His Excellency Federico Villegas,
President of the Human Rights Council,
His Excellency Ignazio Cassis
Head of the Swiss Confederation
His Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Her Excellency Michelle Bachelet, UN High-Commissioner for Human Rights,
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is an honor to join you today for the opening of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council.
My sincere congratulations to President Villega on being elected to preside over the 16th cycle of the Council.
I have no doubt that President Villegas’ extensive experience and able leadership will guide the work of the HRC in an exemplary manner.
I would also like to recognize the tremendous efforts of Ms. Michelle Bachelet, her Office, and the whole UN system in the promotion and protection of all human rights for all.
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
When I assumed office as President of the General Assembly, I promised a Presidency of Hope focused on solutions and concrete actions, with Five Rays of Hope to direct the work of the 76th session.
These include recovering from COVID-19, rebuilding sustainably, responding to the needs of the planet, respecting the rights of all, and revitalizing the United Nations.
Upholding our human rights and dignity are at the core of all my priorities and initiatives, including promoting a gender perspective and ensuring youth participation.
I hope we continue to see progress on all these fronts during the remainder of this session.
On recovering from the pandemic, last Friday I convened a High-Level Thematic Debate on vaccine equity, in New York, which stressed the importance of including a human rights perspective when recovering from the pandemic.
I echo here the sentiments expressed during that meeting. With stronger political will, and with swift and decisive action we can remove barriers to vaccine access and ensure that its benefits reach everyone.
We must act with this same urgency and compassion in our socio-economic recovery from the pandemic, with Agenda 2030 as our roadmap to recovery.
Beyond COVID-19, my Presidency of Hope is prioritizing the needs of the planet and I welcome recent progress at this Council on these issues, including two resolutions, on human rights and climate change, and on the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
As President of the General Assembly, I was pleased, in October, to host a High-Level Meeting on Delivering Climate Action, as well as to attend COP26, in Glasgow.
Looking ahead, I will continue prioritizing this issue and will host a high-level event in July to highlight the synergies across the various meetings taking place during my Presidency, on climate change, biodiversity, desertification, energy, food systems, and the ocean.
This will be an important moment, a “Moment for Nature”, to take stock of progress, and to highlight what our collective priorities should be to protect our planet.
Excellencies,
I remain honored to be an International Gender Champion. As President of the General Assembly, and as a lifelong supporter of gender equality, I feel an obligation to do all that I can to empower women and girls.
Since taking office, I have committed to ensuring that all my priorities and major initiatives are approached with a gender lens.
I have ensured that my cabinet is gender balanced, with more women than men; I have promised to participate only in panels that are gender balanced; and I endeavor to meet with women and girls during my travels to listen and learn from their lived experiences.
Excellencies,
In addition to my commitment to women and girls, is an understanding that we must empower young people.
I have made it a point to include their voices at meetings and events at the General Assembly during this session.
The effort that I am most proud of, however, is the Fellowship for HOPE, which I launched in January. Under this Fellowship, eight young diplomats from underrepresented countries have joined my team to gain valuable insight into the work of the United Nations. I hope that they will take these insights and lessons back to their home communities and support their nations in the field of multilateralism.
Excellencies,
We cannot speak of human rights without addressing the ever constant need to tackle racism and other forms of discrimination.
I am pleased that one of the very first high-level events that I had the honor of presiding over was the commemorative meeting to mark the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, in September 2021.
At this event, Heads of State and Government re-affirmed their determination to mobilize political will and to accelerate momentum to make the fight against racism and the protection of its victims a high national priority.
Many important meetings related to human rights will be held during the remainder of the session, mainly on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, the Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the first International Day for Countering Hate Speech, and the launch the International Decade of Indigenous Languages.
Excellencies,
Linked to the promotion and protection of human rights, is the need to empower civil society and grassroots organizations who are uniquely situated to grasp challenges and occurrences at the community level.
Bringing the voices of civil society back into the halls of the UN has remained a priority for me since taking Office. I am pleased, therefore, that last November I convened, at the General Assembly, the first in-person Town Hall Meeting with Civil Society since the outbreak of COVID-19. I am also pleased that this has since paved the way for their return to the UN building and for further engagement in other high-level events.
Excellencies,
Let us recall that all human rights are universal, indivisible, and mutually reinforcing. All human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, in line with the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
As President of the UN General Assembly, trust that you have my complete support in the work of the Human Rights Council. Likewise, you can rest assured that the principle of human rights will continue to run throughout the remaining of the 76th session of the General Assembly.
I wish the Council every success in its deliberations and encourage all Members to engage in the spirit of cooperation to protect and promote human rights for all people, everywhere.
I thank you.
