Experts discuss global human rights governance at int'l symposium in Beijing

BEIJING, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- An international symposium marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was held in Beijing on Tuesday.

The symposium was hosted by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and welcomed experts, officials and diplomats from countries including Russia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Hisham bin Abdulrahman Al-Sheikh, vice chairman of the human rights commission of Saudi Arabia, hailed the declaration as one of the most crucial international documents aimed at protecting human dignity and equal rights ever passed by the United Nations General Assembly.

The declaration represents the common aspirations and goals of all humanity, and has tremendous vitality, widespread influence and strong appeal, said Liu Huawen, executive director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' human rights research center.

Three parallel sessions were held, with participants exchanging views on three topics: challenges and pathways to the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights; concepts and practices related to the path of human rights development; and dialogue, cooperation and global human rights governance.

The vision of building a community with a shared future for humanity advocates a balance between individual rights, collective rights and the rights of all humanity, and upholds that human rights should be equally enjoyed by people around the world through exchange and mutual learning, said Chang Jian, director of Nankai University's human rights research center.

This type of cooperative human rights governance is more capable of withstanding challenges and facilitating the development of global human rights, Chang said.

China's human rights philosophy and its practice can provide good reference for others, said Syldie Manirerekana, assistant to Burundi's minister of foreign affairs and development cooperation. He called for the establishment of a more fair and just human rights governance platform for the sound development of the global human rights cause.