Source: United Nations (video statements)
President of the Human Rights Council (HRC) Jürg Lauber said that “In a divided world,” the ability to keep dialog on human rights alive is “an achievement in itself.”
Addressing the press in New York, Laubersaid said, “At its 60th session concluded earlier this month, the Council adopted 35 resolutions, including those establishing a new Investigative Mechanism on Afghanistan, merging the mandates of the Special Rapporteurs on slavery and human trafficking and taking steps to strengthen the Council’s efficiency under resource constraints.”
He continued, “The Council renewed a number of country and thematic mandates on Sudan, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and the Russian Federation, while bringing others to conclusion, such as those in Somalia and the DRC. It also postponed the adoption of Nicaragua’s UPR outcome, while inviting continued engagement.”
He noted, “The challenge now is to ensure that the Council can sustain this work as it enters its 20th year in 2026. The budgetary outlook may be difficult, but the commitment of member states to dialog, cooperation and accountability remains strong.”
Answering a question, he said, “If states, and we have some examples, disengage in the work of the Council, disregard the importance of human rights in relation also to peace and security and development, and turn the wave. That’s, for me, the threat, and that finds an expression in the budgetary constraints we have. It’s not the only reason, but it’s among them.”
He stressed, “And we see increasing these decisions taken by the Council not being implemented because the money is missing. I give you one particular example: we had the special session upon request of the Democratic Republic of the Congo concerning the human rights situation in eastern Congo in February, where it was decided, among other things, to establish a commission of inquiry. I recently was able to nominate the three experts, but we’re still waiting to have money for the commission to start.”