Addis ababa: For Africa and the developing world, the right to development is the central right from which all others, including food sovereignty, health, and environmental rights, ultimately derive, participants of the China-Africa Human Rights Seminar told ENA. The seminar, which has drawn scholars from over 47 African nations and China, is ongoing in Addis Ababa with the aim of redefining the dialogue on human rights.
According to Ethiopian News Agency, Seychelles Human Rights Commission Chairperson, Justice Bernardin Renaud, described the gathering as historic. He emphasized that development should be measured not solely by physical infrastructure but by the tangible benefits it provides to every individual, particularly those in remote areas. Renaud asserted that the ability of a person to live a dignified life, with access to the same benefits as anyone else globally, is the ultimate measure of development.
This perspective, Renaud argued, shifts the conversation away from traditional “North-South” dynamics towards a more equitable “South-South” collaboration, which he considers crucial for human development. Echoing this sentiment, South Sudan Institute for Strategic and Policy Studies Executive Chairman, Professor Melha Rout Biel, broadened the definition of development as a human right. He highlighted that it includes access to good healthcare, quality education, clean water, and infrastructure like roads and bridges, which are foundational elements for a decent life.
Professor Biel praised the seminar as a vital platform for addressing these issues and fostering dialogue to overcome global human rights challenges. Mauritania’s former Foreign Minister and International Consultant, Professor Mohamed El Hacen Ould Lebatt, also described the meeting as an invaluable exchange between African and Chinese scholars and politicians. Lebatt emphasized that the seminar affirmed the right to development as the central human right for Africans and Chinese, from which all other rights, including health, food sovereignty, and technology, derive.
He concluded that the Global South must approach human rights in a way that reflects its unique history, culture, and priorities, which differ from those of the Western world.