Chair,

The EU and its Member States thank the Assistant Secretary-General for presenting the reports of the Secretary-General, outlining trends, progress and challenges in upholding respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights globally.

The EU is gravely concerned about the continued violations and abuses of human rights, as documented in any of these reports. In the current global environment, standing up for international law, including human rights, democratic principles and rule of law, and defending the UN Charter and the rules-based international order is more critical than ever.

We acknowledge the Secretary General’s report on reprisals and intimidation against individuals and groups seeking to cooperate with the UN on human rights, as well as the presentation of this report today. The EU strongly condemns any form of intimidation, harassment, and reprisals, both offline and online, and calls on all states to respect and protect groups and persons, in particular civil society organisations, human rights defenders and journalists, who cooperate or seek to cooperate with the UN System. Such acts constitute grave attacks against the very essence and proper functioning of the UN system itself.

The EU is particularly alarmed at the trends identified in the report, including:

• The increase in both the number of reported acts and severity of intimidation and reprisal over recent years;
• Enhanced surveillance, both online and offline, of individuals cooperating with the UN;
• The heightened risk of reprisals against women, including women peacebuilders, as well as young people and Indigenous Peoples;

These worrying trends need to be addressed immediately. In that regard, we welcome the good practices at national and international levels indicated in the report. The UN itself indeed has a central responsibility in addressing reprisals.

Q: As Member States, how can we foster a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders, to ensure that all incidences of reprisals are reported on and those responsible are held accountable?

Q: Given the recent increase in victims and those at risk, how can we design protection programmes to promote a safe environment, both online and offline?