EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Report of the Human Rights Council
Mr. President,
I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.
The Candidate Countries Montenegro*, Albania*, the Republic of Moldova, Bosnia and Herzegovina*, Andorra, and San Marino and the align themselves with this statement.
The European Union warmly thanks Ambassador Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro for presenting the Council’s annual report to the General Assembly. We thank you for your leadership of the Human Rights Council.
We meet at a difficult time. Conflicts continue to claim lives and devastate communities, while violations and abuses of human rights, democratic backsliding and restrictions on civic space threaten hard-won progress. These challenges are interconnected. Human rights violations can fuel conflict and instability, while discrimination, poverty and exclusion undermine peace and sustainable development.
The Human Rights Council cannot resolve these challenges alone. But it has an essential role in providing early warning, ensuring that human rights violations are documented, victims are heard, thereby contributing to fight against impunity, promote accountability and prevent future violations and abuses.
This year marks twenty years since the Human Rights Council held its first session. Its establishment reflected a shared commitment to strengthening the United Nations’ capacity to promote and protect human rights worldwide.
Over these two decades, the Council has developed important instruments to advance this mandate. The Universal Periodic Review brings every State’s human rights record under scrutiny. The Special Procedures provide independent expertise and early warning. Investigative mechanisms help establish facts and preserve evidence. The Council also provides a forum for dialogue, technical assistance and cooperation, and a vital space for civil society to contribute to the international human rights system.
These mechanisms are complementary. Their value ultimately depends on whether States abide by their obligations, recommendations are implemented, violations are addressed and rights are protected. The twentieth anniversary is an opportunity to recognize progress, acknowledge the challenges that remain and renew our collective commitment to making the Council more effective.
The EU and its Member States have sought to contribute to this shared effort, working with partners across regions and supporting initiatives that address the full range of human rights.
During the past year, we supported several resolutions on economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to education, to adequate housing, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation.
We led the work on the resolution on freedom of religion or belief and supported several other resolutions on civil and political rights, including on freedom of opinion and expression, countering disinformation, and efforts to combat torture and enforced disappearances.
We continued to promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, including through efforts to address discrimination, harmful practices and structural barriers to full, equal and meaningful participation, including in the field of digital technologies.
We supported work on the rights of the child, youth, older persons, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities, the fight against racism, as well as the protection of human rights defenders and civic space.
We also led and supported initiatives addressing the human rights implications of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, recognizing the critical importance of ensuring that technological progress respects human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Across these areas, we recognize the importance of cooperation and inclusive dialogue. Progress requires listening to different experiences, addressing legitimate concerns and ensuring that commitments translate into practical improvements in people’s lives.
Mr. President,
The EU continues to protect and promote human rights both at home and abroad. We recognize that no country has an ideal human rights record, and that we all have work to do. For our part, we remain open to constructive criticism, dialogue and learning from others. This includes cooperating fully with the UN human rights mechanisms. All 27 EU Member States have issued a standing invitation to the UN Special Procedures, and we urge others to do the same. We also regularly invite OHCHR comments on legislative and policy initiatives at the Union level and remain open to dialogue on comments, or even criticism, received from the Office or Special Procedures mandate holders.
The Universal Periodic Review is unique tool for promoting and protecting human rights globally. At a time when the international human rights system faces growing challenges, and as we move towards its 5th cycle, we must continue to safeguard the UPR as a credible, inclusive, universal and effective mechanism that enjoys the participation of all States.
Mr President,
The world cannot turn a blind eye to serious human rights violations and abuses taking place around the world. That is why the Council’s responsibility to respond to provide early warning and serious human rights situations remains a crucial part of its mandate.
During the past year, the EU and its Member States continued to engage actively to ensure that the Council fulfills this responsibility, working with partners to sustain monitoring, investigations, and accountability.
The majority of the Council’s country specific resolutions were adopted by consensus, including the EU-led resolution on the human rights situation in Afghanistan, which built on the creation, last year, of an independent investigative mechanism; but also the ones on Myanmar and DPRK. The resolutions on the situation in Georgia and Syria were also adopted by consensus.
The EU also led initiatives in the Council to address grave human rights situations in Belarus, Burundi and Eritrea, renewing important mandates.
The EU supported the renewal of the mandate of the Commission of Inquiry on the human rights situation in Ukraine, stemming from the Russian illegal war of aggression, which is essential to document and preserve evidence of Russia’s war crimes and human rights violations and ensure justice and accountability. This includes the documented deportation and forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, whose return remains unresolved.
At the latest HRC session, the EU led the resolution renewing the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Russian Federation. The extent of human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings, torture, abuse of Interpol red notices and intensified transnational repression justifies continued monitoring by the mandate that remains a lifeline for Russian civil society.
Last year, the Council responded to the reports of alarming human rights violations in Sudan, first by convening a special session following the atrocities committed in and around El Fasher in November last year, and by holding an urgent debate on situation in and around El Obeid in July, as the risk of further atrocities grew. The EU supported this timely response, including the decision for an urgent inquiry by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan into alleged violations and abuses in El Fasher.
These efforts do not diminish national responsibility. Rather, they support it by helping States meet their international obligations and by ensuring that serious human rights concerns receive the attention they require. Sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs do not exempt States from their obligations under international law. Cooperation with international human rights mechanisms is an integral part of the commitments States have accepted.
Mr. President,
The current global context makes the work of the Human Rights Council all the more necessary. It must remain equipped to perform its functions and its mandates adequately staffed and resourced.
The UN80 Initiative is our common opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the United Nations, reduce unnecessary duplication and focus resources on implementation and impact. The EU and its Member States support these efforts. We also stress that reform must strengthen, not weaken, the human rights pillar, especially given its critical role and modest share of the UN budget, leaving it severely underfunded.
The Council and OHCHR need adequate, predictable, increased and sustainable funding to respond to urgent situations, support States seeking assistance and carry out the mandates entrusted to them by Member States.
We welcome efforts to improve working methods and rationalize initiatives.. Such efforts must be inclusive, equitable and shared by all. Efficiency should allow us to focus more on implementation, cooperation and tangible results for rights-holders.
Protecting the UN human rights system also requires support for other institutions that uphold international law. Let me therefore reaffirm our unwavering support for the international criminal justice system, including the International Criminal Court, which was recently awarded the human rights Sakharov Award by the European Parliament. We strongly reject any attempts to undermine its independence and integrity.
Mr. President,
Twenty years after its establishment, the Human Rights Council remains a vital part of the multilateral system.
The EU and its Member States will continue to work with all States and partners to strengthen the Council, support its mechanisms, protect civic space and advance all human rights — universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated.
Our shared task is not simply to preserve the institutions we have built, but to ensure that they deliver meaningful results for the people they exist to serve.
Thank you.