Universal Session of the Human Rights Council on the Occasion of its Tenth Anniversary (HRC32, June 2016)
For the first time since the establishment of the Trust Fund in 2012, the Beneficiary Delegates of the Trust Fund issued, as a Group, a joint statement underlying the challenges and opportunities of SIDS participating in the Human Rights Council session. Read the historic joint statement made by SIDS and LDCs without Permanent Representation in Geneva on 27 June 2016, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary.
Read the biographies of the SIDS Delegates participating in HRC32 and supported by the LDCs/SIDS Trust Fund (PDF). The Permanent Observer of the CARICOM to the United Nations also attended.
Welcome Ceremony, 9 June 2016
The 16 SIDS delegates without permanent mission in Geneva, attending HRC 32, supported by the LDCs/SIDS Trust Fund. © OHCHR (print-quality photo)
Pictured above from left to right: Vanuatu (Setariki Waqanitoga), Kiribati (Moote Korina Anata), Guyana (Tamara M. Evelyn Khan), Suriname (Jasmien S. S Wijngaarde-LijKwan), Guinea Bissau (Ernestino J. Mango), São Tomé e Príncipe (Silva Ludmila Afonso Lavres Danquá), Palau (Nacho Trabadela), Saint Kitts and Nevis (Dorn Henry), Saint Vincent and The Grenadines (Jasmine Veronica Hull), Samoa (Ane Iati), Antigua and Barbuda (Vanessa A. M. Moe), Adam Abdelmoula (Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division), President of the Human Rights Council (H.E. Mr. Choi Kyonglim), Director-General of UNOG (Mr. Michael Møller), Permanent Representative of Switzerland (Ambassador Alexandre Fasel), Permanent Observer of CARICOM to the UN in New York (Ambassador Sherman Peter), Nauru (Jasmina Giouba),Tuvalu (Kasipo Margaret Teo), Tonga (‘Akanesi’ Emeline Katoa), Marshall Islands (Amatlain Elizabeth Kabua), Fatou Camara Houel (Coordinator of the LDCs/SIDS Trust Fund), in Room XX, 9 June 2016, Palais des Nations.
Welcoming remarks
- Mr. Michael Møller, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva (Word | PDF)
- President of the Human Right Council (Word | PDF)
- Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, Director of the Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division (Word | PDF)
- H.E. Alexandre Fasel, Permanent Representative of Switzerland (PDF)
Welcome by the High Commissioner for Human Rights
"In 2012, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution 19/26 which established the Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the work of the Human Rights Council. The resolution was a landmark decision through which the Council recognized the importance of ensuring that all 193 Member States, particularly those without a Permanent Mission in Geneva, have the opportunity to contribute to its work.
To date, the Trust Fund administrated by my Office has enabled more than 35 delegates, women and men, from around the world to sit in the Human Rights and Alliance of Civilization Room and share their human rights successes and the challenges they are facing.
The testimonies and lessons learned demonstrate how valuable these experiences were, both for them and for all of us.
We will endeavour to maintain and further develop this positive trend.
I therefore appeal Member States to ensure, through regular voluntary contributions, that the Council continues to be a place where all voices can be heard. This will bring us closer to achieving our common goal to better promote and protect all human rights, for all, everywhere.”
Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.