HRC59: Civil society presents key takeaways from the session

We join others who have expressed grave concern about the UN’s financial situation throughout the session. We deplore that we are in this position primarily due to the failure of some States to pay their assessed contributions in full and on time. We regret that this crisis is currently affecting the Council’s ability to deliver its mandate. Today, UN Member States are sending a clear message that human rights and their implementation are optional and not inalienable. We call on all States to pay their dues to the UN in full and without delay, both now and in future years, and strengthen the human rights pillar of the UN by substantially increasing its regular budget.

We welcome the Council’s decision to renew, once more, the Mandate of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, following a call from more than 1,259 organisations from 157 countries and territories.  While the mandate was supported by the overwhelming majority of Council members, we regret that a mandate focusing on core human rights issues such as freedom from violence and discrimination was once again put for a vote.

We welcome the adoption of the resolution on civil society space. The resolution acknowledges important civil society initiatives such as Declaration +25 and addresses key and emerging trends such as strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), the phenomenon of transnational repression, and foreign funding legislation, as well as other restrictive legislation including counter-terrorism legislation. We regret, however, that language on transnational repression has been weakened throughout the negotiations and does not take a step forward in terms of defining the phenomenon and its patterns. Additionally, while strengthening language on access to resources, including foreign resources, the text fails to address the severe funding crisis facing human rights organisations, as well as the need for sustainable and flexible funding practices to safeguard civil society space at the local, national, regional, and international levels, and donor States’ responsibility in this regard. We also welcome the acknowledgement of the legitimate role played by civil society actors, including in conflict prevention, conflict resolution, and peacebuilding, and explicit reference to excluded groups and grassroots, as well as women human rights defenders. Overall, we regret that the resolution fails to reflect decreased opportunities for civil society participation as a result of the HRC efficiency exercises, the current liquidity crisis, and broader funding cuts affecting the work of civil society organisations. While it does not reference key campaigns such as the UNMute Recommendations, endorsed by over 50 UN Member States, the text stresses the continued need to implement remote modalities of participation. For the first time, the resolution references the UN Guidance Note on the Protection and Promotion of Civic Space. Nevertheless, specific action points were not included in the text. This represents a major shortcoming in the absence of reporting on the Note five years after its adoption.

We welcome the adoption of the resolution on human rights and climate change in relation to climate finance. As acknowledged by the resolution, climate finance is a tool for addressing climate change and it is also important for the enjoyment of human rights when finance prioritises equity, climate justice, social justice, inclusion and just transition processes. The resolution also includes the concern regarding the challenges to access climate funds and the dire consequences that some countries face as a result of climate finance, including in the enjoyment of several human rights. We particularly welcome that the resolution calls upon international financial institutions to meet their responsibility to respect human rights  in the context of climate change and the environment. Further, we welcome that this resolution expressly includes the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, following the Human Rights Council (res 48/13) and the General Assembly (res 76/300) resolutions. Despite these positive aspects, we deeply regret that an equitable transition from fossil fuels is not explicitly mentioned in the resolution. We remind States that if the HRC is to take effective action against climate change, it is time that this resolution acknowledges that fossil fuels are the main driver of climate change and the other planetary crises as repeatedly stated by independent science, the UN Secretary General, the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several Special Rapporteurs.  We also regret that, notwithstanding the support expressed by numerous delegations, this resolution is blatantly silent in recognising the positive, important, legitimate and vital role that environmental human rights defenders (EHRDs) play in the promotion and protection of human rights and the environment, particularly in the context of climate change. As recognised by the HRC resolution 40/11, EHRDs are one of the most exposed and at risk around the world. The Inter-American Court on Human Rights has recently ruled in its Advisory Opinion on “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” that EHRDs play a fundamental role due to the urgency, gravity and complexity to address the climate emergency. We will not have climate justice without consulting, listening and including EHRDs in climate actions and initiatives, including this annual resolution.

We express our support for a new strong resolution on the safety of journalists, adopted by consensus and co-sponsored by over 70 countries from all world regions, signalling a renewed international commitment to prevent, protect and remedy all human rights violations against journalists. The resolution becomes the first across the UN to recommend a range of concrete, specific measures to prevent, mitigate, and remedy strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs). It also introduces new language and recommendations related to transnational repression, surveillance, armed conflict and occupation, social media companies, and other key issues. This series of resolutions have set robust human rights standards and it is now essential that States and other key stakeholders significantly scale up their efforts to implement them.

We appreciate that the resolution on accelerating efforts to achieve women’s economic empowerment attempts to build bridges and consensus across an important issue. We welcome that the initiative is inclusive of girls, given that girls’ economic empowerment is essential to achieving gender equality, and we welcome references to multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, feminization of poverty, the gendered distribution of care, support and domestic work, as well as social protection floors and universal access to social protection as essential for gender equality. In this regard, we urge States to conduct research on the impact of structural adjustment, debt, taxation policies, and trade agreements on women and girls and reform their policies to fully realise the economic empowerment  We regret that references to girls (including their agency, autonomy and participation) are often qualified or limited in the text, and that some of the language around families and motherhood could reinforce gender stereotypes rather than contribute to combat them.

We welcome the adoption of the resolution on accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, with a focus on the realization of economic, social and cultural rights as an effective measure to prevent and eliminate gender-based violence. We also welcome the fact that the Council has rejected the hostile amendments proposed, and we regret the presentation of these amendments that targeted language that was agreed and adopted by this Council before.  

It is concerning that the Council could not find consensus on the resolution on access to medicines, vaccines and other health products. States should acknowledge that intellectual property rights can be a barrier for access to health products, especially in public health emergencies and should act with a view to finding human-rights compliant solutions. States should further ensure that the benefits of scientific progress is available, accessible, acceptable and of good quality to all people, without discrimination. 

Resolutions on impact of arms transfers on human rights presented over the past 11 years remind States and corporations that the arms trade is not a human rights free zone. We thus welcome this resolution. We welcome the new reference to the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.  New language recalling the responsibility of business enterprises linked to arms transfers, including the arms industry, to respect human rights are important, but should have been stronger. Given the unacceptable gaps in access to justice for violations resulting from arms transfer decisions, we regret the weakening of language pertaining to access to information and the absence of language on access to remedy for victims. The resolution importantly mandates OHCHR to prepare a study identifying practical measures and good practices on steps taken by States to prevent unlawful arms transfers by third parties, including the regulation of the arms sector, exercise of control over transit and trans-shipment of arms, and the investigation, prosecution and punishment of conduct related to arms exports prohibited by international law.

We welcome the adoption of the resolution on elimination of female genital mutilation. We welcome the Council’s decision to renew the Mandate of the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, expressing strong support to the work of the mandate.

We welcome the resolution on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights. The resolution reaffirms the need for human rights due diligence and impact assessments throughout the life cycle of new and emerging digital technologies, and crucially calls upon States to refrain from or cease the use of artificial intelligence applications that are impossible to operate in compliance with international human rights law. The resolution importantly mandates OHCHR to expand its work on UN system-wide promotion, coordination, and coherence on matters related to human rights in new and emerging digital technologies.

We welcome the adoption of the resolution on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association renewing the crucial Mandate of the Special Rapporteur of freedom of peaceful assembly and association for a further period of three years, which also stresses the important role of new information and communications technology in enabling and facilitating the enjoyment of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association. We appreciate the acknowledgment that the growing compounding crises and conflicts, the global trend of backsliding of democracy and rule of law, and the securitization of agendas have exacerbated and deepened restrictions on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, particularly during protests, elections, situations of crises, armed conflict, or occupation.

We welcome the rejection by the Council of an unprecedented, harmful draft resolution (L.1/Rev.1) presented in bad faith by Eritrea to discontinue the mandate of the Special Rapporteur. The voting result (25 against, 4 in favour) is clear and will deter similar initiatives to terminate mandates. The Pandora’s Box remains closed for now. We welcome the adoption of resolution L.7, which extends the mandate of the Special Rapporteur and enables continued scrutiny of Eritrea‘s dire human rights situation.

We welcome the adoption by consensus of the resolution on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar—a strong signal of the Council’s continued prioritization of their plight. As violence between the Myanmar military and Arakan Army escalates, Rohingya face renewed existential threats. We recognize the efforts made to align the resolution closer to the evolving situation on the ground, including its recognition of the role of Arakan Army along with the Myanmar military in perpetuating violence and targeting Rohingya. We also welcome the resolution’s acknowledgment of the worsening humanitarian crisis due to dwindling aid that is driving more Rohingya to risk dangerous journeys by sea. The call for protection of Rohingya across borders and respect for non-refoulement is vital. We support the resolution’s emphasis on accountability and reparations as prerequisites for safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees. However, we regret its failure to call for an end to arms and jet fuel sale and transfers that continue to fuel ongoing violence.

We welcome the “from economy of occupation to economy of genocide” report by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory. As the SR stated in her presentation to the Council, “there is a prima facie responsibility on every State and corporate entity to completely abstain from or end their relationships with this economy of occupation.” We urge States to take effective measures to put an end to the ongoing genocide, forced displacement and colonial-apartheid, including by taking long overdue political and economic measures, including sanctions against Israel, and imposing a two-way arms embargo to put an end to decades of crimes being committed against the Palestinian people. We join calls by Palestinian organisations on the OHCHR to immediately update the UN Database and include the new listed companies in the SR’s report, including those involved in the Gaza genocide. At this session, Palestinian civil society welcomed the Hague Group creation as a way to overcome the Security Council inability to put an end to the genocide and decades of crimes being committed against the Palestinian people with impunity. They called on other States to join the coordination of action to align with and implement international law, including the ICJ provisional measures. Al-Haq insisted that “[T]his initiative is particularly significant because it comes not from the Security Council—paralyzed by vetoes and geopolitical interests—but from the Global South, from States with a lived history of colonialism and struggle. They understand that impunity is not a technical failure, but a political choice. In choosing action, The Hague Group exposes the duplicity of Western democracies that invoke the rule of law selectively and enables a new center of gravity for justice to emerge—one rooted in universal principles rather than imperial alliances.”

During a side event, women human rights defenders from Western Sahara addressed the attacks faced by defenders advocating for the right to self-determination. Civil society organisations have welcomed a joint communication sent to Morocco by a group of eight United Nations Special Rapporteurs which denounced, HRC member,  Morocco’s ongoing campaign of repression, racial discrimination, and violence against Sahrawi human rights defenders including sexual violence, journalists, and advocates for self-determination. The selectivity and double political standards that dictate action, especially on accountability for crimes, and the prevalence of some States’ own political gains over human rights standards undermine the effectiveness of the human rights mechanisms that are supposed to deliver justice. This has been a reality for decades when it comes to Western Sahara where the Council continues to fail to put the question of the decolonization of Western Sahara on its agenda.  We call on States to take effective measures to ensure the realization of the inalienable right to self-determination of peoples under colonialism and apartheid whether in Western Sahara or Palestine using a consistent human rights decolonization approach.

We emphasize the vital role of investigative mechanisms and, in the context of the UN’s liquidity crisis, we urge all those involved, including the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner, to allocate sufficient resources for these mechanisms to operate. All UN Member States must pay their dues in full and on time. As the conflict in Sudan, now in its third year, shows no sign of abating, resulting in the world’s largest displacement crisis and egregious atrocities against civilians, the work of the Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) should continue. At HRC60, extending its mandate will be a priority. 

We continue to deplore this Council’s exceptionalism towards serious human rights violations in China, including crimes against humanity. In his global update to this Council session, High Commissioner Türk indicated he remains ‘concerned about lack of progress on much-needed legal reform to ensure compliance with international human rights law’ and ‘regret[s] that there has not yet been a resolution to the individual cases [the OHCHR has] raised]’. It is imperative that the Council take action commensurate with the gravity of UN findings, by establishing a monitoring and reporting mechanism on China as repeatedly urged by over 40 UN experts since 2020. We urge China to genuinely engage with the UN human rights system to enact meaningful reform, and ensure all individuals and peoples enjoy their human rights, on the basis of recommendations from the OHCHR Xinjiang report, UN Treaty Bodies, and UN Special Procedures.

This Council’s continued silence on the human rights crisis in Egypt remains of major concern.  The human rights situation in Egypt is worse than at any point in its modern history and continues to deteriorate.  During its UPR process, Egypt rejected or dismissed as “already implemented” recommendations related to serious human rights violations 134 times.  In particular, Egypt either rejected or dismissed recommendations to release political prisoners and end arbitrary arrests 12 times, to stop attacks against independent civil society and journalists 19 times, and to end torture and ill-treatment 6 times. The goverment also refused to ensure accountability for those who have committed torture and other human rights violations 7 times, and rejected or dismissed recommendations to halt violance and discrimination against women, minorities and members of the LGBT+ community 25 times, including repeatedly rejecting calls to criminalize marital rape, as well as forced virginity and anal exams.  In this context, action by the HRC to address these violations is as important as ever. 

Watch the video of the statement below: 

Signatories:

1. African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies (ACDHRS)
2. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
3. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
4. CIVICUS
5. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR)
6. Franciscans International 
7. International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
8. International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
9. World Uyghur Congress (WUC)