EU statement at the launch of the Human Rights Appeal 2025
Human Rights Appeal 2025
30 January 2025
EU Statement
High Commissioner, Excellencies,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.
We thank you and your Office for your work in 2024 and for your strong advocacy to uphold human rights for all, everywhere. As always, you can count on the EU’s support in your endeavours. As staunch supporters of the UN’s human rights mechanisms, we stand fully behind the independence of your mandate and that of your Office.
We appreciate your personal leadership in addressing urgent human rights situations. In a world of multiple crises and incessant human rights violations and abuses, you call out perpetrators and give hope to the victims. You call on States to honour their solemn commitments to human rights and make sure that we do not overlook crises that are not in the international headlines. You have been committed to the promotion of the encompassing concept of a human rights economy. At the same time, you and your office also spread the word on “human rights success stories”, pointing out where investment into human rights has led to improvements for the lives of people on the ground.
High Commissioner,
We welcome the strategic directions of OHCHR work outlined in the Human Rights Appeal for 2025, in continuation of your vision statement of February 2024. We share your conviction that human rights work and that they are contributing solutions to many current challenges. As you underline, in prioritizing human rights, the international community can not only avert violations but also unlock human potential and foster cohesion, resilience and promote sustainable development for generations to come.
On Monday, EU Foreign Ministers reaffirmed the EU’s unwavering support for your office, underlining the need for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to operate independently and with sufficient resources. A strong global system for human rights contributes to early warning, prevention, global protection and human rights mainstreaming. We welcome and support your efforts to increase OHCHR field presences and your role in the implementation of the Pact for the Future, including when it comes to digital technologies.
You can count on the EU to continue advocating for adequate resourcing of the Human Rights pillar. Mandated activities must be financed through the UN’s regular budget and should not have to continue to rely heavily on voluntary contributions. We welcome the regular budget adopted by the UNGA for this year, but we recognize that it does not fully meet the demands of or compensates for years of erosions of the budget for the OHCHR.
Mindful that the voluntary contributions are of crucial importance, and that the Office could do even more than it already does if the Human Rights Appeal was properly funded, we are glad to have been able to make substantial contribution to the work of the office yet again in 2024. The EU institutions alone contributed last year more than USD 23.5m. As Team Europe, together with the EU Member States, we offered near to USD 136m. We salute all partners who joined in this effort to the extent of their abilities – as a sign of a universal support for the OHCHR and the international human rights system.
In 2025, we will do our best to continue our substantial voluntary funding for the Office, and will stand ready to support your Office in any way that we can. The EU’s annual unearmarked contribution of USD 5.3 to OHCHR will soon be made for this year and is also secured for the next two years.