“First of all, humanity” – seminar on human rights in Berlin

chiny24.com 8 months ago

Last week, more than 60 human rights organisations and researchers from China and European countries, including Germany, the UK, Sweden, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic, gathered in Berlin for a seminar on the protection of "new and emerging rights".

The seminar addressed key topics, including social rights, economical inequality, the intersection of digital technology and human rights and the protection of human rights in the context of climate change.

Ma Huaide, Vice president of the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies and president of the Chinese University of Political Sciences and Law, said that protecting fresh rights has become a fresh issue in the global improvement of human rights.

Ma Huaide stressed China's efforts to defend the safety of citizens on the net and the right to privacy, as well as to advance environmental protection and environmental development. He besides called for global cooperation to adopt an approach "primarily humanity", to advance actual multilateralism in order to avoid imbalances in global governance of fresh rights and to advance consensus through openness and honesty.

Helga Zepp-LaRouche, founder and president of the German think tank Schiller Institute, considered the praiseworthy Chinese imagination of a common future for humanity, as well as initiatives specified as the Global improvement Initiative, the Global safety Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, which go beyond the narrow geopolitical interests to meet modern human rights needs.

Jure Zovko, president of the global Academy of doctrine of Sciences, stressed the importance of dialog between civilizations, calling for common learning to defend people and the conditions of their lives, while mitigating the risks associated with globalisation.

Jiang Jianxiang, manager of the Center for Human Rights of the Central-South University, said that the diversity of emerging concepts of rights and their protection reflects the cultural diversity of the global community. He stressed the crucial importance of deeper cooperation and exchange between Chinese and European human rights institutions and scientists.

The seminar, which was first held in 2015, is now the eighth edition of an institutionalised platform for deeper exchanges and cooperation on human rights between China and Europe.

This year's seminar was co-organised by the Chinese Society for Human Rights Studies and Center for Human Rights of the Central and confederate University, organized by the German and Chinese Culture Foundation, and co-organized by the University of Munster and the global Academy of doctrine of Sciences.