‘ Shared future of mankind’ pushed

China hosts international human rights seminar in Geneva

Human rights should be based on the concept of “a shared future of mankind” rather that the “hegemony” of one big power, Chinese experts said, stressing the need to respect the unique conditions in different countries.

Ma Zhaoxu, the head of the Chinese Mission to the UN in Geneva, on Wednesday called on the international community to work together to build a shared future for mankind as the basis for international human rights, the Xinhua News Agency reported Thursday.

Ma made the remarks during the International Seminar on Human Rights and Building a Community of Shared Future for Mankind, sponsored by the China Society of Human Rights Studies and the Chinese Mission to UN at Geneva.

The seminar was held months after Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech at the UN headquarters at Geneva, talking in depth about the concept of a shared future for mankind.

“Building a shared future for all mankind will propel the development of a fair and just international governance system for human rights and promote this global cause,” Ma said.

Wang Sixin, a law professor at the Communication University of China, told the Global Times on Thursday that “human rights is a global issue that needs the respect of every actor involved, rather than the hegemony of some big power.”

“The concept of a shared future for all mankind will succeed in handling all global issues in the age of globaliza- tion,” Wang noted.

Li Daojun, a professor at Shandong University’s Research Center for Human Rights, said China is hosting an international seminar on human rights because of progress China has made in promoting human rights, especially in poverty relief, which has earned international praise.

“China has invested a lot to improve its people’s livelihood, build infrastructure and broaden political involvement, which has led to more freedom and development space,” Li noted, adding that projects like the Belt and Road initiative will give people more opportunities to achieve self- realization, which is essential to the concept of human rights.

“China can still do a lot to promote human rights, as its economy is laying the foun- dation. It should continue to promote human rights in the cultural and social sectors,” Li added.

Ma stressed at the seminar the importance of inclusiveness and mutual learning, saying that this helps promote and protect human rights, and that there is no one- size- fits- all path or model.

Ma said that equality is the very foundation for promoting and protecting human rights, and all parties must engage in human rights exchanges and cooperation as equal partners and view human rights conditions in other countries objectively and fairly.

“Each country should resolve its own human rights issues according to their national conditions rather than dealing with them based on what others say,” Le added.