1. Peace and Non-War
Human rights are difficult to satisfy and promote in situations of armed conflict. From a legal point of view, some of the fundamental human rights can be violated, even suppressed. The right to live, for instance. In situations of armed conflict, it is legitimate to take the life of an enemy combatant, provided that the rules established in International Humanitarian Law are respected in the development of combat.
This is not the only case; we could also consider liberty deprivation of individuals who have not committed any crime for this. However, being enemy combatants allows them to be taken prisoner, to be deprived of liberty even without a crime committed, of being enemy combatants. In fact, there is an international treaty that regulates treatment and protection of this category of people, the Third Geneva Convention of 1949, signed by almost all the states in the world. In all the armed conflicts that we know of, respect for Human Rights declines in force in the face of armed violence and we could say that it seeks refuge in International Humanitarian Law.
When massacres and genocide occur in the course of armed conflict, we could say that respect for Human Rights is at a minimum and human civilization regress to barbarism. We have had examples of this during the 19th and 20th centuries, and unfortunately, we have them in the 21st century, even today. Although it must be acknowledged that some international crimes, such as Genocide, were not recognized as such until well into the 20th century, in the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948, although during the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials the concept of Genocide was coined and, unevenly, it was considered a crime in both courts. In wars that are unleashed, respect for Human Rights is extraordinarily weakened.
But what happens in non-war situations, in which states prepare more or less for the next war or just in case, to feel safe from potential rivals or enemies? Well, it happens that military and arms spending always represents a substantial part of public budgets, a substantial part that unfortunately cannot be dedicated to satisfying the human rights of citizens, all rights, but especially Social Rights and the correction of inequalities or at least making them milder. The reality of our human history is stubborn, it seems that war has been a very frequent occurrence, as well as the preparation for it. The 19th, 20th and 21st centuries are proof of this. From a legal point of view, we know that the international legal system called International Humanitarian Law was born with the signing of the First Geneva Convention in 1864. We also know that it evolved until the signing of the Four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols I and II of 1977.
We also know that the tendency and reality of its respect and compliance by states is clearly improvable, and we also know that better compliance with its rules does not bring peace, does not stop war, but it favors the conditions to achieve it, and at least favors respect for the life and dignity of people. Therefore, in any case, from the point of view of Human Rights, it is always positive to seek and influence greater acceptance and respect for International Humanitarian Law. From a specific perspective of Social and Environmental Rights, it is clear that the destruction that is generated in housing, health, education, infrastructure, and the environment always generate great difficulties in reaching standards similar to those existing before the armed conflict, and many times they cannot be achieved. Seeking, seeking and achieving shared development for all human beings on the planet, a more democratic, balanced and stable global governance system than the current one, requires a situation of no war and peace, more favorable to the development and satisfaction of Human Rights.
2.- The International Legal System of Human Rights.
This international legal system was born in 1948, with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Declaration is not in itself a legal norm, it is not an international treaty that is binding on the member states, but it constitutes the basis on which the entire international legal system of Human Rights has been built, which in my opinion has a Universal system, applicable throughout the planet, and several regional ones. Among the regional ones, perhaps the most technically developed are the European and the American ones, which together with their legal-legislative developments, have also articulated two specific courts, that of Strasbourg and that of Costa Rica, which are quite useful to make both regional systems as effective as possible, for citizens and institutions.
In the universal system, the International Pacts of 1966 are a very significant example of the different interpretations that the states existing at that time had of Human Rights. Differences in interpretation, which can be perceived in a transformed way today Although, shaped by new phenomena that have occurred since 1966, such as the decolonization of a large part of the planet’s territories, the appearance of new states and the disappearance or transformation of others, climate change, the process of female emancipation, technological development, digitalization…
The International Pact on Civil and Political Rights and the International Pact on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, both of 1966, came to reveal the different interpretations that some and other states had on the 30 Rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of 1948. These differences in interpretation were undoubtedly permeated by the political and cultural atmosphere that accompanied the so-called Cold War and once it ended, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the extinction of the Warsaw Pact, the international subjects that were the protagonists of these different interpretations of Human Rights have changed, but in some way, they continue to be the protagonists or at least inform them.
3.- Unipolarity and multipolarity in the current world
The dissolution of the Soviet Union and the dismantling of the Warsaw Pact were not followed by a similar process by its opponents since 1945 or at least 1948. Neither the United States north of the Rio Grande in North America was dissolved as a state, nor was NATO, the military alliance that they captained, finally dismantled. On the contrary, it seemed that once the so-called “Eastern Bloc” was dismantled, a probably long period of time would begin in which the so-called “Western Bloc”, led by the United States, would predominate over the rest and would establish as dominant its ways of conceiving international relations, the economy, forms of political organization, technological development, nature, Human Rights and consequently Social Rights. In this context, the European Union, a very nice political construction, presented itself as a new international subject, supranational, with a vocation for peace, tolerance, democratically articulated and socially friendly to the less favored of its citizens, with a claim to high social and environmental standards.
The normative development in the European sphere, in the area of Human Rights has been very notable, both within the framework of the Council of Europe and the European Union, in all aspects, both Civil and Political, as well as Economic, Social and Cultural, which are included in the two previously mentioned Pacts of 1966. However, it turned out that this period of time that some thought of unipolar predominance led by the United States, did not last long, if it lasted at all.
New international subjects, other states on all continents, in addition to the European Union, did not fit into these parameters. There are also their own interpretations of what Human Rights are and how to advance them, both in their civil/political and economic/social/cultural aspects. I am referring to the BRICS, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, which since 2010 have formed a cooperation association to which other countries have been incorporated.
China is undoubtedly the most developed of them all. The appearance on the international scene of the BRICS has revealed the will of many countries not to accept a unipolar configuration of the world and global governance. The fact is that at present, it seems that the People’s Republic of China is in an ascending process that seems to worry a few countries, especially the United States, but also the European Union, although not all of its members. In fact, the European Union has described the People’s Republic of China as a systemic rival, and some of its members do not hide their uncritical or critical preference for the values that they consider the United States represents. In any case, the European Union, either by itself or within the framework of the Council of Europe, has developed a very interesting legal framework, in Human Rights in general and in Social Rights in particular. Examples of this are the European Social Charter of 1961 and its Additional Protocol of 1988 of the Council of Europe or the Community Charter of Fundamental Social Rights of Workers of 1989 of the Union. The treaties of the ILO (International Labour Organisation), signed in an uneven manner by the countries of the Union, should be incorporated into this set of regulations.
4.-The European Union and China, their perception of Social Rights
The European Union, which has its antecedents in the European Economic Community and previously in the Economic Community of Coal and Steel, was born initially from the dreams of conservatives, liberals and social democrats, to build something that would prevent the repetition of a war like World War II in Europe. The dream became a reality, culminating in the European Union. This desire to avoid and overcome war between Western Europeans was accompanied by a fairly successful attempt to build welfare states, and to consider welfare and the social rights that accompanied it as identifying features. Conservatives, Liberals and Social Democrats were the main political actors in this construction, to which other political actors and other states were gradually incorporated, not always with the same tradition and components as the founders of the Union.
An example of this is my country of origin, Spain, which joined the Union in 1986, after leaving behind the notorious dictatorship of General Franco, and adopting a Constitution comparable to those of the other member states of the Union.
Social rights, which have been crystallized in the countries of the Union, are developed unevenly. It is clear that social benefits are not equal in countries such as Spain, Germany, Sweden, Greece or others, as are other parameters that are not strictly social, such as the so-called division of powers or the levels of equality between men and women or migration or environmental policies.
However, I believe that in terms of social rights and the well-being of citizens, the Union has been built from the bottom up, with pressure from the left-wing trade union and political field and acceptance from the conservative political and business field. All of this with innumerable nuances, and with a palpable regression in recent years, where living conditions and future projections are in decline. Today it can be said that the future of work, profession and life for the new generations of Europeans in the Union does not look as promising as it did years ago.
The People’s Republic of China has a different configuration. To begin with, it has 1.4 billion inhabitants, the European Union 500 million. It has a history and culture that is considered to be millennia old, 5000 years old. The European Union was established in 1993, although it had its direct antecedents in the Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community. After World War II, its current territory was divided, some forming part of NATO, others of the Warsaw Pact. If we refer to the 20th century, it suffered two World Wars with many, many deaths and much destruction.
The People’s Republic was established in 1949, after a four-year Civil War, preceded by a Sino-Japanese war between 1931 and 1945, which also had its component of civil war, which followed the turbulence between 1911 and 1931. Not to mention the so-called Opium Wars in the 19th century that marked the future of the country during the 20th and 21st centuries.
Since 1949, the People’s Republic has been shaping up to the present day, the second economic power in the world with the prospect of becoming the first in the not-too-distant future. Unlike the member states of the European Union, where there were all kinds of things, native dictatorships in Greece, Spain, Portugal, regimes affiliated to the Warsaw Pact and regimes affiliated to NATO, in China, with many changes, the country has been led by the Communist Party in alliance with others. After a period of centralized and mostly state-run economy, through what is known as Reform and Opening, initiated in the times of Deng Xiaoping (1904-1977), until today, when it is considered a socialist state, in increasing modernization, very proud of its achievements. In this context, the Chinese authorities have provided the country with a Constitution that includes, among other things, the state’s commitment to Human Rights. From an economic point of view, the authorities consider what they call the socialist market to be the axis of economic life.
It is well known that the country’s economic and technological development has reached levels that were unimaginable not long ago. It is also known that the largest number of multimillionaires is in China, which two years before the commitment made to the UN to eradicate extreme poverty, has achieved this with 800 millions of its inhabitants, extraordinarily well fulfilling the goal of zero poverty, the first of the millennium goals and the 2030 agenda of the United Nations.
It can be understood that such strong and rapid economic and technological development has generated inequalities in the country that did not exist before, which undoubtedly worries the authorities, and that although there has been an important development of social coverage of all kinds, and the income level of the population is significantly higher, the state of the issue of Social Rights is relatively little known, as is also little known in the field of the European Union. 5.- Steps to promote rapprochement in Social Rights between China and the European Union.
5.- Steps to promote rapprochement on Social Rights between China and the European Union.
If it is considered convenient to achieve a shared future for all humanity, peaceful and harmonious, we must look for levers that make it possible. Without a doubt, achieving a future of generalized peace is the most desirable and the best thing that could be achieved for the sustainable development of all countries and peoples of the planet and while that is not achieved, at least a substantial reduction in military expenditure and armament, which allows resources to be diverted to the satisfaction of the Social Rights of citizens and peoples.
Until these two things are achieved, promoting people-to-people relations is a good, wide and long path to follow that will serve to strengthen relations between people of different cultures, histories and status, which will help to glimpse the possibilities of equality in diversity, of that shared future to which everyone can aspire.
5.1.- Study existing legislation and regulations on Social Rights in China and in the countries of the Union.
Translate as widely as possible Laws, Regulations, Codes, reports and experiences in Social Affairs and Rights
5.2.- Administrative and territorial distribution in the EU and in the PRC
The European Union has 27 member states.
The People’s Republic has 23 provinces, 5 autonomous regions, 4 municipalities directly dependent on the Central Government and 2 special administrative regions.
Each and every one of the Member States of the Union has its own Constitution, Government, legal norms, Administration of Justice, social organization, legislation and regulations on Social Affairs and Rights. Above this is the European regulation, which in matters of Social Rights, transcends the legal norms of each state. Deciphering the real differences and coincidences in matters of Social Rights between the states of the Union is a necessary task in order to….
a) Understand the reality of Social Rights, the real standard of living of Europeans.
b) Seek greater and better convergence within the Union in matters of Social Affairs and Rights.
The information recorded in the central administration of each member state, together with that existing in the European Commission, Council and Parliament, are a good basis for this task.
In the People’s Republic, the degree of autonomy of at least the provinces and municipalities is high and in such a large country, the diversity in terms of Social Rights must be notable. There, in the process of modernization that is taking place, efforts to homogenize the different social realities are important and the objective set by the authorities of achieving a moderately well-off country point in that direction, together with that of a modern socialist country.
Forming mixed Chinese-European working groups, made up of Europeans from each country and Chinese from provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions, could be a good instrument for studying and approaching the indicated realities in terms of Social Affairs and Rights, and at the same time, a good step towards seeking that shared future for humanity, in this case for a part of it, that of the inhabitants of China and the Union. Probably, over time, concrete ideas and proposals would emerge that could interest the respective authorities of the People’s Republic and the Union, in the field of Social Rights.
5.3.- Some work proposals, based on part of the Rights recognized in the Universal Declaration of 1948
5.3.1.- Social Security. Art. 22.
Study the possibilities of implementation, where there are no public Social Security systems. Analysis of the different Social Security systems existing in the states, provinces and autonomous regions, the coverage they contemplate and the forms of financing. Search in all cases, the effective result of the social coverage, the reality of the benefits received by the citizens assigned and beneficiaries of the Social Security systems studied.
5.3.2.- Work, salary, unemployment coverage, unions, participation of workers in companies. Art. 23.
5.3.2.1.- Work
Study of the levels of employment and unemployment, of the working conditions. Taking into account the forms of hiring. In this section it is very important to analyze the impacts of digitalization and technology on labor relations and conditions.
5.3.2.2.- Salary, unemployment benefit, unions, worker participation.
Analyze salary levels, and particularly salary inequalities.
Analyze formulas to cover unemployment situations, with or without subsidy.
Analyze the role, training and configuration of unions.
Analyze the existing forms of participation of workers in the decision-making of companies or work centers. Through unions or any other form.
All this, within the framework of state (EU) and autonomous provinces/regions (PRCh)
5.3.3.- Vacations, free time, working hours. Art. 24.
Analyze the time of paid vacations, their levels of remuneration, the time of working hours and free time.
5.3.4.- Food, clothing, housing, medical service, illness, disability, widowhood, old age. Art. 25.1
All these variables make up a large part of the set of living conditions of workers and of the population as a whole.
5.3.5.- Maternity, childhood. Art. 25.2
Motherhood and fatherhood are something fundamental in the life of people, and a determining reality for each and every one of the peoples. From conception to birth and the raising of children. Of course it is a right in which nature, if it is not hindered, works. But if nature is helped, the results are much better. In any case, mothers who are well looked after and cared for during their maternity, announce a better future for themselves and their babies.
Childhood, a decisive moment in the life of every person, requires special attention from society and public administrations. It is important to know the situation of care existing in the states (EU), provinces and autonomous regions (PRC)
5.3.6. Education. art. 26
Along with work and public health, education is the most important Social Right for the future of people and nations. In particular public education, where it exists.
The analysis of educational conditions at all levels will be a very valuable tool to be able to articulate this shared and harmonious future for humanity. Comparing, sharing and cooperating in educational matters will be a great advance, at all levels, basic, middle and higher (university).
6.- Eurasian and global projection, of the convergence work in Social Affairs and Rights between the People’s Republic of China and the countries of the European Union.
Let us imagine that the work carried out by the groups is successful, and that a certain level of homologation is certainly achieved in terms of Social Affairs and Rights between the countries of the Union and China.
China already has a notable economic, cultural and political presence in Latin America, Africa and Asia. It is a trend that is growing over time, largely linked to the New Silk Road Project.
Several of the countries of the Union have an important historical, cultural and political relationship with countries in Africa, America and Asia.
Could this convergence hypothetically achieved in Eurasia not be a positive factor in achieving that common destiny for humanity, longed for and pursued on all continents as well?