From Challenge to Consensus: A China-Europe Perspective on the Protection of Emerging Rights

— A Review of the 2024 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights

GUO Min  & MAO Junxiang

Abstract: At the 2024 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights, over 60 experts and scholars from 16 countries gathered to discuss “Safeguarding Emerging Rights: Perspectives from China and Europe.” The seminar highlighted that the global new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation, along with changes in production methods and social structures, as well as the rising awareness of human rights, have led to the emergence of many new rights. At the same time, these developments have also given traditional human rights new digital forms. The constant emergence of new rights concepts poses challenges to the traditional human rights theoretical framework and has sparked numerous debates within the international community regarding human rights theory and practice. On issues like economic equality and social rights, particularly emerging rights topics such as climate and human rights and digital human rights, countries should focus on balancing the relationship between individuals, society, and nature and seek a path for the sustainable existence and development of humanity. The core principle for protecting emerging rights should be “humanity first,” and true multilateralism should be embraced to prevent imbalances in the global governance of emerging rights. Open and fair cooperation should help build consensus and provide solutions for the global protection of emerging rights.

Keywords: emerging rights · human rights protection · digital human rights · climate and human rights