EU Statement - Human Rights Council Organisational Session 8 December 2025
United Nations Human Rights Council
Organisational Session 8 December 2025
EU Statement
Mister President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
We wish to thank the President and the members of the outgoing Bureau, for steering the Council’s work throughout the year. We thank the Secretariat for the excellent support given to our work. We also welcome timely information on budgetary matters and briefings for delegations to promote transparency and predictability in the Council’s work.
While the Council had to navigate an unprecedented financial and liquidity crisis and abridged its regular sessions this year, together with its Special Sessions on El Fasher/Sudan and East of the DRC, it has once again proven its ability to react meaningfully and decisively to acute human rights crises, and also maintained attention to multiple geographic situations, thematic priorities, prevention and human rights mainstreaming.
We appreciate your personal commitment, Mister President, to advance the work of the Council in challenging times for human rights. And we thank the PRs of Thailand and Spain as well as Mexico and Belgium and Mexico for their co-facilitation to advance respectively rationalization and efficiency, and the use of modern technology, including artificial intelligence, in the work of the Council. We reiterate the importance of promoting gender equality, accessibility, and inclusivity in the Council, also in the coming year.
Recognising the challenges of the heavy workload within the HRC, the EU and Member States have undertaken further efforts to contribute to the increased efficiency and effectiveness of the Council to enhance its impact while reducing duplication. We remain committed to continue work in this direction, guided by the newly adopted PRST. We encourage all to work together in this common endeavour, through our respective voluntary actions, taking inspiration from the good practice examples and further proposals featured in the non-paper.
The participation of civil society, human rights defenders and other stakeholders is of crucial importance to this Council and needs to be upheld. Therefore, we would like to recall the concrete proposals that we made during the discussions on the draft PRST, including on the need to act with determination against reprisals and intimidation against individuals and organizations engaging with the Council.
Looking forward to 2026, we wish to congratulate [H.E. Ambassador xx as well as] the newly elected Bureau members who will take on the mantle of our work next year.
2026 yet again will be an important year, marking the 20th anniversary of the Human Rights Council. It is paramount that we recall the strong determination to advance the protection and promotion of human rights globally which inspired the Council’s creation.
As we undergo the UN80 reform process, the EU reaffirms its commitment to effective multilateralism, with a critical need to strengthen the United Nations human rights system, including the OHCHR, and the adequate, predictable, and sustainable funding of the UN’s human rights pillar as set out in the Pact for the Future. We call upon all States to fulfil their financial commitments.
We look forward to engaging with the incoming Bureau, the UN membership, civil society and HRC mechanisms, in the work of the Council next year as well as in discussions that aim to strengthen the role of the Council, the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, as well as accountability for human rights violations and abuses whenever and wherever they occur.
Together we must make sure that the HRC remains fit for purpose and is able to deliver on its mandate also in times of financial and operational constraints.
Thank you!