Third Committee, 36th plenary meeting - General Assembly, 80th session

Good afternoon, colleagues. The 36th meeting of the Third Committee at the 80th session of the General Assembly is called to order. I now invite the Committee to begin its consideration of agenda item 6, entitled Report of the Human Rights Council. The documentation under the item is listed on ICIV. Colleagues, I wish to remind you that the deadline for the submission of draft proposals under this item is Tuesday, November 4th at 6:00 p.m. With that, I would like to welcome the President of the Human Rights Council, His Excellency Ambassador Jurk Lauber. A very warm welcome to the Third Committee. Participants wishing to make comments and pose questions to the President of the Council are invited at this time to press their microphone button within the next three minutes, after which the list will be closed. The time limit for each speaker will be announced before the floor is given to the first speaker. Thank you, as always, for your kind cooperation. With that, I now invite the President of the Human Rights Council to make a statement. Excellencies, the floor is yours.

Thank you so much, Chair, Excellencies, distinguished colleagues, dear colleagues. Chair, thank you so much for your warm welcome. It's wonderful to be back here, see still a few familiar faces, including former presidents of the Human Rights Council. Colleagues, I'm really honored to engage with you this afternoon in an interactive dialogue around the annual report. of the Human Rights Council. This morning, some of you were there. I reported to the General Assembly on the activities and decisions of the Human Rights Council during its 19th cycle, covering the Council's 58th, 59th, 60th sessions and the 37th special session, which was held on the situation of human rights in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the 137 resolutions and decisions and one presidential statement that were adopted. One, I think so, yeah. Throughout the year, the Human Rights Council responded to urgent human rights situations around the world, expanded thematic mandates by adopting new initiatives. It continued to mandate technical assistance and capacity building activities in many countries. It also adopted a new open-ended intergovernmental working group for the elaboration on a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons, in this way further pursuing on the Council's normative mandate. The Human Rights Council continued to show its flexibility and its resilience. I'm not going to repeat everything. that I shared with the General Assembly this morning. You will find that statement somewhere online, I'm sure. But I still want to use this opportunity to meet with you this afternoon to go on some points into more details and add a few points that I was not able to mention this morning. So please allow me to highlight the following points. In Geneva, we are actually quite proud of the accomplishments of the Human Rights Council's continued support to the participation of least developed countries and small island developing states in the work of the Council through the support provided by its Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund. I'm sure that you all agree that the participation of as many UN member states as possible is an important goal to ensure that dialogue at the Council best reflect its global membership and its mandated principle of objectivity. It was a pleasure for me to engage with former beneficiaries of that program during the workshop organized for the African states in Cotonou, Benin, in May of this year. And I can confirm the importance of this program for beneficiary delegates and the positive impact on the building of their countries' human rights capacities and their engagement on the multilateral level. Many of the colleagues I met in Benin are now in positions of importance, of influence, of decision making. So the Voluntary Trust Fund's support is actually a really good investment. Universal participation and contribution to the work of the Council is a goal I'm sure we all share. And I express the hope that states will continue to support the work of the trust fund through their voluntary contribution. Colleagues, please, that's a message I would very much like you to convey back home. And if you can even make a small contribution, that is already significant for the money that you will contribute, but also for a signal of support. Colleagues, I can't overstate the value and contribution of representatives of civil society in the Human Rights Council's work, in its deliberations and its outcomes. Civil society representatives are an important stakeholder and an essential feature of the Council's work and functioning. It is crucial that we protect the space for them to speak up as they carry the voices of right holders and victims and their aspirations to our attention, our attention as delegates. They are a crucial link to ensure the Council's work is relevant in the field, ensuring the access of civil society representatives to the Council is therefore essential. Please note that as President, I remain firmly engaged in addressing any case of harassment, intimidation or reprisals that civil society representatives may face due to their engagement with the Council and its mechanisms. We are also quite proud of the performance of the different mechanisms and bodies of the Human Rights Council. Special procedures, you've heard that many times, are the eyes and ears of the Council, as they provide one of the main sources of update, reliable information on human rights issues and situations around the world. And I would like, again, I did it this morning already, but I'd like to encourage member states again to make full use of their findings and recommendations, which can be particularly valuable in early warning and prevention efforts. Special procedure mandate holders must also be able to do their work without being subject to acts of intimidation, reprisals, or coercive measures. Such acts or end measures run counter to the spirit that should guide our work. The Universal Periodic Review, somebody called it the jewel of the crown this morning, and I totally agree. The UPR continues to be an important mechanism, equal treatment of all States being its principle. The UPR remains one of the unquestionable successes of the Council, as demonstrated by the increasing number of recommendations being addressed to each Member State, a significant and steady average acceptance rate of recommendations, as well as paving avenues for technical cooperation through its voluntary trust funds. It is vital to deploy all efforts to preserve this important mechanism mandated by the General Assembly and meant to cover all human rights and all members of the United Nations. Mr. Chair, dear delegates, like elsewhere in the United Nations, the organization's liquidity crisis has continued to pose significant challenges to the work of the human rights mechanisms. For years, the Council has taken measures to increase its efficiency. and address the constraints of an ever-growing programme of work and reduced resources. This year, due to cash conservation, the Council adopted an additional package of measures to reduce its meeting time for the 59th and 60th sessions, which capped interactive dialogues at one hour and 30 minutes, reduced speaking time in general debates for all, and also merged the inter-sessional meetings on Venezuela and Ukraine into a single meeting, which is scheduled to take place in December. I have said it on many occasions that the Human Rights Council is probably the most efficient body of the United Nations system in how it uses the time at its disposal. Also, due to the liquidity crisis, the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights has been unable to implement several mandated activities. It is particularly concerning that there are no means available to operationalize the commission of inquiry that was adopted during one of the council's special sessions. More broadly, all mandated work, both thematic and county-specific, has been affected, with many activities now being delivered in a reduced capacity. The Human Rights Council has regularly undertaken rationalization and efficiency measures to streamline its work, which has become even more important in the current context and given the requirement to reduce meeting time. For instance, of those mechanisms reporting to the General Assembly, the Council adopted resolutions concluding the mandate of the independent expert on the human rights situation in Somalia. merging the mandates of Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery and the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons into one single mandate, and also mandated the Special Rapporteur on the rights to safe drinking water and sanitation to report to the General Assembly every two years instead of every single year. These decisions demonstrate, I believe, the intent of Member States to take credible and progressive action to rationalize its work while still ensuring that mandates can be implemented and have an impact. Importantly, Member States can use the Council-mandated HRC Mapper, and I thank the Secretariat for developing this tool, a tool and a structured database developed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights that provides a comprehensive overview of Council mandates, mechanisms, resolutions and reports helping us, the delegations, to identify mandates with overlapping themes or activities. While the tool needs to be further developed, it demonstrates that the Council's innovative efforts to address the liquidity crisis enhance coordination and avoid duplication. Dear colleagues, allow me to refer to the discussions of the Council's Bureau and the Bureau of the Third Committee that were held with a view to the implementation of General Assembly resolution 179192 on the working methods of the Third Committee. As you might recall, the resolution requested both bureaus to develop a mutually agreed roadmap to progressively reduce the interactive dialogues to a manageable number at each annual session of the Third Committee. I would like to thank you, Mr. Chair, as well as the Third Committee's Bureau, for the productive exchange of views that we had on 5 September. As a follow-up, the focal points of both bureaus have useful discussions on the way forward, and I also had a fruitful conversation with you, Chair, during my current visit. I would like to assure all delegations that the Council is addressing the matter proactively in the context of its efficiency and rationalization efforts, as illustrated by the examples that I previously shared. At the same time, it is important to have a common understanding on the basic principles that will underpin the roadmap and to continue to enhance coordination, collaboration, and coherence between the two bodies. Human rights are not a luxury, colleagues, they are essential, we all know that. Human rights do not defend themselves, institutions are fragile, progress is not a given, Human rights are interlinked with development on the one hand and peace and security on the other. I feel, and I said it this morning, that our approach therefore must be holistic and inclusive to fulfill the mandate entrusted to us, freedom, dignity, and justice for every human being. And I renew my appeal that human rights be preserved and strengthened. as we move forward with UN 80 and address the current financial, which is also a political crisis. I look very much forward to your comments and questions. And thank you very much again, Chair, for this opportunity to address the Third Committee. Thank you.

Thank you very much indeed, the President of the Human Rights Council, for your kind statement. I will now open the floor for any questions or comments to the President of the Council. As per past practice, I would ask the delegations to limit their comments to three minutes. Thank you so much for your kind cooperation. I now give the floor to Iraq, to be followed by Uruguay and Estonia. Iraq, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. We welcome the President of the Human Rights Council, and we commend his role and the work of the Council, and we hail his work in bolstering cooperation and partnerships, which are essential for human rights. We reiterate our commitment to human rights and our commitment to strengthening those rights, and to ensure dignity and justice. The Council must abide by the universal principles of objectivity, impartiality, and non-discrimination so that all human rights questions can be strengthened. Iraq reiterates its support and its cooperation with the Council, in particular with the mandate holders. this to strengthen human rights and to strengthen the Universal Periodic Review in the context of objectivity, while respecting the specific features of every country. We are convinced of the importance of the Human Rights Council for human rights, and we are running as a candidate for the Council, too. And a large number of countries has already supported us, over 75 countries. That shows the importance of human rights. We are convinced of and committed to the principles and the goals of the Human Rights Council, and we stand ready to cooperate with all members in order to strengthen human rights and protect them. according to the principles of justice and human dignity, which this Council embodies. I thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, Iraq, for the statement. I now give the floor to Uruguay, to be followed by Estonia and Cameroon. Uruguay, the floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Chair. Uruguay thanks the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Laub, for his work and dedication, and also for the valuable report he has presented. Uruguay fully supports the Human Rights Council as the organ responsible for promoting protection of the universal human rights of all people and overseeing situations of violations of human rights. We recall that Resolution 70701 clearly establishes that this is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, not of this third committee. This status was maintained in resolution 76281, and it should return to be reviewed in 2026. In this regard, we are grateful for all of the additional information that you may be able to provide. Uruguay reaffirms its commitment to strengthening the human rights pillar and its cross-cuttingness across all of the work of the United Nations. We will continue to reject attempt to undermine its institutions and its legitimacy and also to highlight the importance of the universality of the UPR. And we also draw attention to the structural underfunding of the human rights pillar. As regards the dialogue between the Bureau and in terms of reducing the number of interactive dialogues in relation to 79, resolution 79/792, We hope that you will be able to ensure that this will not impact intergovernmental negotiations. Any measures should be subject to UNAT and actually strengthen coherence across the three duty stations. and ensure the minimal impact of human rights on the ground. Finally, Ambassador, now allow me to recall that you have the strongest support of Uruguay and also my own as the former President myself. Thank you.

Thank you, Uruguay, for your statement. I now give the floor to Estonia, to be followed by Cameroon and Cuba. Estonia, the floor is yours.

Chair, I have the honor to speak on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States. Let me start by reiterating that according to resolution 65/281, it is the responsibility of the plenary of the General Assembly and not of the Third Committee to take action on the report of the Human Rights Council. We are, however, always grateful for the opportunity to engage on the important work of the Council and would, therefore, like to say the following. We thank President Laaber for his leadership in increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Rights Council, including through deep engagement with civil society and sustained attention to rapidly evolving thematic challenges, such as emerging technologies and climate change. The Nordic and Baltic States remain firmly committed to addressing grave human rights situations worldwide. Resolutions on serious country-specific situations, including on Russia, Ukraine in the context of Russia's ongoing war of aggression, Belarus, Afghanistan, Sudan, the occupied Palestinian territory and others remain indispensable tools. Accountability must remain central in this regard. We are deeply concerned about the UN liquidity crisis and its growing impact on the human rights system, including the postponement, reduction and inhibition of mandated activities. Stable, predictable, and adequate financing is a precondition for credible and functioning international human rights architecture. Country-specific mandates addressing the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation are especially vital. Today marks the 25th anniversary of a resolution on women, peace, and security. This year also marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action and last year we celebrated the 45th anniversary of the CEDAW. Yet, we continue to witness an intensified pushback against gender equality, the rights of women and girls, as well as of LGBTI persons, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and an increase in violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Our future progress depends on strong collective efforts, resources, and political will. Mr. President, in light of increasing polarization within and beyond the Human Rights Council, how do you see opportunities to strengthen the human rights system and foster constructive dialogue across regions and perspectives? Thank you.

Thank you, Estonia, for your statement. I now give the floor to Cameroon, to be followed by Cuba and China. Cameroon, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair. My delegation thanks Ambassador Hugues Loubert, President of the 96th cycle of the Human Rights Council, for his presentation. President Loubert, My country congratulates you on your commitment following your election to contribute to reducing divergences and enabling the Council to move forward in fulfilling its mandate in a respectful and calm atmosphere, in an environment where no one should fear intimidation or retaliation. We also appreciate your intention to continue the important effort of your predecessors to ensure that the Council has necessary resources and to work for greater efficiency and focus on the Council mandate in the interest of achieving real impact on people concerned. Could you please highlight the major proposals or suggestions of your presidency in this regard? Mr. President.

Mr. Chair, the U.S. faces a major liquidity crisis. And we thank you for the information you've shared with us, which impacts the financial situation and the work of the Human Rights Council, including the implementation of existing mandates. The HRC is working more and more, and this is a concern for the many delegations, especially the smallest delegations, and it's a problem for the Third Committee as well. We welcome the initiatives aiming to streamline the work of the Council. including the fusion of two special procedures and the modification of the frequency of the reports to the General Assembly. As you reported, we've adopted the resolution on the working methods of the Third Committee. And here, we were called to bolster cooperation between the Third Committee and the Council in order to avoid overlaps and duplications. and to reduce the statements to the Third Committee. We appreciate the work that you've done in this regard in order to implement this resolution in coordination with the relevant committees, especially with regard to the roadmap. Could you provide us with more detailed information about this roadmap and its content? And how does this fit with the efforts to streamline the Human Rights Council? Thank you.

Thank you, Cameron, for the statement. I now give the floor to Cuba, to be followed by China and Myanmar. Cuba.

Thank you, Chair. We would like, first of all, to thank Ambassador Lauber for his presentation. Cuba defends a respectful and constructive dialogue and cooperation as effective pathways for the promotion and protection of human rights. Respect for the principles of universality, indivisibility, objectivity and non-selectivity is fundamental. We should put an end to the politicization, double standards, conditionality and pressure in treatment of these issues. Approval of mandate holders and investigative mechanisms against developing countries without the consent of the state concerned has unfortunately become a daily practice of the Council. Cuba opposes this approach. It is unacceptable, it is unjust and discriminatory that the Council should be used to highlight the situation of developing countries on the basis of biased and very often fabricated information. Meanwhile, a blind eye is turned to other violations of human rights that occur in highly developed countries. Cuba reiterates its will to maintain dialogue and cooperation with the procedures and mechanisms of the human rights system that are universally applicable and not discriminatory. At the same time, we express our concern for the proliferation of politicized positions that are incompatible with the code of conduct that governs the activities of the mandate holders of the special procedures. We simply must have verification of information received from their sources and it should be contrasted with the responses emitted by states. The machinery of the United Nations human rights system should not and cannot be used for the promotion of interventionist agendas against sovereign states. We reiterate our firm support to the universal periodic review as the ideal mechanism for addressing realization of human rights from a constructive and respectful point of view. Chair, President, human rights are based on universal and shared values that do not belong exclusively to any one political, economic, social or cultural system, nor do they belong to any particular form of civilization. Therefore, no one should attempt to try and raise themselves up as a paradigm and impose their vision on others. Based on this perspective, my delegation will continue working for cooperation, dialogue, and mutual respect. I thank you.

I thank you for the statement. I'll now give the floor to China, to be followed by Myanmar and Brazil. China.

Mr. Chair, China thanks HRC President Ambassador Lauber and other members of the Bureau for their service to the Council, and welcomes the Council's positive progress over the past year towards inter alia better dialogue and cooperation and improved efficiency. This year marks the United Nations at 80. Come next year, the Council will be marking its 20th anniversary. However, multiple challenges continue to confront the Council's work. The first of such challenges is that human rights issues are being politicized and instrumentalized, and it's getting worse as double standards and the practice of naming and shaming remain life. The second challenge is the failure to prioritize economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development, which are dear to the developing world, but have not received nearly enough attention for far too long. Investment in rights-related technical assistance capacity building is sorely needed. Third, Some special procedures operate beyond their mandates and issue irresponsible remarks on the strength of unverified information. And fourth, meeting agendas remain heavy and unwieldy. Some mandates are marred by inefficiency, duplications and resource intensiveness. Much remains to be done to improve the Council's efficiency. The global governance initiative launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping has created a pivotal opportunity for China's constructive engagement with the HRC reform in the context of the UN80 initiative. We encourage the Council to reject double standards and politicization, focus on dialogue and cooperation, promote all human rights in a balanced manner, manage its procedures and mandates with greater rigor, and make its work more efficient. It warrants noting that the Council's status review should be advanced in New York pursuant to GA resolutions and must not be conflated with other reform processes. It should be done with full respect for the HRC's status as a subsidiary body of the GA. Crucially, the reform to improve efficiency should focus on ending the politicization of human rights issues and overlapping of mandates. Caution is advised when creating or renewing country-specific procedures, some other measures such as Proactive periodic assessments and introduction of sunset clauses are also needed. Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Thank you, China, for the statement. And I'll give the floor to Myanmar, to be followed by Brazil and Islamic Republic of Iran. Myanmar.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. Myanmar thanks the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Yulova, for the report and the statements. we welcome the Council's consensus adoption of resolution 5820, situation of human rights in Myanmar, and 592, situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar. Although the information in them cannot fully capture the extent of the violations endured by the affected populations, we sincerely hope that it will draw more attention from the international community to their plight in Myanmar. Since the illegal coup, the situation in Myanmar deteriorates further consistently. As the military junta has been committing the atrocities against the civilians with zero-sum game mentality, people have been suffering from the intensifying pattern of crimes against humanity and war crimes. Within almost five Mr. Chair, as main organs under the United Nations system, outcomes of the UN General Assembly, the UN Security Council, and the UN Human Rights Council should be coherent and coordinated. The more these bodies delay in taking effective actions, the more intensifying the suffering of the people with each passing day. We commend the recommendation adopted in the resolutions and extend our gratitude to the member state for their valuable contributions to their preparations and adoption. Though this adopted resolution lacks stronger actions, Their provisions have clearly communicated to the real facts on the ground, presented through the reports and statements of the UN Secretary-General, his Special Envoy on Myanmar, OACHR, IIN, Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, and other relevant stakeholders. Therefore, we call on the international community to exert greater pressure to ensure the full implementations of the resolutions. In this regard, Mr. President, what is your view on strengthening effective coherence among main UN organs, namely HRC, UNGA, and UNSC, to save lives and prevent further atrocities against civilians in the situation like in Myanmar in a timely manner? Mr. Chair, we wish to highlight that military hunters continue to commit serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity and war crimes against the civilian populations. while seeking to obscure these actions and circulate misleading or fabricated information. This is the evidence that the Hunter's planned sham election will not be anywhere near just, free and fair, instead create more violence and instability. We ask the international community to categorically reject the junta's scam election, to take urgent and serious measures to implement the resolutions.

Thank you, Myanmar, for the statement. Now I'll give the floor to Brazil, to be followed by Iran and Tunisia. Brazil, you have the floor.

Mr. Chair, Brazil extends its sincere appreciation to Mr. Lober for his firm and constructive leadership as President of the Human Rights Council. Brazil supports a Council that is based on the founding principles of impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity, and constructive dialogue and cooperation. However, we must voice our deep concern regarding the growing proliferation of country-specific resolutions, particularly under item 4. Year after year, this trend fails to foster genuine solutions or constructive paths to address human rights violations. Instead, it tends to isolate countries and undermine the Council's vital work by increasing polarization and hindering dialogue. The repeated adoption of country resolutions under items 2 and 4 without evaluating their effectiveness erodes the fundamental principles of the Council. This approach reduces the potential for international cooperation. Unfortunately, we are already witnessing a scenario where an increasing number of countries are questioning the Council's impartiality and reducing their cooperation, particularly with special procedures. Most worryingly, some countries are considering seizing cooperation even with the universal periodical review, which is the Council's most constructive mechanism. The current budgetary situation of the Council and the UN aid initiative must be seen as opportunities to improve efficiency by reducing country-specific mandates and forum shopping, which often reflect political motivations rather than objective human rights needs. We must avoid the creation or renewal of mandates that fail to deliver tangible results. Country-specific mandates should be a last resort. Thematic and cross-regional approaches offer more consistent, sustainable outcomes. We should also avoid duplication between the Council and the Third Committee work. For developing countries, a renewed emphasis on dialogue, inclusivity, and technical operation is essential to bridge implementation gaps. Any efficiency efforts must preserve mandates critical to developing countries, especially those under items 3, 9, and 10 of the Council. Brazil believes that the Human Rights Council and the Office of the High Commissioner should strengthen their efforts on fostering international cooperation and promoting technological assistance. Furthermore, we must all support the Universal Periodic Review and its invaluable work as the bedrock of constructive accountability. I thank you.

Thank you, Brazil, for the statement. I now give the floor to the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair. We thank the President of the Human Rights Council for his address to the Committee. Iran has already delivered its more comprehensive statement in the morning segment of the General Assembly. Therefore, in the interest of time, we will confine our remarks to some key points. We must not lose sight of the suffering of millions of Palestinians in Gaza. Iran reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Palestinian people and their just cause. We call for the immediate cessation of the occupation and urge the Human Rights Council to take concrete measures to hold the Israeli regime accountable for its grave violations. And then Iran reiterates its consistent position of non-recognition and rejection of politically motivated country-specific mandates. We therefore disassociate ourselves from those parts of the Human Rights Council report referring to the so-called independent international fact-finding mission and the special rapporteur on Iran. These biased and selective mechanisms hinder constructive dialogue and damage the credibility of the Council. But at the moment, at the same time, we have decided to engage with Mays Sato, Special Rapporteur on Human Rights on Iran. She has condemned Israeli attacks against Iran in June 2025 in her recent report impartially. Iran reiterates its full support for the Universal Periodic Review, as you said, is the jewel of the crown as a voluntary, cooperative, and non-discriminatory mechanism for addressing human rights issues. The overlap and duplication of the mandates of human rights mechanisms concerning Iran were evident yesterday during the interactive dialogue with the relevant mandate holders in the Third Committee. There is an urgent need to address this issue and to avoid any duplication of mandates that adds no value to the human rights discourse, which must be grounded in dialogue and mutual respect. Their termination is much required. Iran firmly rejects all attempts to erode multilateralism and the purposes and principles of the UN Charter through unilateral coercive measures. Such actions severely undermine international cooperation and violate the full spectrum of human rights of peoples in targeted nations, including their fundamental rights to life, health, and development. Aware of the UN liquidity crisis, it is imperative of Human Rights Council to address this concern seriously and enhance its efficiency through avoiding proliferation of country-specific resolutions and their ensuing mechanism and reports that are presented to HRC and its parent body in parallel and undermine the cause of human rights and cooperation and dialogue. Mr. President, how can the Human Rights Council and its members ensure that their mandates remain free from politicization and that the Council's work is not misused to exert pressure on sovereign states or interfere in their internal affairs? I thank you.

Thank you, Iran, for the statement. Tunisia, the floor is yours.

Thank you, Chair. Tunisia welcomes the President of the Human Rights Council and thanks him for his briefing and his efforts to lead the work of the Council despite the financial challenges confronting the United Nations. Tunisia reaffirms its firm support to the vital role of the HRC in strengthening and protecting all human rights without selectivity and in strengthening the principles of cooperation and dialogue. We also commend its work within in the Universal Periodic Review, which is an example of positive interaction between countries. It helps in building capacities and strengthening technical cooperation. We call on member states to fully benefit from the recommendations of the Council as an effective means for conflict prevention and early warning. Given the current financial crisis, we express our concern that this will have an impact on the activities, and we call on providing sustainable funding to enable the High Commissioner's Office to carry out its functions in an optimal manner. We wonder how can the international community guarantee the continuity of the work of human rights mechanisms in an effective manner, given the current financial difficulties to protect human rights. We are following up closely the situation in the Sudan and the deteriorating humanitarian situation there, especially in El-Fasher city. We reaffirm the importance of protecting civilians and ensuring the delivery of humanitarian assistance. We also support all regional and international efforts to reach a ceasefire and resume a comprehensive national dialogue to allow Sudan to recover its security and stability and achieve the aspirations of its people to development and dignity. In conclusion, Tunisia reaffirms its commitment to the principles of the UN Charter and multilateralism, and we will continue to cooperate in a constructive manner within the Human Rights Council for a fairer and more just international system based on solidarity and equality. I thank you.

Thank you, Tunisia, for your statement. With that, I would like to return the microphone to His Excellency, Lobert President of the Human Rights Council to respond. The floor is yours.

Thank you very much, Chair. Thank you, colleagues, first of all, for the warm welcome, but also for your many expressions of support, much appreciated, also for your advice with regard to strengthening the cooperation between Geneva and New York. Maybe just three quick points. First, I obviously agree that the Human Rights Council, being a subsidiary organ to the General Assembly, should first and foremost report to the General Assembly, and the report should be adopted by the General Assembly. Nevertheless, if I get a chance to have a conversation with third committee experts, I will always appreciate that. Maybe we can think about the format also, avoiding that the two things are taking same place at the same time, but I very much appreciate the exchange we can have this afternoon. Secondly, how to go forward with the pressures on our resources. When I started my mandate, I said I had two priorities. One is put the mandate of the Council at the center, and second, to reclaim space for diplomacy. And I think we need to continue on both. I think we should not at any time, even under a lot of resource pressure, abandon the mandate. We have to insist on the mandate of the Council. that is continuing development of human rights, monitoring what's happening in the world, including reacting to situations of human rights violations. And thirdly, strengthen cooperation and capacity building. The mandate has to remain at the center. We want to fulfill the mandate. Diplomacy outside the rooms, informal contacts in Geneva at least have helped us, I believe, over the year to increase the awareness that we cannot continue as we have in the past. We need to, and I said it this morning, close the gap between our ambitions, the decisions we take in terms of mandates, and the resources we have at disposal. We need to turn around that trend. Discussions have to continue, and efforts have to increase, but I am cautiously optimistic that we are on a good way. Concerning the road map between the third committee and the Human Rights Council, talks are ongoing. I leave it either to the chair or to the two focal points. to inform later about the outcome. And the last point, many of you ask about how to strengthen the human rights system, the frameworks, the institutional architecture. I think there are two things. We need to defend the universality of the system in terms of participation. So engage with those who are disengaging or partially disengaging and explain to them why it's important and necessary to have their full engagement, not just in the council as such, but within the council across the agenda, to hear their expertise, to hear their advice, to hear their concerns. The legitimacy of any multilateral institution or mechanism depends on participation, inclusivity, and we need to preserve that. We also need to preserve it in terms of substance. We were very clear in the Vienna Declaration about the universality and interdependence of all human rights across the board, across the two pacts. I think that's also something we need to insist on, and we need to be Maybe that's something we need to do better. We need to be more concentrated on the actual impact our work has on the rights holders. And Chair, if I, one last point, I believe very much in institutions. I believe also that ultimately institutions are more important than people. If we have strong institutions, that will be an advantage, but to be honest, And the older I get, I find out that it's both. We also need engaged, competent people in these institutions. And on this last point, I want to thank you personally, all of you, for your engagement, for your conviction, for the hard work you're putting in here in New York, together with us in Geneva, for human rights, for the people who are threatened or violated in their human rights. It needs you, the institution of the UN is a fabulous institution, but it's not enough. It needs people like you. And that's my final point. Thank you very much again for this opportunity.

Thank you so much, the President of the Human Rights Council, not only for the comments and responses to your questions, but for the work. as the President of the Human Rights Council. Thank you so much and all the best to you. Thank you. Colleagues, before we resume general statements on any or all items, I would like to remind delegations of the time limit of three minutes. Those of you who wish to deliver a statement are invited to press the microphone button at this time. Any spill over requests will be accommodated at the following meeting for general statements. As usual, the microphone light will start blinking 30 seconds before the expiration of the time limit, and the microphone will be automatically switched off when the time is up. I now give the floor to Cameron.

Chair, my delegation would like to deliver a statement on the agenda 66 report of the Human Rights Council. Chair, the leading role of the Human Rights Council placed in safeguarding human rights at the international level is undeniable. The resolution is at top in eloquent illustration. However, for all those resolution adopted in Geneva to produce tangible result on the ground, it is important that they be accepted and appropriated by all countries. It is therefore essential that national and cultural context be taken into consideration in discourse and practice of human rights. It is with this element in mind that we should never attempt to impose, in the name of human rights, specific set of values to people that are not compatible with their own set of values. My delegation welcomes in this regard the Universal Periodic Review as the appropriate mechanism for examining the situation of human rights in countries on equal, transparent, impartial and non-politicized basis. We note, however, the occurrences of non-cooperation from states under review. The root cause of this situation needs to be addressed through dialogue and cooperation with the concerned countries, while avoiding politicization and stigmatization. Damron welcomes the technical cooperation and capacity building program of Human Rights Council as an example of voluntary, demand-driven, and cooperative approach which helps countries build and reinforce institutions that uphold human rights and the rule of law. We call for an increase in resources of the Voluntary Trust Fund to continue to assist countries upon request. Monsieur le President.

Chairman. providing human, financial, and infrastructure resources for the HIC must be adequate. Data need to be disaggregated among all human rights, those of social, political, cultural, and especially the right to development. There needs to be equitable geographical distribution throughout the world. We see that there are repercussions on the work of the Third Committee, too. This is a liquidity crisis. At this time, we draw the attention of the HRC and that of its members to the relevant resolution on the working methods of the Third Committee, and we eagerly anticipate the joint roadmap of the President of the HRC and the Third Committee to that effect. We must seize the opportunity of the reforms underway at the UN to undertake an in-depth evaluation of all the special procedures of the Human Rights Council with a view to evaluating their effectiveness to reducing duplication and to prioritise what is really yielding results on the ground. Thank you.

Thank you, Cameron, for the statement. I see no further requests for the floor. With that, the committee will resume consideration of agenda item 71, promotion and protection of human rights and sub-items A to D on Monday morning at 10 sharp to hear statements by special procedures mandate holders and other experts and to engage them in an interactive dialogue pursuant to the programme of work. Information on the work of the Committee, including the schedule of meetings, is available on iGov. With that, thank you for your kind cooperation. Have a great weekend. The meeting is adjourned.