Human Rights Council Advancing Work Despite International Atmosphere, President Tells General Assembly, as Delegates Denounce ‘Disgrace’ of Humanitarian Situation in Gaza
Protection of civilians in conflicts where violations run rampant has been a top priority for the Human Rights Council, the body’s chief told the General Assembly today, as Member States called the humanitarian situation in Gaza a “disgrace” to the entire international human rights order.
“Despite the international atmosphere as well as lack of financial resources, the Council advanced in its work to promote and protect human rights,” President Omar Zniber assured, presenting the 193-member Assembly with the Council’s annual report (documents A/79/53 and A/79/53/Add.1).
All countries must protect civilian populations and respect international human rights obligations, “be it in the Middle East, Europe or Africa”. “I wish to strongly underline the important role being played by the small island developing States and the least developed countries in the Council’s work and deliberations,” he added. These countries provide invaluable contributions on various agenda items, especially those attached to development, climate change and overcoming vulnerabilities, Mr. Zniber said.
The Council continued its work this year, making recommendations to the General Assembly on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Syria and the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, he said. Having adopted a total of 139 texts during this reporting period on a wide range of human rights issues, it also broadened its work in the human rights arena including in areas that focus on discrimination against intersex persons, domestic violence and social integration of persons released from prison.
To continue to strengthen the impact of the Council, the United Nations technical cooperation and capacity-building must be prioritized because effective communication is key to clarifying situations and answering important questions, he emphasized.
Respect for Human Rights Worldwide Deteriorating
General Assembly Vice-President Francisco José Da Cruz (Angola), on behalf of the Assembly President Philémon Yang (Cameroon), said that respect for human rights is deteriorating globally. This is due to several interlinked crises, from climate change and displacement, to famine, poverty and spiralling cycles of conflicts.
“Nowhere is this more visible than in the Middle East, where the scale of destruction has led to intolerable suffering in Gaza, a mounting death toll in Lebanon and renewed risks of conflagration throughout the region,” he said. Conflicts everywhere must end, as they erode our humanity and dignity, and undermine our aspirations for a better future.
“We must always be guided by the noble principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which was crystal clear in stating that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” he went on to say. Despite numerous challenges, the Human Rights Council has continued to address a multitude of recurrent as well as emerging human rights issues.
Delegates Call for Urgent Attention to Humanitarian Situation in Gaza
Speakers in the ensuing discussion called for urgent attention to be paid to Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and called for the respect of and adherence to relevant international protocols.
The current situation in Gaza “is a disgrace for the human rights system and the United Nations system as a whole”, said Venezuela’s speaker, representing the Group of Friends in Defense of the Charter of the United Nations. Categorically rejecting double standards in human rights matters, he lamented the continued proliferation of mechanisms and procedures that pretend to make “impartial” assessments of the human rights situation in certain States, having neither the consent nor participation of such States and basing their reports on “secondary, tertiary or other sources that may be partial or lack credibility”.
“The brutal attacks against the Gaza Strip and their extension to the West Bank are grave violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in front of the whole world to see without accountability,” Egypt’s delegate said. Israel is violating Palestinians’ right to food, drinking, water, education, health and its civic and political rights, he said.
“My country has consistently warned of double standards and selectivity in human rights, and we have demanded that this noble issue should not be politicized,” Syria’s representative added. Certain countries are taking advantage of the United Nations and some of its subsidiary bodies, including the Human Rights Council, to launch defamation campaigns, to levy false and baseless allegations and to impose political pressure that serves only selfish interests.
Qatar’s representative said her country will spare no efforts to continue the growth that characterized its previous membership of the Council. She condemned in the “strongest terms possible” the grave violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in the Gaza Strip as well as attempts to forcibly displace the Palestinian people therefrom.
Against the current “backlash to human rights and democratic norms worldwide”, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is more relevant than ever, submitted the representative of Iceland, speaking also for Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. She called on Member States to support a vibrant civic space and protect human rights defenders worldwide and urged dialogue “even when we disagree, as the absence of dialogue only serves to protect human rights violators”.
Council’s Resources and Focus Must be Equitable and Not Politicized
Delegates also warned against “instrumentalizing human rights for political purposes”, with the representative of Belarus saying that country-specific topics risk undermining the credibility of the Council and its decisions. “In this context, it is difficult to view the integration of human rights elements into all aspects of UN activities as anything other than an attempt to bring ideology into international debates and multilateral institutions, including the entire UN system,” he said. Belarus finds the Council's report “unacceptable” and will never accept a document that contains biased assessments of the situation in Belarus.
Underscoring the imperative of the Council allocating its resources equitably across the “spectrum of rights” without hierarchy, Pakistan’s delegate urged Member States and donor institutions to enhance funding and technical support for capacity-building programmes. She lamented the rise of racial hatred, religious extremism and violent nationalism and called on the Special Procedures Branch to investigate and present actionable recommendations to “counter this rising threat”.
Importance of Improving Relationship with Third Committee (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian)
Delegates also underscored the importance of improving the relationship and division of labour between the Council and the Third Committee (Social, Cultural and Humanitarian).
Benin’s delegate called for a better synergy between “the two world capitals of multilateralism” to preserve the necessary coherence of the work carried out on rights. Also underscoring the importance of the trust fund established to support the participation of least developed countries and small island developing States in the Council’s work, he called for increased contributions and a prioritization in the future of such countries which are members of the rights’ body.
The speaker for the European Union, in its capacity as observer, echoed the call for enhanced coordination between the Council and the Assembly’s Third Committee. Highlighting that all 27 member States of the regional bloc have a standing invitation to the UN Special Procedures, he urged other States to do the same as “modern democracies should not be afraid of introspection,” but embrace scrutiny while striving to always improve. He also raised concerned over the ”shrinking space for civil society, online and offline, globally”, urging all States to respect and protect that sector.