The 2025 China-South Africa Seminar on Human Rights was held on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital.
PRETORIA, South Africa, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- The 2025 China-South Africa Seminar on Human Rights was held on Thursday in Pretoria, South Africa's administrative capital.
Under the theme "Multilateralism and the Realization of the Right to Development," the event gathered around 50 representatives from both countries to discuss topics, including four major global initiatives proposed by China and global human rights governance, and China-South Africa practical cooperation and the advancement of the right to development.
Noting that the global human rights cause is facing growing challenges, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the China Foundation for Human Rights Development Li Hongkui urged efforts to strengthen exchanges, build greater consensus on human rights development among Global South countries, and jointly uphold true multilateralism.
Li also called for promoting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation to close the development gap between the Global South and the North, as well as ensuring that the benefits of development are shared by all countries.
David Monyae, director of the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg, said that the erosion of multilateralism in recent years undermines the right to development, especially of people in the Global South.
Hailing the seminar as timely, he stressed that the right to development must be grounded in each country's national conditions, culture and historical experience, and that no country has the authority to impose its own standards on others.
Garth Shelton, a professor in international relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, said that the achievements of Chinese modernization offer valuable lessons for African countries.
Global governance still faces challenges in promoting equitable development and protecting human rights, Shelton said, adding that Africa and China can work together to deepen cooperation in key areas such as poverty alleviation and sustainable development, and jointly advance the building of a more just and equitable international order.
According to the participants, China and South Africa have a broad consensus in upholding multilateralism and promoting common development.
Both countries, as major members of the Global South with shared views on human rights, should deepen exchanges and mutual learning on human rights governance, jointly implement the four major global initiatives, and contribute to fostering a more just and equitable global human rights governance, they said.
The event was co-organized by the China Foundation for Human Rights Development and the Center for Africa-China Studies at the University of Johannesburg. ■
