General Assembly Session 61 meeting 51

The President

Under agenda item 68, the Assembly has before it the annual report of the Human Rights Council circulated in document A/61/53.

In connection with this item, I would like to recall that the General Assembly, on the recommendation of the General Committee, decided at its 41st plenary meeting, on 26 October 2006, to consider agenda item 68 in plenary meeting and in the Third Committee, on the understanding that the Third Committee would consider and act on all recommendations of the Human Rights Council to the Assembly, including those that deal with the development of international law in the field of human rights. Taking this decision into account, the Assembly will consider in plenary meeting the annual report of the Human Rights Council on its activities for the year.

This division of work was agreed upon with the understanding that this arrangement is motivated by the fact that the Human Rights Council only began its work in June 2006. It is also understood that the current arrangement is in no way a reinterpretation of General Assembly resolution 60/251 and will be reviewed before the beginning of the sixty-second session of the Assembly, on the basis of the experience gained with the efficiency and practicality of this arrangement.

Upon the conclusion of the debate in plenary on this item, the General Assembly will revert to this agenda item in the context of its consideration of the report of the Third Committee.

The Assembly will now start its consideration of the annual report of the Human Rights Council on its activities for the year.

Before proceeding further, I would like to consult members about inviting the President of the Human Rights Council to present the first annual report of the Council. Bearing in mind the provisions of the General Assembly decision on the allocation of the item and without setting a precedent, may I take it that it is the wish of the General Assembly to invite the President of the Human Rights Council to present the first annual report of the Council?

I see no objection.

The President

We shall proceed accordingly. In accordance with the decision just taken and without setting a precedent, I now give the floor to Mr. Luis Alfonso de Alba, President of the Human Rights Council, to present the report of the Council.

Mr. de Alba (President of the Human Rights Council)

It is an honour for me to present to the General Assembly the report on the work of the Human Rights Council during the period since its historic creation on 15 March 2006 in accordance with resolution 60/251 of this General Assembly.

At the outset, I should like to refer to the steps taken by the Human Rights Council in carrying out its mandate in its first year. Secondly, I shall address some of the challenges that the international community has to face in order to strengthen the Council, which, as set forth in the resolution to which I have referred, is

"responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind and in a fair and equal manner" (resolution 60/251, para. 2).

The Council held its first regular session from 19 to 30 July and has since held two special sessions on 5 and 6 July and 11 August, respectively. It met again in regular session from 18 September to 6 October, and the session will be resumed on 27 November. A third regular session will be convened immediately following the conclusion of the second and before the end of the year.

At the Council's first session, a number of high-level meetings were held with the participation of more than 85 personalities, representatives of civil society and national institutions, and parliamentarians. That broad-based high-level participation reflects the importance that States and the various institutions of the United Nations system and the international community in general attach to the new body, as well as the high expectations it has generated.

The Council received the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Louis Arbour. Interactive dialogues were also convened on a variety of themes, with the wide-ranging participation of member States, as well as of observers and representatives of civil society.

In the context of the dialogue and interaction with the special human rights instances and mechanisms, the Council had an exchange of views with the Chairperson of the Coordination Committee of special procedures, the Vice-Chairperson of the fifty-seventh session of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, and the Chairperson of the eighteenth meeting of the chairpersons of the human rights treaty bodies.

Similarly, the Council held discussions on such questions the situation of human rights in Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories; support for the Darfur Peace Agreement: backing efforts for the strengthening of the promotion and protection of human rights; avoiding incitement to hatred and violence for reasons of religion or race through the promotion of tolerance and dialogue; the human rights of migrants in the context of the High-Level Dialogue on International Migration and Development; and the role of human rights defenders in promoting and protecting human rights.

The Council adopted a resolution on the situation of human rights in Palestine and the other occupied Arab territories, and another on incitement to racial and religious hatred and the promotion of tolerance.

With regard to the Council's work on the development of international law in the sphere of human rights and its consideration of specific issues, the Council adopted and recommended for adoption by the General Assembly an international convention for the protection of all persons from enforced disappearance and a draft United Nations declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.

Furthermore, a decision was made to extend the mandates of three working groups in that area, namely, the Open-ended Working Group established with a view to considering options regarding the elaboration of an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Working Group on the Right to Development; and the Intergovernmental Working Group on the effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

With regard to measures in implementation of paragraph 6 of resolution 60/251, the Council decided to extend exceptionally for one year the mandates and the mandate holders of all the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights, of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, as well as the procedure established in accordance with Economic and Social Council resolution 1503 (XLVIII). That will allow the procedures to continue until the end of the review process. Moreover, the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights will be able to submit to the Council all reports and studies that may have been requested by the former Commission on Human Rights during the fourth session and to update them in response to developments, as required. With those measures, the Council is seeking to avert a vacuum in human rights protection during the transitional period.

Furthermore, the Council established an open-ended intergovernmental working group to formulate concrete recommendations on the issue of reviewing and, where necessary, improving and rationalizing all mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities in order to maintain a special procedures system, specialized assessments and a claims procedure. The working group will report to the Council periodically in order to complete the review of mandates in June 2007.

The General Assembly decided that the Council should also conduct a universal periodic review, based on objective and reliable information, of the fulfilment by each State of its human rights obligations and commitments. It also decided that the Council shall develop the modalities and necessary time allocation for the universal periodic review mechanism within one year.

At the end of its mandate, the Human Rights Council established an intersessional open-ended intergovernmental working group to consult on and consider the various proposals in that regard. In that connection, the Council requested substantive contributions from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which are essential to designing a well-founded mechanism. The creation of a universal periodic review mechanism, as defined by the General Assembly, is undoubtedly one of the most complex and urgent tasks in the institutional building of the Council.

The Human Rights Council has the challenge of consolidating itself and of proving itself capable of meeting the international community's expectations. During this transitional period, we have therefore adopted many of the effective practices of the Commission on Human Rights when we have felt it appropriate to do so. At the same time, we have stressed the need to be creative and innovative in all areas where we need to be so. That will help us to design new machinery for the promotion and protection of human rights.

We have another important challenge. That is the manner in which the Council will address human rights violations, including grave and systematic violations and emergency situations involving human rights, as well as the manner in which it will carry out its preventive tasks, in accordance with the mandate conferred by the Assembly in resolution 60/251.

The Council has held two special sessions to date. The first addressed the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, and the second addressed the grave situation of human rights in Lebanon caused by Israeli military operations.

The outcome of the first special session was the adoption by the Council of a resolution to dispatch an urgent fact-finding mission headed by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. Regrettably, the mission has not yet been able to get under way.

In the second special session, a high-level commission of inquiry was created, consisting of three internationally recognized and prestigious individuals. The commission has already begun its visits on the ground and is ready to conclude its work. The Commission will submit its report to the Council at its third regular session.

It is noteworthy that during the second session, now under way, it was possible to develop a constructive dialogue with a very high number of special procedures and with representatives of other human rights mechanisms under a new format. That led to better and richer participation on the part of Member States and observers as well as of representatives of civil society and national human rights institutions. A generic resolution was adopted allowing for continuity in the work under way, and it is hoped that a body of decisions and resolutions submitted by Member States will be adopted by the end of this month, when that session concludes. Thus we can safely say that the work of institution-building has not resulted in any protection vacuum and that the system as a whole is continuing to function.

After a year, the Council's should have transparent, fair and impartial methods of work, which will enable genuine dialogue and be results-oriented, as set out in paragraph 12 of resolution 60/251.

Likewise, it will have to pay due attention to the implementation of its decisions, and, in that connection, I would note that we have already taken substantive steps forward in that direction by following up, at each of our sessions, the decisions adopted by the Council.

Likewise, the Council will have to agree on an agenda that is in keeping with the General Assembly's decision to promote universal respect for the protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, in the context of an annual cycle of meetings that will enable the Council to consider, in an orderly and rational manner, all of the issues under its purview. The idea is to avail ourselves of the possibility of meeting on several occasions throughout the year, staggering consideration of certain items and following up regularly on all mandates, and of reacting more quickly to events as they occur. We will also have to develop new rules of procedure to promote the orderly progression of our work.

Before concluding, I would note that the mandate and nature of the Council, as well as the pressing tasks before it -- that is, consideration of various substantive items as well as its own institutional development -- require that the Council have at its disposal the tools and resources necessary to its consolidation and to carry out its functions properly. Likewise, I deem it important to take an innovative, open and positive approach to the various issues before the Council so as to achieve a true reform of the human rights system.

Building a new institution that meets the expectations of the international community will certainly require the committed participation of each and every one of the States Members of the United Nations as well as the commitment of all of those stakeholders that are directly or indirectly involved, in order to provide it the conditions and the support that it requires to establish itself. This is not an easy task and cannot be accomplished by mere expressions of goodwill. We must intensify efforts and reach agreement on complex issues.

I believe that we have made a great deal of progress and that by June of next year we will be in a position to achieve the goals that have been set for us.

Ms. Lintonen (Finland)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union (EU). The acceding countries Bulgaria and Romania, the candidate countries Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) country Norway, member of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova, align themselves with this declaration.

The EU warmly welcomes the report of the Human Rights Council presented by the President of the Council, Ambassador De Alba. The EU appreciates Ambassador De Alba's work as President of the Council and wishes to express to him its full support.

The creation of the Human Rights Council provides new opportunities to promote and protect human rights. The first report of the Council, now before the General Assembly plenary, provides a chance to reflect on the beginning of the work of the Council. We welcome this opportunity to present our views on the first report of the Human Rights Council. In accordance with the General Assembly decision on the allocation of this item, the account of the recommendations of the Human Rights Council to the General Assembly will be given at a meeting of the Third Committee later today.

During its first session, the Human Rights Council held a discussion on issues identified by the Member States and observer States of the Council. The Council addressed the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, religious intolerance, the human rights of migrants, the role of human rights defenders, and the situation in Darfur after the signing of the Abuja Peace Agreement. The EU welcomed the opportunity for an exchange of views on those important issues. The EU regrets that the Council was not able to adopt substantive decisions on all those topics.

The Council also continued the work already begun by the Commission on Human Rights. Resolutions were adopted on the Working Group on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on the Right to Development and on the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.

The two recommendations of the Council to the General Assembly, the draft resolutions on the International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance and on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples are to be further considered in the Third Committee later today. As their final adoption is for the plenary of the General Assembly, the European Union wishes to express its full support for the two texts aimed at strengthening the promotion of human rights within the United Nations system and calls for their prompt adoption by the General Assembly at its sixty-first session, as recommended by the Human Rights Council.

The EU also warmly welcomed the dialogue with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Louise Arbour, during the first session of the Human Rights Council. The EU reaffirms its firm support for the work and independence of the High Commissioner and her Office, which is making a crucial contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide. Apart from other important functions, an active role is crucial on the part of the High Commissioner in contributing to an effective and operational Human Rights Council.

The EU wishes to reiterate its commitment to an open and constructive dialogue among all stakeholders, including the valuable contribution of non-governmental organizations on various human rights questions in the framework of the Human Rights Council. We all should continue our efforts towards a constructive dialogue on all issues, including the most difficult questions. We welcome similar efforts to promote dialogue made by a number of other delegations.

In accordance with resolution 60/251, the first session of the Human Rights Council decided to extend all the mandates, mechanisms, functions and responsibilities of the Commission on Human Rights, which were thus assumed by the Human Rights Council. That important consensus step prevented a protection gap during the Council's transitional year. As the system of special procedures is crucial to ensure the effective promotion and protection of human rights, the EU firmly believes that in the context of the review process the system should be further strengthened. All States should fully cooperate with special procedures in order to contribute to their effective functioning and to translate the dialogue with special procedures into operational outcomes.

Other positive steps concerning the future work of the Council, such as the decision to establish a working group to develop the modalities of the universal periodic review, were also taken during the first session, in accordance with resolution 60/251. The EU expects the universal periodic review to develop into a meaningful mechanism complementing other forms of activity of the Human Rights Council related to country situations, and to bring real added value. The EU will continue to play an active role to that effect.

The EU emphasizes the importance of making progress on those two important issues in a timely manner. In the meantime, the EU looks forward to working with all stakeholders in a constructive and consensual manner in the framework of the working groups.

The EU believes that special sessions of the Council are a way to make an efficient contribution to the protection and promotion of all human rights for all. It is important that the Human Rights Council address urgent situations and express a united view. This will require genuine discussion and consultations.

At the first special session, on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, the European Union expressed its concern about the situation which had evolved between Israel and the Palestinians and called on all parties to abstain from any actions that violated international humanitarian and human rights law. The second special session took place following the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon and Israel. The EU deplored the loss of innocent lives and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, to be followed by a sustainable ceasefire.

The EU would have preferred the Council to have adopted texts addressing the situation in a more balanced manner, reflecting all relevant aspects of the crises, and it regrets that no genuine discussions took place, as provided for in resolution 60/251.

It is important that the Human Rights Council effectively fulfil its mandate relating to prevention and address situations of human rights violations worldwide. The EU is also determined to work towards those goals with all stakeholders when the second session of the Human Rights Council is resumed and at the forthcoming third session of the Human Rights Council.

Mrs. Ferrari (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

I have the honour to make this brief statement on behalf of the States members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).

CARICOM member States wish to thank the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba, for his statement. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Ambassador De Alba on his election as the first President of the Council. CARICOM member States consider it a great honour for the Latin American and Caribbean Group that the States members of the Council agreed to designate a member of our Group as the first President of the Human Rights Council. We are also pleased to note the decision that the composition of the Bureau will fully respect the principle of equitable geographical distribution.

We would like to extend our congratulations to all those elected as members of the Bureau and to the membership of the Human Rights Council as a whole for undertaking the challenge of revamping and strengthening the United Nations human rights machinery with the aim of ensuring the effective enjoyment by all of all human rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development.

In this context, we note the progress made during the first session of the Human Rights Council towards the implementation of 60/251, particularly with the establishment, at its first session, of two open-ended intergovernmental working groups to address, respectively, the universal periodic review and institution-building.

For CARICOM member States, the core of the work of the Human Rights Council is the establishment of a cooperative mechanism for the promotion of human rights, serving as a vehicle for the promotion of genuine cooperation for capacity-building and mutual assistance. We endorse the view expressed by the Secretary-General that the Council's work should mark a clean break from the past; that should be apparent in the way it develops and applies the universal periodic review mechanism.

CARICOM is of the view that the development of a universal periodic review that is impartial and applicable to all States will usher in a new era of international cooperation on human rights matters. The work of the Human Rights Council working group tasked with the development of modalities, as well as the allocation of sufficient time for the review, are critical. We note the decision of the Council to hold informal consultations through an open-ended consultative process in order to compile proposals and relevant information and experiences.

As the Human Rights Council discharges its mandate, we must always be mindful of the need to ensure that it caters not to political agendas but rather to humanity, and particularly those who have been denied their rights. If we maintain this perspective, then the Council should be able to promote and protect the highest ideals and standards of human rights.