Addressing the 2019 South-South Human Rights Forum (SSHRF), which was held in Beijing from December 10-11, a number of scholars and officials from developing countries strongly criticized the U.S.' "double standards" on human rights, saying that the Western society did not respect cultural diversity or the rights of other countries to independently choose the path of human rights development.

Themed "Diversity of Civilizations and Global Development of Human Rights," the SSHRF was attended by 300 scholars and officials from over 80 developing countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. This is the second time that the forum was held in China.

The forum aimed to build a platform for joint development of different civilizations. The forum participants agreed that seeking coexistence despite differences was the basis for realizing shared learning and dialogue among civilizations. They said differences should not be grounds for confrontation.

"It's extremely important to tell other countries and cultural areas that China also has its own human rights philosophy. It doesn't mean that China does not recognize universal human rights as there are some basic universal values in terms of human rights. But also that China has its own philosophy in that respect due to thousands of years of its development," said Lionel Vairon, senior fellow at the Charhar Institute.

Moreover, many others said that developing countries still faced conflicts, disease, hunger and environmental degradation. They criticized Western countries for focusing too much on civil and political rights and not enough on economic, social and cultural rights. 

At the same time, participants praised China's proposal of building a community with a shared future for humankind, with China contributing to other developing countries in terms of global poverty alleviation, climate change efforts and benefits brought by the Belt and Road Initiative.

"Speaking of China and Africa, we don't have any lessons to learn from the West in terms of human rights. However, there can be a process of sharing – they can have a lesson to teach and one to learn in our countries," said J.C. Karerwa Ndenzako, Burundi Presidential Office spokesperson.

During the two-day forum, experts also shared thoughts on topics such as "Building a community with a shared future for humankind and global human rights governance" and "Belt and Road Initiative promotes the realization of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development."

Earlier this year, China published a white paper on 70 years of progress on human rights. The white paper noted that China had opened a new path of human rights protection based on its national conditions and increased the diversity of human civilization.