China News Agency, Beijing, December 9th (Reporter Li Hanxue) The South-South Human Rights Forum will be held in Beijing on the 8th of 2021. At a sub-forum that night, 6 guests from China, Kenya, Chile, the Netherlands and Jamaica focused on their respective countries. The understanding of human rights, the challenges on the road to human rights protection, etc. have started a dialogue.

On December 8, the 2021·South-South Human Rights Forum was held in Beijing. At a sub-forum that night, 6 guests from China, Kenya, Chile, the Netherlands and Jamaica focused on their respective countries’ understanding of human rights and the challenges on the road to human rights protection Wait for the conversation to begin.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Li Hanxue

  "When people are still struggling to survive, they cannot talk about'human rights.'" Sandrea Falconer, the former Minister of Information of Jamaica, cites the development history of Jamaica as an example. Jamaica got rid of colonization in 1962. When independence was gained in rule, the per capita national income was less than US$500, and there were also defects in the protection of women and children’s rights; however, with economic development, human rights issues have gradually changed.

She called for help to countries that cannot guarantee enough food and clothing.

"I think poverty is the biggest scar in human rights."

  In a speech, Daniel Oloo, a strategic development consultant and scholar of the Kenya Education Development Service, pointed out that human rights and development are like twins. They cannot be separated and talk about human rights in isolation.

  "Today, the concept of human rights in developing countries deserves more international attention." Professor Tom Zwart, director and professor of the Center for Intercultural Human Rights at the Free University of Amsterdam, said that some African countries have been more severely affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic. As well as the example that Afghanistan’s development plight has not been effectively understood and resolved, it is pointed out that countries should no longer only focus on their own interests, but should focus on neighboring countries, and that the understanding of human rights in developing countries should be more listened to.

  Zhang Wei, executive vice president of the Institute of Human Rights, China University of Political Science and Law, stated on China’s human rights development path that China’s human rights development practices conform to the common practices and practices of the international community. The priority issues may be different.

  Are the challenges facing the development of human rights different for each country?

Dai Ruijun, a researcher at the Institute of International Law of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, believes that developing countries face greater challenges.

On the one hand, many developing countries are also facing internal disturbances and wars; in addition, there is a need to strike a balance between development and the protection of human rights.

How to make development benefit all people is a challenge facing developing countries, including China.

  Sandrea Falconer said that although Jamaican law has stipulated that everyone is equal, there is still room for improvement in law enforcement.

In addition, there is still a significant poverty problem in the country, and under the impact of the epidemic, the tourism industry, a pillar industry, has suffered serious setbacks and the economy has been hit hard.

  She also emphasized that another problem is that developed countries do not fully understand the specific situation of developing countries and believe that a human rights model is applicable to all countries, which is unrealistic.

  In this regard, Tom Tswart also agreed, "We may be caught in the hegemony of speech dominated by developed countries, which is very dangerous."

  So, what can China's human rights practice have for other countries to learn from?

Francesca Hanshing, a former official of the Chilean Ministry of Education, said that in China, she has seen how society can effectively operate and advance under the epidemic.

When some countries are still at a loss, China has taken the lead in controlling the epidemic, and the people care about each other.

She believes that the Chinese government has mature emergency response capabilities and knows how to take good care of the people.

  Sandrea Falconer stated that the development of human rights should be based on understanding the culture of specific groups of people and working together with the people, rather than imposing ideas first.

Countries in the world should increase understanding and respect each other's differences.

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