Report of the Human Rights Council – GA Third Cttee debate – Summary record (excerpts)

Third Committee 

Summary record of the 37th meeting 

Held at Headquarters, New York, on Wednesday, 14 November 2012, at 3 p.m. 

 Chair:  Mr. Mac-Donald …………………………………………………………..  (Suriname) 

Contents 

Agenda item 64: Report of the Human Rights Council (A/67/53, A/67/53/Corr.1 and A/67/53/Add.1) 

1.  Ms. Dupuy-Lasserre (President, Human Rights Council), introducing the report of the Human Rights Council (A/67/53), said that in the first year since the review of its functioning, it had addressed human rights violations through interregional coalitions and the Member States’ desire to approach human rights consistently and without confrontation.  …

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3. … In March 2012 it had established the International Fact-finding Mission on Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, whose report it would consider at its March 2013 session. The implementation of those measures, however, would depend on additional resources, which she hoped would be approved by the General Assembly. 

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34.  Mr. Selim (Egypt) …

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35.  The Council’s annual report reaffirmed its importance in national capacity-building, global human rights monitoring and the promotion of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. It had protected the rights of the Palestinian people and had strengthened the international community’s efforts to combat racism. Its early efforts to apply the principles of understanding, cooperation and transparency and avoid confrontation, selectivity and politicization were weakening, however. To avoid the mistakes of the past, a number of challenges should be addressed: the politicization of resolutions; the enforcement of controversial notions such as sexual orientation and gender identity without international consensus; the suspension by one Member State of its relations with the Council on the pretext that the Council’s work was discriminatory, undermining the Council’s credibility; and systematic attempts to use the Council to legitimize Security Council interference in human rights situations worldwide. 

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54.  Mr. Adnan (Indonesia) …

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56.  The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory remained a focus of the international community’s attention. His delegation was concerned by the continuing human rights violations and underlined its support for the Palestinian struggle. It called on Israel to implement the recommendations of numerous United Nations resolutions so that justice could be achieved. 

57.  Mr. Diallo (Senegal) said that, in an international context of unprecedented human rights violations, the discussion on the Council’s report should lead to consideration of the causes of armed conflict, violations of the right to life and freedom of religion, religious defamation and racial discrimination.

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62.  The many resolutions on the Palestinian question made it clear that Israel was repeatedly violating the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Swiss Government should convene the Conference of High Contracting Parties to that Convention to ensure that it was applied in the Occupied Palestinian Territory. Israel should continue cooperating with the Council and respect the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination. 

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