An Academic Summary of the International Seminar Series on “Protection of the Rights of Specific Groups in Pandemic Prevention and Control”

The international semiinar on"Protection of the Rights of Specific Groups in Pandemic Prevention and Control",organized by the Institute of Human Rights,Wuhan University,under the guidance of the China Society for Human Rights Studies,was held online on May 23,2020.Nearly 50 scholars and practitioners from domestic and foreign universities and research institutions conducted discussions and exchanges focusing on a series of topics including"Leave No One Behind:To Guarantee Specific Groups’Access to Public Service under the Pandemic","Justice for All:Prevention and Relief of Discrimination against Specific Groups",etc.

Development of the Protection of the Rights of Specific Groups in China in the Recent Ten Years——Based on an Analysis of the Annual Report on China’s Human Rights

specific groups such as women,children,ethnic minorities,the elderly,and persons with disabilities are facing special difficulties in exercising their rights The protection of their rights is an important part of the development of China’s human rights cause The Annual Report on China’s Human Rights have outlined the tremendous achievements China has made in protecting the rights of specific groups over the past ten years It also reflects that all human rights actors have born fruitful results of innovation in values,legal systems,paths for practice,and international cooperation of rights protection,which will continue to inspire and en courage people to participate in the common cause of human rights protection.

Human Rights Protection and Global Action under the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic——Overview of“2021·China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights”

The COVID-19 pandemic is the largest ever infectious disease facing mankind.It challenges national governance capabilities and international patterns.On June 8,2021,the“2021 China-Europe Seminar on Human Rights”was held in Chongqing,China.Its theme was“COVID-19 Pandemic and the Protection of the Right to Life and Health,”which focused on five topics:the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the protection of the rights to life and health,the response of countries against the pandemic,the protection of the right to life and health of specific groups during the pandemic response,the national responsibility for the protection of the right to life and health in the public health crisis,and global cooperation in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic.The conference reached two consensuses:First,in the face of the pandemic,countries must take responsibility for the people and protect the people’s right to life and health;second,an effective international mechanism for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic must be established as soon as possible.

RHD gene polymorphism among RhD-negative Han Chinese

Objective To evaluate the status of eight RHD specific exons in 131 Han Chinese blood donors who were classified as RhD-negative by serological methods and explore the genomic structure of RHD gene among the Han Chinese. The Rh blood group system has the highest prevalence of polymorphisms among human blood group systems and is clinically significant in transfusion medicine. The Rh antigens are expressed on polypeptides encoded by two highly homologous genes,RHD and RHCE. Recent molecular studies have shown that the RhD-negative trait could be generated by multiple genetic mechanisms and is ethnic group-dependent. Methods The polymerase chain reaction using-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) was used to amplify exons 2,3,4,5,6,7,9 and 10 of RHD gene and exons 1,2 and 5 of RHCE gene,as well as intron 4 in each of them.Results The 131 cases of RhD-negative phenotypes consisted of 60 ccee,58 Ccee,5 ccEe,5 CcEe and 3 CCee. Among them,83 with the Rh ccee or ccEe phenotypes (63.4%) lacked the eight RHD exons indicated above,while 26 cases with the Rh Ccee,CCee,CcEe phenotypes (19.9%) had all the RHD exons examined. Twenty-two individuals with the Ccee,CCee,CcEe phenotypes (16.8%) carried at least one RHD exon. The phenotypes of the RhD negative individuals carrying the RHD gene were Rh CC or Cc,but not cc. Conclusions Three classes of RhD-negative polymorphisms among a population of Han Chinese were observed. Antigen association analysis suggested the existence of a novel class of RhD-negative associated haplotype in Han Chinese. This haplotype consisted of a normal RHCE allele and a nonfunctional RHD gene. It may be beneficial to redefine the RhD-negative blood group among Chinese populations upon clarification of the mechanisms of RHD gene expression and RhD antigen immunization.