27 February 2023
[As Delivered]
Thank you very much Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Mr. High Commissioner,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
It is an honour to address the opening of this 52nd session of the Human Rights Council.
We are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This year is also the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.
And while there is much to celebrate, any festivities are clearly superseded by the reality of a world in a state of disarray.
We are facing unprecedented, cascading, and interlocking crises.
In fact, we have been acquainted to a prototype of the Anthropocene era crisis.
The first time in the history of humankind.
As we gather today, we are far from recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over 70 countries are in debt distress.
Women and girls remain systematically marginalized in many countries.
We simply are not on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
At this moment, armed conflicts have risen after a relatively steady decline.
One of these is an aggression from a Permanent Member of the Security Council against a neighbouring Member State.
This has effectively paralyzed the Security Council.
In sum, what we are experiencing is precisely the interlocking nature of the challenges we face – calling us to galvanise integrated solutions.
This Council, like the General Assembly, is at a crossroads.
Will it go about business as usual, compounding the crisis of trust in multilateralism?
Or will it translate the political consensus on the need to cooperate into transformative solutions?
Excellencies,
Today I want to advocate for a transformation of how we do things.
I am calling for a fundamental shift in how we manage interlocking crises.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in tackling climate change.
Climate change – the crisis of this generation – threatens human rights to water and sanitation, food, health, adequate housing, and self-determination, even.
Climate change is already threatening the right to life of many.
Integrating the grim reality of climate change with the insecurity of human rights, the General Assembly, following the lead of this Council, recognized that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right.
So, what does this really mean?
Some Member States have signaled that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is not really a human right, but a galvanized political sentiment.
Others have indicated that it is absolutely a human right, worthy of implementing legislation and action.
Yet others go further and believe that a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is a human right, but is collective rather than individual.
Some scholars say it is both.
I welcome the fact that these discussions exist, and I call on this Council to help us go further.
After all, all human rights have their origin in political recognition.
Dear friends,
Human rights violations exist in every country. No State has a perfect track record.
In times of crisis, governments must prioritize.
In this watershed moment, we must take a step back and recognize that the crises we face are human crises.
Once we do that, we notice that solutions that do not respect human rights are not solutions at all.
Transformation will require the acknowledgement that the effective fulfilment of human rights will only come about by assuming our responsibilities as governments and as individuals.
As we embark together on this transformation, I urge you to continue to advance the rights of those marginalised and in vulnerable situations.
And to ensure that women are fully, equally, and meaningfully involved in decision-making.
8 billion people rely on this body to address human rights violations, to support the victims, and to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Please harness the full power of the treaty body system.
On my side, I will continue to urge the General Assembly to mainstream human rights throughout its work.
Let’s start conceptualizing prevention as the path towards peaceful and inclusive societies.
My hope is that by addressing the crisis of trust head-on, putting the rule of law front and centre, we will pave the way for the transformation that our societies and our institutions desperately need in this time of crises.
As Nelson Mandela so eloquently expressed, “to deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity”.
Sadly, that crime has been committed alarmingly often.
As you move forward, please keep this in mind:
Transformation will rest on respect for human rights, or there will be no transformation at all.
I thank you.
