China-LAC Roundtable on Human Rights

The First China-Latin American and Caribbean States Roundtable on Human Rights took place on September 10, 2024, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was co-hosted by the China Society for Human Rights Studies (CSHRS), Renmin University of China (RUC), and the Federal University of Fluminense (UFF), with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at RUC (RDCY) and the UFF Faculty of Law (FD-UFF) as co-organizers.

The theme, “The Diversity of Civilization and the Choice of the Path to Realize Human Rights,” featured three parallel sessions. Keynote speakers included: Baimachilin, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 13th National People's Congress and President of CSHRS; Zhu Qingqiao, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to Brazil; Monica Saavedra, Vice President of UFF; and various international dignitaries such as Charles Peter David, former Foreign Minister of Grenada, and Gustavo Pacheco Villar, President of the Andean Parliament.

Other prominent speakers included experts from Latin America, such as Paulo Abräo, former Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, and Sixto Pereira Galeano, former National Senator of Paraguay. Wang Wen, Dean of RDCY, hosted the keynote session.

Over 120 participants from China and 16 Latin American and Caribbean countries (including (Argentina, Bahamas, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Grenada, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela)) engaged in deep discussions. The event was the first institutional human rights exchange between China and Latin America/Caribbean.

The event also saw the release of the think tank report, "Common Goal: The Current Situation and Future of China-Latin America Human Rights Development Cooperation," and a memorandum of academic cooperation between RDCY and FD-UFF.

Media coverage was extensive, with over 60 outlets, including People's Daily, Xinhua, Revista Forum, Brasil de Fato, Carta Capital, Brazil Workers’ TV, Sputnik News, and others, publishing over 500 reports in 13 languages. The event also gained attention on social media, including 20 domestic and international social media platforms, including Weibo, WeChat, short video platforms, news apps, official media websites, X, Facebook, YouTube, among others, with coverage from international outlets like Associated Press, Yahoo Finance, and Fox Television.