human rights civilization based on the diversity of human rights civilizations.

 

 

Chinese and foreign guests held the view that the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind responds to the trend of the times and the expectations of people of all countries, and is increasingly becoming a new paradigm for global human rights governance. Chang Jian, Director of the Human Rights Research Center of Nankai University, said that in response to the new challenges facing global human rights development and the problems in global human rights governance, China has put forward the vision and proposition of “building a community with a shared future for mankind.” This governance paradigm of solidarity and cooperation can better cope with the challenges facing global human rights governance and truly advance the global cause of human rights. Ma Zhongfa, a professor at Fudan University Law School, said that a community with a shared future for mankind is a stage that human society must go through in the transition from a capitalist “false community” to a community of free individuals. Under the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind, the linkage between human rights and sustainable development will help create a “community of free individuals” that enables the free and all-round development of all human beings. Chen Xiangyang, a researcher at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, stressed that the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind prevents conflict and confrontation through peaceful development, replaces absolute security with common security, replaces the zero-sum game with mutual benefit, prevents clash of civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning, and protects the planet Earth with green development. It follows the trend of the world and the aspirations of the people, and is clearly superior to the self-centered power politics mindset and hegemonic discourse adopted by the United States-led West.

 

Participants noted that the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind promotes countries with different social systems, ideologies, histories and cultures at different levels of development to form the greatest common ground for jointly building a better world, offering China’s solution for building a better world. Zhang Aining, Director of the Human Rights Research Center of China Foreign Affairs University, said that according to the vision of a community with a shared future for mankind, which is different from the narrow concept of human rights, human society in the form of nations has become a big family of humanity through consultation, joint contribution and co-governance, and ultimately realizes “close connection of all people under the world and integration of all groups, each with its own brilliance” in the “harmonious yet diverse” international human rights governance system. Zheng Liang, a professor at the School of Journalism and Communication of Jinan University, said that the Chinese concept of human rights governance represented by the “community with a shared future for mankind” emphasizes the cooperation and dialogue among governance bodies in the context of globalization and the risk society, and respects the human rights discourse put forward by countries in light of their realities. It is highly consistent with the current reality of global human rights governance, and is a manifestation of China’s contribution of wisdom and strength to international rule of law and global governance. Tang Yong, Deputy Dean of the Law School of Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, said that the view of human rights under a community with a shared future for mankind covers individuals, countries and a community with a shared future for mankind, and regards the right to subsistence and development as the primary human rights. It is a view of the human rights of developing countries. It can explain and remove the three dilemmas facing the global cause of human rights, and has the significance of providing the world with China’s solution.

 

 

The United Nations human rights mechanism, which primarily comprises the Human Rights Council, the convention committees and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, has made key contributions through the preparation of international instruments on human rights, the development of modern human rights, the support for the realization of the right of the people to self-determination, and the fight against racial discrimination and segregation.¹ In the new historical context, the UN human rights mechanism should be devoted to striving for fairer, more just, reasonable and inclusive global human rights governance.

 

 

The participants concurred that the United Nations provides an important platform for all countries to jointly promote and protect human rights by establishing and improving Charter mechanisms and treaty mechanisms, promoting the preparation and implementation of human rights standards, and urging all countries to fulfill their treaty obligations. Mohammed Alnajaidi, Director of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, said that global human rights governance is an important part of the efforts to protect and safeguard the basic human rights of people around the world. In a world of diversity, inequality and conflicts, it is becoming increasingly important to establish a universal human rights framework that goes beyond national borders, cultures and political systems. Miao Lyu, Secretary-General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), said that the global governance mechanism represented by the United Nations is duty-bound to ensure the governance and development of global human rights. Tu Yunxin, a young researcher at the Human Rights Research Center of Fudan University, said that global human rights governance is a major issue for the international system with the United Nations at its core. The international human rights system has profoundly affected the current global human rights governance system at the regional and global levels. Xu Shuang, an associate professor at the Law School of Minzu University of China, said that human rights are both global and local, and the United Nations “Charter of Human Rights” offers a list of rights that are generally recognized, and at the same time gives all countries and regions the freedom to understand and realize human rights. Luo Yanhua, a professor at the School of International Studies of Peking University, said that the establishment of the UN Human Rights Council is significant progress made in mainstreaming human rights in the UN system. The reformed global human rights governance system is back to the right way forward, with sovereign equality as the basic principle and “fostering international cooperation” as the basic path. It is in line with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter.

 

 

The UN Charter is the result of mankind’s reflection on the two world wars, setting forth the purposes and principles of the United Nations as well as the basic principles and methods for handling international relations and maintaining world peace and security. Global human rights governance should comply with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, respect the right of all countries to independently choose their own development path of human rights, and jointly promote the progress of human rights civilization. Liu Xinsheng, an expert in human rights at the UN Advisory Committee on Human Rights, said that in order to realize human rights governance, the international community should promote equality and mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of international human rights, abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, carry out dialogue and exchanges on human rights issues on the basis of equality and mutual respect, implement technical assistance and capacity building through equal cooperation, boost mutual understanding and trust, build consensus, narrow differences, and work together to tackle the common challenges facing mankind. Zhang Yonghe, Executive Director of the Human Rights Institute of Southwest University of Political Science and Law, said that every country is an equal member of the international community and an equal participant in global governance, and human rights must be protected and promoted in accordance with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international human rights law. Xiong Wanpeng, a council member of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that in order to promote the healthy development of the global human rights cause, it is necessary to implement the purposes and principles of the UN Charter about the promotion and protection of human rights, participate in the activities of the UN Human Rights Council, and improve the international human rights protection mechanism. Zhu Liyu, a professor at the Law School of Renmin University of China, said that global human rights governance is a mechanism with the United Nations human rights agency at the core, and developing countries, including China, can only fundamentally break away from the discourse system of double standards adopted by the United States-led West while keeping to their own path and model of development, based on the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international norms of human rights. On the basis of criticizing the hegemonic act of the United States-led West in human rights, Jean-Pierre Page, the editor-in-chief of the French magazine Pensée Libre, said that the UN human rights mechanism should be centered on the United Nations Human Rights Council, not the United States, and that the human rights discussed today are not American human rights, but human rights for all people around the world.

 

 

The United Nations manages and coordinates global affairs and is at the heart of global governance. UN cooperation in the field of human rights should pay attention to the interests of all mankind, keep to dialogue and consultation, joint contribution, sharing, win-win cooperation, exchanges and mutual learning, seek the greatest common ground for human rights governance for mankind, and advance the global cause of human rights across the board. Liu Qing, Vice President of the China Institute of International Studies, said that the Human Rights Council should uphold the principle of the leading role of UN member states, become a stage for constructive dialogue and cooperation but not for political manipulation and bloc confrontation, respect the path of human rights development independently chosen by each country in light of their national conditions, foster international dialogue on human rights, and promote and protect human rights across the board. Robert Walker, a professor at the School of Sociology of Beijing Normal University and Emeritus Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, said that poverty is caused by the inequitable primary and secondary distribution of resources. The problem of poverty can only be solved by addressing unbalanced and inadequate development. This requires reforming global institutions, including the eventual democratic operation of the United Nations, to ensure that international organizations responsible for development and global trade no longer serve primarily the interests of developed countries. Jones Cooper, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, said that because of the harsh conditions in Latin America and the Caribbean and the violation of the human rights against the most vulnerable, it is necessary for us to collaborate and reach a regional agreement that will promote countries to build regional and inter-agency agendas in order to guarantee a minimum level of protection for all compatriots who migrate abroad for various reasons in search of a better quality of life.

 

 

While creating more possibilities and opportunities for the promotion and development of human rights, digital technology also constitutes challenges to the equal enjoyment of human rights by all. In order to fully advance the cause of human rights, we should not overlook the impact of digital technology on the cause of human rights. Instead, we should focus on the role of developing digital technology in promoting the protection of human rights, and leverage science and technology to ensure scientific and effective protection of human rights.

 

 

The participants believe that digital technology significantly promotes the protection of human rights, and offers greater convenience and more possibilities for improving people’s wellbeing and advancing the all-round development of human beings. Liu Huawen, Executive Director of the Human Rights Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that digital technology not only provides an effective means for monitoring, reporting and curbing human rights violations in a timely manner and for rehabilitating criminals and offenders, but also facilitates more efficient and accurate transnational human rights monitoring as well as human rights exchanges and cooperation among countries, thereby contributing to global human rights governance. Gong Xianghe, Executive Director of the Southeast University Institute for Human Rights, said that the form of existence, ways of life and production activities by people in the digital era have given birth to digital human rights. Instead of being completely cut off from traditional human rights, digital human rights create new content of human rights while upgrading traditional human rights. Based on China’s achievements in using science and technology for the judicial guarantee of human rights, Li Xiao, a first-level inspector of the Supreme People’s Court, said that the Internet has created a rare opportunity for the progress of human civilization, and Chinese courts of justice consistently employ modern scientific and technological means to empower the judiciary, uphold fairness, facilitate litigation, and promote openness, and strive to embrace a new judicial model in the digital era to ensure judicial fairness, efficiency and authority and make judicial services readily available. This has effectively strengthened the judicial guarantee of human rights. Zhang Guobin, Executive Director of the China Society for Human Rights Studies, said that digitalization has become indispensable for people’s lives, production and national construction, and the universal application of the Internet, big data and artificial intelligence technologies affects social and economic development and changes the ways of living. The digital age brings a full range of benefits to people in terms of work, education, living and development.

 

 

The participants also believe that the development of digital technology may reverse the protection of human rights and challenge the enjoyment of human rights. Data security and digital technology cannot guarantee total accuracy. Digital divide, telecom fraud, etc. emerge as new issues for the protection of human rights in the digital age. Dai Jitao, Executive Director of the Institute of Human Rights at Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, said that countries in the digital age are more prone to be the violators of human rights, and the forms and patterns of human rights violations may be more covert and diverse. Shi Anbin, Director of the Tsinghua-Epstein Center for Global Media and Communication (CGMC), said that as internet technology becomes part of the social life of human beings, the “right to privacy” of individuals becomes a basic right that is fundamentally challenged, and the right to equality becomes exceptionally fragile because of the rise of digital technology. While arguing that “digital human rights” do not constitute the fourth generation of human rights, Liu Zhiqiang, a professor at the Institute of Human Rights of Guangzhou University, said that “digital human rights” is a widespread demonstration of human rights, which will cause great confusion regarding the subject and scope of human rights as well as the meaning of the concept of human rights.

 

 

The integrated development of networking, digitalization, and smart technologies affects the realization of human rights. It is necessary to actively respond to the grim challenges facing the protection of human rights and promote the all-round development of human rights in the digital era. Ma Changshan, a professor at East China University of Political Science and Law, said that “digital human rights” is a global issue that cannot be solved by any one country alone. We should set the value idea of “a community with a shared future for digital civilization,” actively support the United Nations in formulating a “global digital compact” and jointly address the issue of “digital human rights.” Wang Xigen, Dean of the Law School of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and President of the Institute of Human Rights Law, said that it is necessary to generate the right to digital development through all-round integration between digital technology and the right to development in order to address the imbalanced development caused by the digital divide, the development deficit aggravated by digital poverty, the development conflict intensified by digital discrimination, the disorderly development caused by digital barriers, and obstructed development caused by the digital disorder. Dai Ruijun, a researcher at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the “view of technological neutrality” is no longer taken for granted in the digital age, and that in order to tap the unlimited potential of advanced technology to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, we should apply digital governance to the important strategy of mainstreaming of human rights and gender, and endeavor to usher in an inclusive and non-discriminatory digital era. Wang Jian, Dean of the Department of Law of the School of Political Science and Law of Northeast Normal University, said that the content of human rights in the digital age is expanding, and we should integrate technology and law for administrative law enforcement, incorporate it into the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, protect human rights in procedures of administrative law enforcement, create a digital ecological civilization with good law and governance, promote the building of a digital law-based government, and build digital rule of law. Zhang Xinping, a researcher at the Central South University Human Rights Center, said that legal norms and digital technology are naturally complementary when it comes to the law-based protection of digital human rights. We can transform and tame digital technology and balance and unify the realization of public interests and the protection of private rights, as well as safety and order with innovative development through legal means, which helps ensure lawbased protection for the modernization of China’s digital human rights cause. Tang Yingxia, Deputy Director of the Human Rights Research Center of Nankai University, said that the traditional approach to data governance does not take into account the impact of enterprises on stakeholders, and it is necessary to introduce a human rights perspective into digital supply chain management, and effectively prevent and respond to human rights risks in the digital supply chain by implementing the human rights due diligence methods.

 

 

(Translated by NI Weisi)