Human Rights Council concludes 25th session after adopting 42 texts – Human rights situation in Palestine and other OATs – Press release (excerpts)

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES TWENTY-FIFTH SESSION AFTER ADOPTING 42 TEXTS

Also adopts resolutions on Syria, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Iran, Myanmar and South Sudan

28 March 2014

The Human Rights Council concluded its twenty-fifth regular session this evening after adopting 42 texts on a wide range of issues and its report for the session. The Council also adopted the outcome of the Universal Periodic Review of 15 countries.

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Concerning the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, the Council adopted by vote four resolutions: on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination; on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan; on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem; and on follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. The Council also adopted by vote, under the same agenda item, a resolution on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan.

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Documentation, statements, resolutions and reports relating to this and all Human Rights Council sessions are available on its webpage. Detailed, speaker-by-speaker coverage of every public meeting can be found on the website of United Nations Information Service Geneva.

The twenty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council was held from 3 to 28 March 2013. The twenty-sixth session will be held in Room XX of the Palais des Nations from 10 to 27 June 2014.

Summary of the Session

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon addressed the Human Rights Council at the opening of the session, along with High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and Human Rights Council President Baudelaire Ndong Ella of Gabon. The Secretary-General said his address to the Council would be his last in the presence of Ms. Pillay, whose mandate ends later this year. He commended the High Commissioner for being a fearless defender of the most vulnerable, an outspoken advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, and an eloquent voice against racism, xenophobia and intolerance, and expressed the appreciation, deep respect and gratitude of the United Nations for her work. In her address Navi Pillay, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said the Council had accomplished much in a world which cried out for respect for human rights daily and in which challenges were daunting.

During its four-day High-level Segment, the Council heard addresses from a Head of State, many Government Ministers and other senior dignitaries in relation to human rights matters of national interest and concern. High-level dialogues on preventative approaches within the United Nations system, and on combatting sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo took place. Two high-level panel discussions were also convened on the sixty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; and on sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Council also heard presentations by the Independent International Commissions of Inquiry on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and on Syria, which were followed by interactive dialogues. Presentations were given by 18 human rights experts and bodies, and held panel discussions took place on human rights mainstreaming, the death penalty, and the promotion and protection of civil society space. The annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child was convened, in addition to an annual debate dedicated to the theme of access to justice for children and empowering children to claim their rights as well as the annual discussion on the rights of persons with disabilities.

Country and thematic reports submitted by the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner were presented to the Council, which also held general debates, including those concerning human rights situations requiring its attention, human rights bodies and mechanisms and the Universal Periodic Review, the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories, and technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights. During the session the Council approved the outcomes of the Universal Periodic Reviews of (in order of review) Saudi Arabia, Senegal, China, Nigeria, Mexico, Mauritius, Jordan, Malaysia, Central African Republic, Belize, Chad, Monaco, Congo and Malta and Israel.

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Action on Resolutions Under Agenda Item 7 on the Human Rights Situation in Palestine and Other Occupied Arab Territories

In a resolution (A/HRC/25/L.36) on the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, adopted by a vote of 46 in favour, 1 against and no abstentions, the Council reaffirms the inalienable, permanent and unqualified right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including their right to live in freedom, justice and dignity, and to establish their sovereign, independent, democratic and viable contiguous State; and reaffirms its support for the solution of two States, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace and security.

In a resolution (AHRC/25/L.37/Rev.1) on Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by a vote of 46 in favour, 1 against and no abstentions, the Council demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately and completely cease all of its settlement activities in all of the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and in the occupied Syrian Golan, and calls in this regard for the full implementation of all relevant resolutions of the Security Council; requests the High Commissioner to present a report detailing the implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the independent fact-finding mission on the implications of Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session; requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the present resolution at its twenty-eighth session.

In a resolution (A/HRC/25/L.38/Rev.1) on the human rights situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, adopted by a vote of 46 in favour, 1 against and no abstentions, the Council demands that Israel, the occupying Power, cease all practices and actions that violate the human rights of the Palestinian people and cease its imposition of prolonged closures and economic and movement restrictions, including those amounting to a blockade on the Gaza Strip; and urges Member States to continue to provide emergency assistance to the Palestinian people, particularly in the Gaza Strip; and requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of the present resolution to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session.

In a resolution (A/HRC/25/L.39) on follow-up to the report of the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, adopted by a vote of 46 in favour, 1 against and no abstentions, the Council renews its recommendation that the General Assembly remain apprised of the matter until it is satisfied that appropriate action with regard to implementing the recommendations contained in the report of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict is taken at the domestic or international level in order to ensure justice for victims and accountability for perpetrators.

In a resolution (A/HRC/25/L.40) on human rights in the occupied Syrian Golan, adopted by a vote of 33 in favour, 1 against and 13 abstentions, the Council calls upon Israel to desist from its continuous building of settlements, and from changing the physical character, demographic composition, institutional structure and legal status of the occupied Syrian Golan; and requests the Secretary-General to bring the present resolution to the attention of all Governments, the competent United Nations organs, specialized agencies, international and regional intergovernmental organizations and international humanitarian organizations to disseminate it as widely as possible and to report on this matter to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-eighth session.

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For use of the information media; not an official record

HRC14/057E