By Maeva Giambrone / GICJ

The 27th of February 2023 marks the opening of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council. The President of the Council, Mr. Václav Bálek, opened the session by reminding States that cooperation is essential for the functioning of the Council. He then gave the floor to the President of UN General Assembly, Mr. Csaba Kőrösi. He recalled that in this year 2023 we are celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, the festivities are overshadowed by the many crises that the world is still experiencing today. Mr Kőrösi expressed his concerned about the steady decline in protection of human rights.

Mr. António Guterres, UN Secretary General, began his speech by outlining the various rights contained in the 1948 Declaration before noting that the Declaration is under attack from all sides, notably with the invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. He called for a revitalisation of the Declaration, a reaffirmation of the rights it contains and a link to a new generation of rights. Mr. Guterres then spoke of the need for a new social contract for a new trust and a new agenda for peace.

The floor was then given to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Volker Türk. He stated that human rights are the common language of humanity, and that it is therefore essential to overcome the polarisations that the world is experiencing. Indeed, if the world thought that the atrocities and oppressions of the past were behind us, the many ongoing conflicts show otherwise. Mr. Türk expressed the importance of a new global consensus around human rights to put the world back on track for the promise of lasting peace, justice for all and greater solidarity. Finally, he recalled the importance of dialogue between States, even in cases of disagreement.

Finally, the Director of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ignazio Cassis, addressed the Council. He began by listing the many violations committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, such as massacres, the existence of detention and torture camps and the displacement of children. He notes that the world never thought it would have to draw up such a list in Europe, but we were wrong. That is why he emphasises the importance of this Human Rights Council. It is necessary that unpleasant topics are discussed because too often when one step forward is taken, two steps back are taken. To avoid this, he gave some guidelines to follow, including the need to document the violations committed in the world, to bring the perpetrators to account, to strengthen multilateralism and focus it on peace, and finally, to use the best weapon that humans possess: dialogue, because without it, peace is not possible.

The President of the Council finally took the floor to declare the 52nd Session open, beginning with the high-level segment containing speeches from Presidents, Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers from around the world.

Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ) will be closely scrutinizing the reports presented by the High Commissioner, Special Rapporteurs, Working Groups, Commissions of Inquiry and other UN human rights bodies. We will be actively participating in over 40 Interactive Dialogues and Panel discussions making statements to promote causes of human rights in countries that are neglected by the international community. We will provide updates through our social media channels and through articles on our website.

Follow us for more – On Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter our handle is @Geneva4Justice

On LinkedIn search GICJ or click the link here https://www.linkedin.com/company/geneva-international-centre-for-justice/ 

HRC52 HumanRights UnitedNations UnitedNationsHumanRights UnitedNationsHumanRightsCouncil geneva Geneva4Justice