China released a new national human rights action plan on Thursday at the opening of the 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance, pledging to further protect people's rights and promote social fairness and justice.

The National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2026-30) aims to ensure that the principal position of the people is respected, their fundamental interests are safeguarded, and the fruits of modernization benefit all people more fairly.

China implemented its fourth national human rights action plan from 2021 to 2025. With the completion of its major objectives and tasks, the country made notable progress in human rights protection, according to the new plan.

The two-day forum, themed "Joint Development, Shared Human Rights: The 40th anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Right to Development and a new vision for global human rights governance", was co-hosted by the State Council Information Office and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. More than 400 Chinese and foreign guests from over 100 countries and international organizations, including United Nations agencies, attended the forum.

Participants stressed that development should be given greater priority, so that its benefits can reach people in all countries in a more equitable way.

Li Shulei, a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, said that China follows a people-centered development philosophy, regards the rights to subsistence and development as primary basic human rights, and pursues a human rights development path suited to its national conditions.

Against the backdrop of uneven global development, China will continue to respect and protect human rights, implement the 2026-30 action plan and work with other countries to advance human rights, Li said.

Abdulatif M. Jamal Rashid, former president of Iraq, said the right to development is a fundamental pillar of the global human rights system.

Rights lose practical meaning without the material conditions that allow people to exercise them, he said, citing children without access to school, families without electricity or drinking water, and farmers who lose their livelihoods because of drought.

On green development, Rashid said the transition to a green economy should be fair and balanced, taking into account the realities of developing countries and respecting their people's rights to development and stability.

He said that Iraq has benefited from support and cooperation from many countries during its recovery and reconstruction, and highly appreciates China's contribution to Iraq's stability and peace, as well as its energy and infrastructure development.

Eduardo Melchor Arana Ysa, former prime minister of Peru, said that countries should continue building the future while preserving their national identities, traditions and core values. Human rights are a common pursuit in protecting human dignity and improving people's lives, but different societies may follow different paths.

Humanity's richness lies in its diversity, including different histories, cultures, systems and development experiences, he said. The universality of human rights should not mean a single fixed model, adding that countries should advance shared goals in ways consistent with their own realities. He called for stronger multilateralism and a more balanced, inclusive and representative global governance system.

Mohamed Abdelrahman Mohamed Moussa, minister plenipotentiary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Expatriates of Egypt, said the right to development is not an isolated right, but a synthesis of many rights closely linked to national well-being and people's livelihoods.

Development should be placed at the center of global human rights governance, as poverty, inequality, climate change and conflicts continue to undermine people's basic rights, Moussa said.

Participants also said that countries should create a fair and reasonable international environment for the realization of human rights and take practical action to address common human rights challenges.

yangzekun@chinadaily.com.cn