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HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL HEARS FROM 30 DIGNITARIES AS IT CONTINUES ITS HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT
Premium Official News
March 4, 2015 Wednesday
Geneva
United Nations Human Rights has issued the following news release:
The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued its High-Level
Segment, hearing statements from 30 dignitaries who spoke about their
concerns regarding the situation in a number of countries and regions
around the world and outlined some of their national policies for
the promotion and protection of human rights.
Speaking were Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Germany; Ramtane Lamamra, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria;
Sebastian Kurz, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign
Affairs of Austria; Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Cameroon; Mohammed Bello Adoke, Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria; LubomÃr Zaorálek,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; Aichetou Mint
M'Haiham, Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Action
of Mauritania; Edward Nalbandian, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Armenia; Carlos Alfredo Castaneda Magaña, Deputy Minister for Foreign
Affairs of El Salvador; Henryka MoÅ~[cicka-Dendys, Undersecretary of
State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland; Mbarka Bouaida,
Minister Delegate to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Morocco;
Peter Stenlund, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Finland;
Roksanda NinÄ~MiÄ~G, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Serbia; Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
Viet Nam; Aleksandar Andrija PejoviÄ~G, State Secretary for European
Integration of Montenegro; Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; Delcy EloÃna RodrÃguez
Gómez, Minister of People's Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela;
Utoni Nujoma, Minister of Justice of Namibia; Ri Su Yong, Minister for
Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Gebran
Bassil, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon; Maite
Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation
of South Africa; Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Nepal; Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy of the European Union and Vice-President of the
European Commission; Martin Lidegaard, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Denmark; Henry Okello Oryem, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Uganda; Ignacio Ybáñez, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
of Spain; Cho Tae-yul, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Korea; Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla, Undersecretary for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain; Juan Carlos Alurralde,
Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bolivia; and Kamalesh Sharma,
Secretary-General of The Commonwealth.
Speakers highlighted the scourge of terrorism and the need to address
it, stressing in particular the gross violations of international
humanitarian law, human rights and dignity by extremist groups
such as Boko Haram and ISIL, but also the Lord's Resistance Army,
the Democratic Forces for the Liberation in Rwanda, Al Shabab in
Somalia, and Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups in Libya and the
Maghreb region. These acts were unacceptable and necessitated urgent
and decisive action from the international community. It was also
considered important to address systematic violations and abuses,
and to hold to account those who were responsible. Speakers underlined
the importance of the fight against impunity, the inadmissibility of
the death penalty, the indivisibility and interdependency of human
rights and the need for a more holistic, non-selective approach to
human rights that included economic, social and cultural rights and
the right to development.
Many speakers emphasized the importance of freedom of expression, and
in particular of freedom of the press. In this respect, they condemned
the attacks on journalists, and called against religious intolerance,
warning against Islamophonia and anti-Semitism. Women's and children's
rights, especially in the context of conflict situations, were
also highlighted, and the use of child soldiers as well as sexual
abuse of women in conflict were condemned. The rights of minorities,
refugees and migrants were likewise emphasized. Focus was made on the
post-2015 development agenda and the issues that needed to be addressed
with more attention, including poverty eradication, climate change,
sustainable development and peace-building. Speakers commended the work
of the Human Rights Council and vowed to improve the protection and
implementation of human rights nationally, as well as internationally.
At the end of the meeting Turkey, Russian Federation, Japan,
Azerbaijan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Qatar, Bahrain,
Republic of Korea and Myanmar spoke in right of reply.
The next meeting of the Council will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday,
4 March, when it will resume the High-Level Segment. At 3 p.m.,
the Council will hold a high-level panel on the question of the
death penalty.
High-Level Segment
[parts omitted]
EDWARD NALBANDIAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, stated
that it was of particular significance to address this session of
the Human Rights Council, as this year marked the Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide. In recent years, the Council had expanded
the thematic scope of its work to respond to gross violations of
human rights in various parts of the world, drawing attention to the
issues of protection of the most vulnerable groups. The protection
of religious and ethnic minorities required the urgent attention and
actions of the international community due to massive human rights
violations perpetrated by terrorist groups. He highlighted the crime
against civilization that was perpetrated by ISIS militants who smashed
the 2,700 year old statues in the Mosul museum; this was an appalling
reminder of earlier similar barbaric acts of destruction such as those
of the Bamian Budda's statues, the Mausoleums of Timbuktu, and the
thousands of Medieval Armenian cross-stones in Nakhijevan. Intolerance
towards the values of civilization belonging to others had to
be resolutely denounced by the international community. Armenia
unequivocally condemned the atrocities and violence committed by ISIS,
Al Nusra and other terrorist groups and called upon the international
community to take firm action against this new scourge. In this regard
Armenia strongly supported the full implementation of the appropriate
United Nations Security Council resolutions. The destruction by
terrorists of the Saint Martyrs Armenian Church in the Syrian town
of Deir el-Zor was a symbolic link between past and present crimes
against humanity. Armenia commended the role of the Human Rights
Council in mainstreaming the obligations of States emanating from the
Genocide Convention into a systematic protection of human rights. In
this respect, Armenia had this year again initiated a resolution
on the prevention of genocide. There was a growing consensus of the
international community that genocide prevention required constant
attention and the best efforts.
[parts omitted]
Right of Reply
Turkey, speaking in a right of reply in response to a reference made
by the Armenian delegation about events of 1915, rejected allegations
of genocide, which was a very specific and serious crime, precisely
defined in international law. The term genocide should not be used
lightly, especially since there was no consensus regarding the events
of 1915. Turkey sincerely desired to reach peaceful relations with
Armenia.
[parts omitted]
Azerbaijan, speaking in a right of reply in response to Armenia's
representative, blamed Armenia for misrepresenting historical
realities. Speaking of the persecution of Azeris by Armenian
authorities known as the Khojaly tragedy during the Nagorno-Karabakh
war in 1992, Azerbaijan stated that Armenia had no legal ground to
speak of genocide, as it was responsible for the Khojaly genocide. The
European Court of Human Rights had qualified these as acts of
particular gravity, which could amount to war crimes. An Armenian
official had admitted Armenia's implication in the perpetration of
these acts. Armenia also had no right to speak on the destruction of
cultural monuments, which it had also perpetrated against Azerbaijan.
[parts omitted]
Premium Official News
March 4, 2015 Wednesday
Geneva
United Nations Human Rights has issued the following news release:
The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued its High-Level
Segment, hearing statements from 30 dignitaries who spoke about their
concerns regarding the situation in a number of countries and regions
around the world and outlined some of their national policies for
the promotion and protection of human rights.
Speaking were Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Germany; Ramtane Lamamra, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria;
Sebastian Kurz, Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign
Affairs of Austria; Pierre Moukoko Mbonjo, Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Cameroon; Mohammed Bello Adoke, Attorney General of the
Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria; LubomÃr Zaorálek,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic; Aichetou Mint
M'Haiham, Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Action
of Mauritania; Edward Nalbandian, Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Armenia; Carlos Alfredo Castaneda Magaña, Deputy Minister for Foreign
Affairs of El Salvador; Henryka MoÅ~[cicka-Dendys, Undersecretary of
State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland; Mbarka Bouaida,
Minister Delegate to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Morocco;
Peter Stenlund, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Finland;
Roksanda NinÄ~MiÄ~G, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
of Serbia; Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs
Viet Nam; Aleksandar Andrija PejoviÄ~G, State Secretary for European
Integration of Montenegro; Iyad Ameen Madani, Secretary General of
the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation; Delcy EloÃna RodrÃguez
Gómez, Minister of People's Power for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela;
Utoni Nujoma, Minister of Justice of Namibia; Ri Su Yong, Minister for
Foreign Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea; Gebran
Bassil, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Emigrants of Lebanon; Maite
Nkoana-Mashabane, Minister for International Relations and Cooperation
of South Africa; Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Nepal; Federica Mogherini, High Representative for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy of the European Union and Vice-President of the
European Commission; Martin Lidegaard, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Denmark; Henry Okello Oryem, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Uganda; Ignacio Ybáñez, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
of Spain; Cho Tae-yul, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Korea; Abdulla Abdullatif Abdulla, Undersecretary for
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain; Juan Carlos Alurralde,
Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bolivia; and Kamalesh Sharma,
Secretary-General of The Commonwealth.
Speakers highlighted the scourge of terrorism and the need to address
it, stressing in particular the gross violations of international
humanitarian law, human rights and dignity by extremist groups
such as Boko Haram and ISIL, but also the Lord's Resistance Army,
the Democratic Forces for the Liberation in Rwanda, Al Shabab in
Somalia, and Al-Qaeda affiliated terrorist groups in Libya and the
Maghreb region. These acts were unacceptable and necessitated urgent
and decisive action from the international community. It was also
considered important to address systematic violations and abuses,
and to hold to account those who were responsible. Speakers underlined
the importance of the fight against impunity, the inadmissibility of
the death penalty, the indivisibility and interdependency of human
rights and the need for a more holistic, non-selective approach to
human rights that included economic, social and cultural rights and
the right to development.
Many speakers emphasized the importance of freedom of expression, and
in particular of freedom of the press. In this respect, they condemned
the attacks on journalists, and called against religious intolerance,
warning against Islamophonia and anti-Semitism. Women's and children's
rights, especially in the context of conflict situations, were
also highlighted, and the use of child soldiers as well as sexual
abuse of women in conflict were condemned. The rights of minorities,
refugees and migrants were likewise emphasized. Focus was made on the
post-2015 development agenda and the issues that needed to be addressed
with more attention, including poverty eradication, climate change,
sustainable development and peace-building. Speakers commended the work
of the Human Rights Council and vowed to improve the protection and
implementation of human rights nationally, as well as internationally.
At the end of the meeting Turkey, Russian Federation, Japan,
Azerbaijan, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Qatar, Bahrain,
Republic of Korea and Myanmar spoke in right of reply.
The next meeting of the Council will be held at 9 a.m. on Wednesday,
4 March, when it will resume the High-Level Segment. At 3 p.m.,
the Council will hold a high-level panel on the question of the
death penalty.
High-Level Segment
[parts omitted]
EDWARD NALBANDIAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, stated
that it was of particular significance to address this session of
the Human Rights Council, as this year marked the Centennial of
the Armenian Genocide. In recent years, the Council had expanded
the thematic scope of its work to respond to gross violations of
human rights in various parts of the world, drawing attention to the
issues of protection of the most vulnerable groups. The protection
of religious and ethnic minorities required the urgent attention and
actions of the international community due to massive human rights
violations perpetrated by terrorist groups. He highlighted the crime
against civilization that was perpetrated by ISIS militants who smashed
the 2,700 year old statues in the Mosul museum; this was an appalling
reminder of earlier similar barbaric acts of destruction such as those
of the Bamian Budda's statues, the Mausoleums of Timbuktu, and the
thousands of Medieval Armenian cross-stones in Nakhijevan. Intolerance
towards the values of civilization belonging to others had to
be resolutely denounced by the international community. Armenia
unequivocally condemned the atrocities and violence committed by ISIS,
Al Nusra and other terrorist groups and called upon the international
community to take firm action against this new scourge. In this regard
Armenia strongly supported the full implementation of the appropriate
United Nations Security Council resolutions. The destruction by
terrorists of the Saint Martyrs Armenian Church in the Syrian town
of Deir el-Zor was a symbolic link between past and present crimes
against humanity. Armenia commended the role of the Human Rights
Council in mainstreaming the obligations of States emanating from the
Genocide Convention into a systematic protection of human rights. In
this respect, Armenia had this year again initiated a resolution
on the prevention of genocide. There was a growing consensus of the
international community that genocide prevention required constant
attention and the best efforts.
[parts omitted]
Right of Reply
Turkey, speaking in a right of reply in response to a reference made
by the Armenian delegation about events of 1915, rejected allegations
of genocide, which was a very specific and serious crime, precisely
defined in international law. The term genocide should not be used
lightly, especially since there was no consensus regarding the events
of 1915. Turkey sincerely desired to reach peaceful relations with
Armenia.
[parts omitted]
Azerbaijan, speaking in a right of reply in response to Armenia's
representative, blamed Armenia for misrepresenting historical
realities. Speaking of the persecution of Azeris by Armenian
authorities known as the Khojaly tragedy during the Nagorno-Karabakh
war in 1992, Azerbaijan stated that Armenia had no legal ground to
speak of genocide, as it was responsible for the Khojaly genocide. The
European Court of Human Rights had qualified these as acts of
particular gravity, which could amount to war crimes. An Armenian
official had admitted Armenia's implication in the perpetration of
these acts. Armenia also had no right to speak on the destruction of
cultural monuments, which it had also perpetrated against Azerbaijan.
[parts omitted]