Diversity of Civilization and Development of the World Human Rights Cause——Summary of “2019 South-South Human Rights Forum”

From December 10 to 11,2019,the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs jointly held the 2019 South-South Human Rights Forum in Beijing.Participants from more than 80 countries,regions and international organizations discussed and exchanged views on such topics as "the practices and experiences of human rights protection in the countries of the Global South","path of human rights development against the background of the diversity of civilizations","building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and global human rights governance".Participants in the forum actively voiced their national human rights views,exchanged human rights development experiences,explored human rights development paths in developing countries,and reached broad consensus.In an international environment featuring the rise of unilateralism and hegemonism,the South-South Human Rights Forum issued a strong message of solidarity and cooperation among developing countries on human rights issues,and also conveyed to the world the firm determination of developing countries to jointly promote the healthy development of the world's human rights cause.     

Strengthening South-South Judicial Cooperation to Promote the Development of Global Human Rights

Judicial cooperation is one of the significant components of South-South cooperation. Furthermore, in the process of South-South cooperation, the establishment of a fair, rational, and transparent new system of international justice must be jointly promoted. The Chinese judicial authorities have made new progress in deepening judicial reforms, enhancing judicial transparency, improving human rights judicial protection mechanisms and strengthening the construction of smart courts, and have accumulated rich judicial experience. Under the background that many changes and great upheavals are taking place in the international world, countries of the Global South should strengthen their judicial exchanges and cooperation, especially in the field of the judicial protection of human rights. SouthSouth cooperation should be enhanced and they should learn from each other, so they can jointly make contributions to the development of the legal world.     

Opportunities and Challenges for the Human Rights Development of Southern Countries in the Belt and Road Initiative

Human rights are of great concern to the international community, as they focus on the survival of all people and people's right to development. The right to life is a prerequisite for the right to development. For countries of the Global South, the right to life is fundamental to development. Thus the Belt and Road Initiative put forward by the Chinese government in 2013 presents opportunities for the human rights development of Global South countries. However, several factors such as the large poverty-stricken populations, economic backwardness, and the cultural difference present challenges to the promotion of human rights ideology and culture. South-South Countries should strive to address this challenge by eliminating poverty, and strengthening communication and cooperation with developed countries promoting inter-cultural exchanges, and finally promoting South-South human rights development cooperation.     

“The 10th Anniversary of the Blue Book on Human Rights and the Concepts,Discourses and Theories of Human Rights in China” Symposium Summary

The China Society of Human Rights Studies and the Human Rights Research Center at Nankai University jointly hosted a seminar on "The 10~(th) Anniversary of the Blue Book on Human Rights and the Chinese Human Rights Concept,Discourse and Theory" on December 19~(th),2020.Experts at the meeting expressed their views and discussed the organization,style,and system of the Blue Book on Human Rights;the concept,expression,and dissemination of the Chinese human rights discourse;the paradigm,principle,and structure of the Chinese human rights theory;and the objectives,paths,and development of the Chinese human rights enterprise.     

Overview of the Symposium on Human Rights Cause in China in the New Era

The symposium on the "Progress of Human Rights Development in the New Era in China" was jointly hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies and the Publicity Department of the Guangdong Provincial Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and organized by Guangzhou University Institute for Human Rights in Guangzhou on 19 December 2017. Scholars and experts from more than 20 universities and institutes, as well as delegates from over 10 ministries and commissions under the State Council participated in the symposium. The symposium explored four themes: "Human Rights Connotations in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era", "The Progress of Human Rights Development in China after the 18 th National Congress of the CPC", "The Prospective of Human Rights Development in the New Era in China", as well as "Building a Community with a Shared Future for Human Beings and the Progress of the Human Rights Development of the World". This Paper is a record of the important opinions articulated during the Symposium.     

New Understanding of the Socialist Human Rights Concept with Chinese Characteristics and its Practice: An Overview of the International Conference on the International Cooperation in Human Rights and the Chinese Perspective

The International Conference on the International Cooperation in Human Rights and the Chinese Perspective organized by the Institute of International Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, took place in Beijing, China from October 22-23, 2016. Both Chinese and foreign human rights experts convened to exchange their opinions on the new development of the human rights theories and practices, especially from the Chinese perspective. The socialist concept on human rights with Chinese characteristics was discussed intensively during the meeting and new terms such as "the Human Rights Model of the South" and "the Human Rights Perspective of the South" were raised. The participants interpreted and summed up the experiences and features of the Chinese socialist human rights cause. The drafting and implementation of the Chinese National Human Rights Action Plans and the progress in the promotion of rule of law in China were mentioned. They highly valued the constructive roles played by China in the international human rights cooperation field, especially under the United Nations(UN) human rights regime and for the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.     

A Commentary on Lo Chung-shu's Human Rights Philosophy

In 1947, based on a questionnaire survey of luminaries from all over the world, the united Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural organization(uNESCo) put together an expert commission to study the philosophical foundations of human rights.Lo Chung-shu(Luo Zhongshu), a Chinese scholar who was part of the commission, contributed an article titled "Human Rights in the Chinese Tradition" to the program.He introduced traditional Chinese human rights concepts and proposed that every person in the world enjoys the rights to subsistence(the right to live), self-expression and happiness(the right to enjoyment).Lo's exposition of the basic principles underlying human rights and the specific human rights he proposed were eventually embraced by the universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international treatises on human rights, a testament to his foresight and vision .     

On the Making and Significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was the first common commitment of the international community to human rights. It demonstrated the belief and determination of humanity to maintain peace, democracy and human dignity. The process of formulating the Declaration was difficult. But in the spirit of cooperation,countries finally succeeded in reaching a consensus on human rights.The making of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights had great value and significance for promoting world peace and development,and it has had a far-reaching impact on the rule of law in international human rights and the development of the human rights legal systems in various countries. A re-examination and analysis of the process of formulating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will help us understand the purposes and objectives of the Declaration and review the great value of the spirit of the Declaration to the world today.     

More Tangible Human Rights

正At the 47th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council(UNHRC),which opened on June21,more than 90 countries expressed their support for China in regard to its stance on human rights.The vote of support thwarted attempts on the part of several Western countries to trip up China' s development by fueling misleading rumors about China' s overall human rights situation.     

China's Contributions to South-South Human Rights Governance: Concept and Practice——In the Vision of Global Human Rights Governance

Currently, human rights governance in Global South countries faces non-traditional human rights challenges in addition to the traditional ones. The view of human rights governance dominated by Western liberalism is already overstretched when facing the human rights governance dilemma of the less-developed countries. The proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind as well as The Belt and Road have contributed new Chinese wisdom and action plans for South-South cooperation and global governance rights both theoretically and practically, which has important significance for easing the predicament of the human rights protection in the Global South.     

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the “Spirits” of Confucian Ethics

At present, the value revealed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is under attack, and the consensus on human rights value is experiencing division globally,which asserts that "human rights can only be provided by paradox". The root of this is that" reason ",the metaphysical nature of human rights proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,is infinitely magnified while the " spirit " is ignored. History and philosophy show that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights entails the Confucian ethical " spirit ".At this time,this potential factor is gradually emerging in the course of world history and became a force to bridge the global division of human rights values. The significance of Confucian ethics " spirit " to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights lies in: from the perspective of " spirit ", its holistic view, bridging individual rights and collective rights; its relational view focuses on the realization of human rights and transcends the " paradox of human right; progressing from the value consensus to common action, so that in the process of judging the progress of human rights in the world, we consider not only the value consensus, but also the common action.     

Assessment of Human Rights Action Plans and Use of Its Results from a Global Perspective

Since the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993,more than a quarter of the participating countries have developed National Human Rights Action Plans(NHRAPs)to promote human rights.An assessment of the NHRAPs can help to understand the realities of the implementation,improve the quality of the follow-up plan,and improve the effectiveness of the plan in the implementation process.From the texts and practices of the NHRAPs,such an assessment includes the "self-assessments" of the plans' implementers,comprehensive assessments of inter-departmental committees(groups),and evaluations of policy objects,social organizations and human rights experts.The assessment methods include field research,qualitative evaluation,indicator measurement and process monitoring,among other things.The results of the assessment can promote the cohesion between the NHRAPs in different periods,promote the accumulation and transmission of the implementation experience of the plan,and promote the optimization and adjustment of related matters during the implementation period.     

Forum on ＂Theoretical System of Human Rights＂

The Human Rights magazine organized a workshop on December 23-24,2010 to discuss the Theoretical System and Development Model of Human Rights in socialism with Chinese characteristics.     

Human Rights Implications of Bringing the Building of a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects to a Successful Completion——From the perspective of the Developmentalism of Human Rights

The Developmentalism of Human Rights provides a broader perspective for a comprehensive and profound understanding of the human rights implications of bringing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects to a successful completion.From the perspective of the Developmentalism of Human Rights,bringing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects to a successful completion takes promoting the all-round development of human beings as the starting point and end point,which embodies the ultimate goal of human rights to guarantee everyone's free,comprehensive and coordinated development;the specific goals and tasks set by bringing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects to a successful completion respond to the four means rights to subsistence,freedom,participation and equal protection.The realization of the goals and tasks of completing the process of building a moderately well-off society in all aspects marks a higher level of safeguarding the right to development,and also opens a new journey for all members of the society to develop freely,comprehensively and harmoniously.     

Connection Between Policies and Laws on Human Rights Protection:Case Study of the National Human Rights Action Plans

China's National Human Rights Action Plans connect policies and laws on human rights protection in terms of ideas,procedures,and contents.The functions of the connections are the guidance to local policymaking,the promise of state commitment,and the linkage to international human rights goals.At the practical level,the enhancement of the connection between policies and laws will promote the effectiveness of human rights protection.In order to improve the rationality of human rights policies,there should be more researches on National Human Rights Action Plans,and more public participation in the process of the Plan drafting.     

Hermeneutic Thinking on the Subject of Human Rights: Four Perspectives

from the view of human rights hermeneutics, the interpretation of the human rights subject can be understood as the philosophical foundation of human rights.as the rights of "ego" and "another", human rights will be rid of the supreme power of the "God" and "nation", while it dooms the dilemma of solipsism and hegemony.as the right of "the Other", human rights will correspond to the reality of political pluralism, however that theory appears to be too deconstructive and may lead to human rights nihilism.By accepting the continuity between individuality and community, a more feasible and non-exclusive approach is to adopt the idea of "Self" to better understand the nature of human rights, thus avoiding extreme human rights universality and relativism.     

The Role of Human Rights Organizations in China: CSHRS' Case

In China, there are many human rights organizations, because of their focuses and priorities related to human rights. China Society for Human Rights Studies(CSHRS) is the largest of them, which focuses on human rights research, popularizing and international exchanges. This paper takes CSHRS as an example to show the role of the human rights organizations play in China. From the practice of CSHRS, we can see the human rights organizations in China play a kind of constructive role through involving in very broad fields and engaging in the various activities of human rights protection. Their works include participating in drafting the National Human Rights Action Plans, giving constructive suggestions, working in human rights education, engaging in international exchanges and cooperation, taking part in the work of UPR, raising fund and implementing projects, and so on. They are trying hard to contribute to improve human rights situation in China.     

Summary of the 2018 Symposium on National Human Rights Education and Research

The 2018 Symposium on National Human Rights education and Research summarized the achievements in human rights education and research in china, in the past four decades of reform and opening-up, especially since the 18 th National congress of the communist Party of china The Meeting mainly concentrated on topics "new era of human rights education and talents cultivation" and "new era of human rights theory innovation and academic orientation" An overall outline of human rights education system have been constructed in china and details of the concepts from a macroscopic to a microcosmic perspective show the features of china's human rights education and research institutions The discussion of academic topics has predicted the development trend of theories of china's human rights in new era, and expanded relevant comparative research and empirical research.     

Prison Management Works Hard to Bring Human Rights under Good Protection

EDITOR＇S NOTE： Human rights protection in prisons is an important part of China＇s National Human Rights Action Plan and the human rights conditions in prisons constitute an important hallmark of the human rights protection level of the country. In order to get to know more about human rights protection in this special area, this reporter paid a visit to the No. 4 Prison in Henan Province, central China.     

On the Relations Between National Security and Human Rights Defined in the Constitution of the People's Republic of China

Counterterrorism, de-radicalization and anti-violence are the major tasks of the international community.As the arch enemy of human rights, terrorism destroys the constitutional order and endangers people's lives, freedom and safety.It is the obligation of modern countries and the core value of legal states to safeguard human rights.Human rights should be effectively safeguarded under the premise of building a sound constitutional order and national security.public order and social stability foster a sound environment for the protection of human rights.In the face of terrorism's severe threat to human rights, all countries are re-examining the order of human rights values and seeking mechanisms and procedures to balance National Security and Human Rights through their constitutions.The concepts of human rights and social order and the ways to explain the two are different due to different constitutional systems and cultural and religious traditions.However, they do have something in common, that is, counterterrorism and de-radicalization do not conflict with human rights protection.Efforts should be made to foster a view of human rights based on security and a view of security based on human rights, and a dynamic principle of proportionality established for counterterrorism and human rights protection, so endowing the traditional principle of proportionality with flexible, rich value connotation.