Foreign guests gather in east China for dialogue on human rights

HANGZHOU, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from nearly 50 countries and regions, UN experts and officials gathered on Monday in a dialogue held in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, to discuss ways to strengthen the realization of human rights.

Participants at the Hernán Santa Cruz Dialogue on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR), jointly held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), praised China for its efforts in consistently supporting the international human rights cause.

"Human rights can guide countries to invest in policies that build trust, prevent tensions, and make societies more resilient," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk in a video speech.

While significant progress has been made in both normative and operational aspects of human rights in general, much less attention has been given to the operationalization of economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development, said Pradeep Wagle, Chief of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Section of OHCHR.

Foreign guests also participated in a workshop and visited Beijing and Zhejiang from Dec. 2 to 8 to learn about China's human rights progress.

After visiting Fengqiao, a township in Zhejiang, which gained fame for its community-level social governance in the 1960s, Natnael Yebio Werke, Senior Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Eritrea, said, "I've heard of this model and have been learning from China's governance wisdom. In my country, we also take that into our own system."

Recalling his visit to China last year to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Werke said it was impressive and encouraging to see that China was not only taking the lead in promoting ESCR for its people, but also inspiring Global South countries to advance ESCR.

"Through this workshop, I have learned China's significant efforts in promoting and protecting ESCR and its remarkable success in poverty reduction and economic reforms," said T Kham Seng, director from the International Organizations and Economic Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

She added that the Chinese philosophy on social equity and collective betterment also prioritizes people-centered development that ensures every citizen benefits from economic growth.

Noting that economic, social, and cultural rights are interconnected, Mohamed Brahim, Secretary General of Mauritania's National Human Rights Commission, said that China's equal emphasis on all three demonstrated its commitment to improving people's happiness and living standards. "And that's the ultimate human right," he said, hoping to know more about China's experience in achieving high levels of development systematically.