EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive dialogue on the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
Chair,
The EU and its Member States thank the Assistant Secretary-General for presenting the UN Secretary General’s reports. They are important contributions of the UN system to understanding trends in upholding respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights in the world. This in turn enables the international community to act.
The EU remains gravely concerned about continued violations and abuses of human rights, including the use of torture and sexual and gender-based violence, as documented in the reports. The EU remains committed to ending impunity and ensuring accountability for all violations of international law, including international human rights law, and international humanitarian law throughout the world.
We welcome the UN system’s efforts towards independent investigations into violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law, including those that may amount to international crimes. In the context of the UN80 reform process, we are firmly committed to upholding and strengthening UN human rights pillar, ensuring its sustainable financing and enabling it to play its vital norm-setting role, and mainstreaming human rights across the UN.
The EU positions are grounded in universal values and international law, and we will continue to promote and defend the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of all human rights.
Defending and promoting civil society’s full and meaningful participation, facilitating a safe and enabling online and offline environment for civil society actors and urging for a resolute response to reprisals against those cooperating with the UN, remain one of EU’s priorities.
Chair,
The EU reaffirms its unwavering commitment to combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in all its forms, as evidenced by the EU’s Anti-Racism Action Plan (2020-2025), which will soon be revamped into a fully-fledged EU Anti-Racism Strategy (2026-2030). We recall the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action as a blueprint that sets out a shared vision and concrete measures for eradicating racism globally. This is fully consistent with our resolute fight against antisemitism, and all other forms of violence based on religion or belief.
The EU thanks the Working Group for its presentation. We would like to reiterate that reaching a new consensus on the issue of reparatory justice remains essential in moving ahead as a global community. Durban Declaration and Programme of Action offer a clear framework on where to anchor our discussions.
The EU fosters a proactive approach to fighting racism and is committed to transforming the societal structures, which are perpetuating these injustices rooted in the past. In addition to bilateral initiatives of its Member States to redress negative legacies of the past, the EU is committed in supporting African countries to reach their sustainable development goals, including through development cooperation.
The EU thanks the Secretariat for its status report on the elaboration of the draft UN declaration on the respect, protection and fulfilment of the human rights of people of African descent. During the 23rd session, the EU reaffirmed its commitment to combating racism and implementing the ICERD and the DDPA. We also recall that the EU encouraged rationalization of the UN anti-racism mechanisms to ensure effectiveness and called for future discussion to be grounded in existing international law. This remains the base for the EU’s continued engagement in the negotiations.
Although the EU remains actively engaged in all anti-racism mechanisms, we have noticed a sharp decline in attendance and participation in general. This is regrettable, and it may be linked to the proliferation of mechanisms. We would encourage a discussion on enhancing the effectiveness of numerous mechanisms that have been created to ensure the full and effective implementation of the DDPA. The focus should be on the implementation of goals we have set, rather than mandating more meetings.
We therefore reiterate our concerns about the added value of the Group of Independent Eminent Experts. Our position is that it would be better to avoid duplication of mechanisms and foster better ownership of the work we do, by a more strategic organisation of our work, as expressed last year.
Building on the EU’s founding principle of combatting all forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, the EU will continue to actively participate in all debates and interactive dialogues on this issue.
Q: Madam Assistant Secretary-General, how can States better support the UN system’s efforts towards independent investigations into violations and abuses of human rights and violations of IHL, including those that may amount to international crimes?