The 2026 Forum on Global Human Rights Governance opened in Beijing on Thursday, bringing together experts, officials, and scholars from around the world to discuss pathways to joint development and shared human rights.

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," attracted more than 400 participants from over 100 countries and international organizations, including the United Nations.

During the forum, the National Human Rights Action Plan of China (2026-2030) was released, outlining the country's human rights protection efforts for the next five years. China had previously implemented its fourth national human rights action plan from 2021 to 2025.

At the parallel session on "Green Development and the Protection of Human Rights," representatives from Tianjin shared their achievements and innovations in advancing green development and safeguarding human rights.

Zhang Tao, secretary-general of the Tianjin Eco-city Friend of Green Eco-Culture Promotion Association, introduced the organization's work as Tianjin's first non-governmental environmental protection organization. Over the past 26 years, the association has relied on volunteer services and its consultative status with the United Nations to protect environmental rights and interests in China. The organization has repeatedly shared China's environmental protection experience on UN platforms, promoting cross-border cooperation and global governance.

Gao Ya, a senior engineer at the Tianjin Academy of Eco-Environmental Sciences, highlighted the progress of the Tianjin carbon market, one of China's first pilot carbon trading programs. Through legislative and institutional innovation, the market has promoted green and low-carbon development while helping safeguard people's environmental rights.

Tang Yingxia, deputy director of the Center for the Study of Human Rights at Nankai University, noted that human rights legislation in global supply chains still faces structural and practical challenges. She called for future efforts to be guided by the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, emphasizing corporate responsibility and effective remedies.

The discussions highlighted Tianjin's experiences in integrating green development with human rights protection and contributed Chinese perspectives to global exchanges on sustainable development and human rights governance.