September 10, 2013 - Professor Tom Zwart, of Utrecht University, visited the Institute for Human Rights during the 6th Beijing Human Rights Forum, addressing the importance of human rights protection. Professor Zwart explained the profound theories about the relationship between human rights and obligations, rights and powers, Asian values and the universality of human rights. He also conducted an in-depth discussion on the issues of concrete practice in human rights protection, such as the abolishment of female circumcision, the protection of the rights of homosexuals, and the abolition of torture in the world.

Professor Zwart placed a special emphasis upon the fact that human rights is a language, a weapon, a shelter for the powerless against the powerful. It is no longer a slogan, as international protection and supervision are materializing and its demands for communication and mutual understanding are becoming more evident, more urgent.

Written by Dai Tingting. Proofread by Diana Zahorte. Final Proofread by Scott Phipps.