EU High Representative Kaja Kallas at the Human Rights Council (HRC61)
Dear Excellencies,
I am sorry not to be with you today but I want to share a few words with you.
First I want to thank His Excellency Ambassador Suryodipuro as President of the Human Rights Council in its 20th anniversary year.
Birthdays are always moments for reflection. And there is a lot to be proud of here:
-
The Council has been agile in tackling human rights crises and new challenges including those related to climate change and new technologies.
-
And it has made tangible progress: from preventing abuse to accountability, capacity building and ensuring peer pressure among countries to do better.
At the same time, we know the challenges to human rights are unprecedented:
-
We are four years into Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and Russia continues to violate international human rights law, international humanitarian law and the laws of war.
-
And words can barely describe the scale of human suffering in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Haiti, Venezuela…
But let us not grieve when we can lead a new defence of human rights instead.
Which brings me to my second thanks – to High Commissioner Volker Türk. You recently joined us in Brussels for our meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.
And therefore, you know you can count on the European Union to keep defending human rights, to be a reliable, predictable partner to others in this work.
And to preserve the collective vision that inspired the creation of the United Nations, as well as the Human Rights Council more recently.
As the High Commissioner has said, investment in human rights is affordable, but the human cost of underinvestment is immeasurable.
In other words, we must do more.
Within the European Union, we are now advancing work to promote equality and fight discrimination.
Internationally we continue our investment in programmes that support all human rights in practice – civil, cultural, economic, political, and social, including the right to development.
This includes defending the defenders. In the last 10 years the EU has provided urgent support to over 94,000 at-risk defenders. Because defending Human Rights is a team effort. Individuals, groups, NGOs, civil society are part of the team, as you all are too.
Dear Excellencies,
There are two types of people in this world: those who have lived with rights and those who haven’t.
And when you have experienced both, as I have, you fight tooth and nail for what you’ve got.
But human rights belong to everyone everywhere. Human rights enable peace and security and economic development. But they also bring joy, fulfilment and prosperity to our daily lives.
So let us use this 20th anniversary year to reflect not only on what we’ve achieved or the challenges to human rights today, but on where we go next to defend them.
Thank you.
Transcript
Dear Excellencies,
I am sorry not to be with you today but I want to share a few words with you.
First I want to thank His Excellency Ambassador Suryodipuro as President of the Human Rights Council in its 20th anniversary year.
Birthdays are always moments for reflection. And there is a lot to be proud of here:
-
The Council has been agile in tackling human rights crises and new challenges including those related to climate change and new technologies.
-
And it has made tangible progress: from preventing abuse to accountability, capacity building and ensuring peer pressure among countries to do better.
At the same time, we know the challenges to human rights are unprecedented:
-
We are four years into Russia’s full-scale war on Ukraine and Russia continues to violate international human rights law, international humanitarian law and the laws of war.
-
And words can barely describe the scale of human suffering in Gaza, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan, Iran, Myanmar, Haiti, Venezuela…
But let us not grieve when we can lead a new defence of human rights instead.
Which brings me to my second thanks – to High Commissioner Volker Türk. You recently joined us in Brussels for our meeting of EU Foreign Ministers.
And therefore, you know you can count on the European Union to keep defending human rights, to be a reliable, predictable partner to others in this work.
And to preserve the collective vision that inspired the creation of the United Nations, as well as the Human Rights Council more recently.
As the High Commissioner has said, investment in human rights is affordable, but the human cost of underinvestment is immeasurable.
In other words, we must do more.
Within the European Union, we are now advancing work to promote equality and fight discrimination.
Internationally we continue our investment in programmes that support all human rights in practice – civil, cultural, economic, political, and social, including the right to development.
This includes defending the defenders. In the last 10 years the EU has provided urgent support to over 94,000 at-risk defenders. Because defending Human Rights is a team effort. Individuals, groups, NGOs, civil society are part of the team, as you all are too.
Dear Excellencies,
There are two types of people in this world: those who have lived with rights and those who haven’t.
And when you have experienced both, as I have, you fight tooth and nail for what you’ve got.
But human rights belong to everyone everywhere. Human rights enable peace and security and economic development. But they also bring joy, fulfilment and prosperity to our daily lives.
So let us use this 20th anniversary year to reflect not only on what we’ve achieved or the challenges to human rights today, but on where we go next to defend them.
Thank you.