Human rights: back to basics

A leisure park in Urumqi (Xinjiang), August 17, 2024

While the term “human rights” resonates like a leitmotif on the international political scene, does it really contribute to the development of everyone? This is the crucial question that our time must confront. Recently, several international dialogues – including the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance held in Beijing and the China-Europe Human Rights Seminar in Paris, marking the 40he anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development – ​​provided a valuable opportunity to reflect on the subject.

It is clear that the current international discourse on human rights suffers from a form of exploitation. Certain actors, posing as sole legitimate arbiters, claim to judge all civilizations based on a single interpretation of these rights, transforming them into geopolitical levers or pretexts for interference. Far from serving human progress, this approach exacerbates divisions and fuels global antagonisms.

So, what direction should global human rights governance take? The answer does not lie in the escalation of slogans, but in a return to basics: placing the vital needs of people at the heart of priorities.

Drawing on its experience of recent decades, China defends a clear vision: progress in human rights must translate into a tangible improvement in the lives of populations. For the vast majority of developing countries, the right to survival and the right to development constitute the very basis of human dignity. The eradication of poverty, universal access to education and medical care, as well as the continuous improvement of living standards form the fertile ground where all rights can flourish.

Applied to global governance, this logic underlines two imperatives: security and cooperation. Safety is the condition sine qua non of the exercise of any right. Therefore, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, as well as adherence to the principle of non-interference, are the essential foundations for maintaining the stability of the international order and ensuring the realization of human rights. Allowing each country to forge its own development model, in accordance with its national realities, is not only an attribute of its sovereignty, it is the guarantee of stable and sustainable development of the cause of human rights.

As for cooperation, it constitutes the most fruitful way to advance the cause of these rights. The concept of human rights is all the richer because it is diverse, and there is no universal model that can be transposed everywhere in the world. The future lies in dialogue to overcome differences and in exchange to strengthen understanding. For example, the recent China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights demonstrated that even in the face of disagreement, maintaining communication remains the only way to build trust and dispel doubts. This opens up vast prospects for cooperation to explore emerging issues such as the “right to the environment” or the “right to health”.

Ultimately, human rights are a cause common to all humanity. For global human rights governance to evolve towards a more equitable, just, reasonable and inclusive future, we need sincerity rather than arrogance and concrete commitments rather than empty slogans.