Making the United Nations Relevant to all People– As delivered –
Statement by H.E. Mrs. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the UN General Assembly
18 September 2019
Your Excellency Coly Seck, President of the Human Rights Council,
Your Excellency Ignazio Cassis, Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland,
Mr. António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations,
Mrs. Michelle Bachelet, High Commissioner of the United Nations for Human Rights,
Mr. Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is always a pleasure to return to Geneva, the capital of Peace and a symbol of multilateralism.
Each session of this Council is an opportunity to renew our commitment with human rights, especially now, in a time when the most elemental principles of multilateralism are threatened, even the international architecture of human rights could be at risk.
The Council starts this session in a world that is even more divided than last year. A world with more migrants and refugees, more victims of armed conflicts, more women and girls who are victims of violence and with not-so-encouraging news about the future if we do not take urgent actions to stop climate change, an increasingly latent threat for our planet.
Today we start one more session of the Human Rights Council in a world where extreme nationalism and xenophobia remind us of a past that cannot be repeated in today’s world.
Excellencies,
Last December we commemorated 70 years of one of the most important legacies of the United Nations Organization: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a true jewel of multilateralism, founded in the premise that all persons are born free and equal, both in dignity and rights.
Last December we also commemorated twenty-five years of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which acknowledged the universal, inseparable and interdependent nature of human rights.
This Council is a fundamental pillar in the international architecture that was built from the General Assembly over 73 years by means of conventions and Pacts, creating special protection procedures and mechanisms, and an immense production of resolutions which, day by day, have enhanced and molded the international human rights law.
In recent months, from the General Assembly, we have added important international instruments that enhance the agenda of fundamental rights. The Refugee Compact, the Global Compact for a Safe, Orderly and Regular migration, the Declaration of the Right of Peasants, produced by this Council and approved by the General Assembly, among others. These are only a few of the recent contributions of our Organization to the agenda of human rights.
And now, Excellencies and friends, the great challenge is to overcome an implementation deficit. This vigorous body of regulations must protect or restore the dignity of all human beings all around the world.
Excellencies,
As a former colleague of some of you, I know that the work of this Council is not easy. However, as a tribute to the 70 years of the Universal Declaration, I ask you to renew our commitment and prioritize dialogue and mutual understanding. I ask you to defend and optimize the institutional nature of the Universal Periodic Review as a mechanism that can evaluate the situation of human rights around the world and promote cooperation between countries.
During its 13 years of operation, the work of the Council has been fruitful. The treatment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, has contributed to widen and deepen protection for people and has established more efficient monitoring and accountability systems.
Without question, the Council has had a positive impact in the reality of millions of people all around the world and, of course, there is still a lot to do.
Excellencies,
The challenges faced by the human rights agenda are many.
Half of the population of the world, women and girls, are still victims of discrimination and violence, in all countries, without exception. Furthermore, women still do not have the same level of political participation as men, which is something that clearly limits exercising their political rights. Indigenous peoples continue to be the most vulnerable and excluded; people with disabilities do not yet have equal opportunities.
Political crises, wars, organized transnational crime; social exclusion and the lack of access to justice are clear threats that require adequate responses from this Council and the whole international protection system for human rights.
But perhaps one of the most sensitive challenges for the human rights agenda is inequality. The concentration of wealth has increased in such a way that in 2018 only 26 persons possessed more money than the 3800 million poorest people of the world.
If we want to achieve the goals that we have established in the 2030 Agenda, we must create the conditions for a world that is less unequal and more sustainable. SDGs are, essentially, instruments aimed at achieving the absolute fulfillment of human rights.
During its 13 years of operation, the work of the Council has been fruitful. The treatment of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, has contributed to widen and deepen protection for people and has established more efficient monitoring and accountability systems.
Without question, the Council has had a positive impact in the reality of millions of people all around the world and, of course, there is still a lot to do.
Excellencies,
As we approach 2021, when the Council must undergo its second review, we must continue promoting a deep reflection about the way it operates and the changes that are required to reinforce its credibility and authority in a new international scenario.
We need a strong and efficient Council that can contribute with solutions and guarantees promoting and protecting all rights for all people, without exception, without double standards and avoiding politicization. We need a Council that responds to all violations and abuses, regardless of where they have been committed or who has committed them.
Excellencies,
Finally, I must state that the articulation of the whole family of the United Nations system is central to promote and protect human rights.
I am channeling the efforts needed to achieve a greater articulation between the General Assembly -particularly its Third Committee- and this Council and all the mechanisms of the international protection system for human rights.
In this sense, I would like to highlight the excellent coordination that we maintain with the Office of the High Commissioner, under the leadership of an extraordinary woman like Michelle Bachelet, and with the Special Procedures mandate holders as well.
We also have the challenge of achieving a greater coordination with social organizations, because defending human rights is a responsibility that belongs to all of society.
I wish you the greatest success in your deliberations and a very productive session. I urge you to continue with your efforts to protect and safeguard each victim of aggression or violation of rights. The work and the commitment that inspire us are succeeding in making every human being live with dignity. I thank you for your commitment with the validity of human rights and for your daily contribution to make the United Nations truly relevant for all.
Thank you.
