Opening Remarks by Eric Tistounet, Officer-in-charge of the Human Rights Council Mechanisms Division, at the opening of the sixteenth session of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee

22 February 2016

M. Le Président du Conseil des droits de l’homme,
M. Le Président du Comité consultatif,
Distingués membres du Comité,
Excellences,
Mesdames, Messieurs,

J’ai l’honneur et le plaisir de vous accueillir ici aujourd'hui à l’ouverture de cette seizième session du Comité consultatif du Conseil des droits de l’homme. J’aimerais tout d’abord m’associer aux félicitations adressées  au nouveau membre, M. Alsheddi, pour son élection, ainsi qu’à M. Coriolano, Mme. Pabel, et M. Yigezu, pour leur réélection.
Le Président du Conseil vient de vous donner un aperçu des activités du Conseil des droits de l’homme. Je vais de mon côté, conformément à notre pratique établie, vous faire part de certains développements récents dans le travail du Haut-Commissariat aux droits de l’homme (HCDH), et aussi généralement au sein des Nations Unies; développements ayant une pertinence particulière pour les activités et priorités de votre Comité.

Si vous me le permettez, je vais commencer par souligner, comme l’a fait le Président du Conseil, les deux anniversaires qui vont être célébrés cette année. Tout d'abord, dans le contexte du 50e anniversaire de l’adoption des Pactes relatifs aux droits de l'homme, le 16 décembre dernier, le HCDH a lancé avec succès une campagne d'une année visant à promouvoir une plus grande prise de conscience des droits et libertés énoncés dans les deux Pactes. C’est dans cette même optique également que le Conseil tiendra le lundi prochain, au cours de sa trente et unième session, un débat de haut niveau qui sera consacré au caractère universel, indivisible, interdépendant et indissociable de tous les droits de l’homme. Et comme l’a aussi évoqué le Président du Conseil, 2016 marque également le dixième cycle du Conseil des droits de l'homme, que nous célébrerons à travers plusieurs événements tout au long de cette année.

Distinguished members,
Let me also refer to the element that your Committee is mandated to always incorporate in its work, namely a gender perspective. I am pleased to inform you that since your last meeting here in August, the Office of the High Commissioner has engaged in several workshops and meetings with the aim of improving gender-awareness. The Office has thus facilitated a session on gender perspectives, during a two-day expert consultation convened by the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.  The outcome of the consultations will be submitted in a report to the upcoming 31st session of the Council.

Turning to another perspective that your Committee is required to integrate in its work: that of persons with disabilities, you may be interested in noting that at the General Assembly in New York last October, several special procedure mandate holders organized a side-event entitled “Leave no-one behind”, with the aim of guaranteeing attention to vulnerable groups in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  Furthermore, the Office is working on a 4-year project on SDG implementation under the Convention on the Rights of Persons Disabilities (CRPD).  This project will culminate, inter alia, in a guide to global human rights indicators for the CRPD. 

I am also pleased to inform you that the latest thematic study of the Office on the rights of persons with disabilities focuses on article 11 of the CRPD. In this study, the Office sets out the standards on the human rights of persons with disabilities in situations of risk and humanitarian emergencies, and presents a harmonized understanding of existing international humanitarian law under article 11 of the Convention. The aim of the study is to clarify the scope of the Convention in the context of the ongoing global discussion relating to disasters and humanitarian emergencies, to identify good practices, and to make recommendations thereon. This goes in the same direction as the observations made by your Committee in its study on the promotion and protection of human rights in post-disaster and post-conflict situations, wherein your Committee rightly recalled that persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected in situations of disaster and conflict.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Members of the Committee,
Allow me to continue with some of the other topics that your Committee has previously worked on, and updating you on the activities undertaken by the Office in relation with your past studies, starting with enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights. In this regard, I am pleased to inform you that during the 70th session of the General Assembly in New York, the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights presented a report was presented by the Office, based on practical proposals received from Member States and other stakeholders on how to strengthen the United Nations action in the field of human rights through the promotion of international cooperation.

Furthermore, in relation to one of your most recent studies, namely on the promotion of human rights through sport and the Olympic ideal, you may be interested to note that the Office organised a workshop for Russian Regional Human Rights Commissioners on their role in addressing racism and discrimination in football in anticipation of the FIFA World Cup 2018. The Office also participated in a seminar organized by the Swiss Permanent Mission and the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud aimed at building bridges between international organizations and international sport federations. Further, you would be pleased to note that a group of States, inspired by your study, has expressed the intention to table a resolution at the upcoming Council session.

Distinguished members,
Let me now to your current mandates relating to leprosy-related discrimination, vulture funds, and unaccompanied migrant children, on which you will advance your work during this weeklong session.

Leprosy is sadly still a basis for discrimination in several countries and therefore I am glad to note that some of those countries, as well as NGOs and the WHO, have responded to the call for inputs made by your Committee through the questionnaire it disseminated. Incorporating these responses, I am sure that your report will provide us with valuable insight into the implementation of the principles and guidelines to eliminate discrimination against persons affected by leprosy.

Turning to the second study that your Committee is currently working on: the activities of vulture funds; I am pleased to note from reading the draft report that it provides an extremely helpful introduction to what these funds are, as well as a comprehensive analysis of how they affect human rights. This study will particularly help to protect and promote the human rights of persons living in heavily indebted poor countries,  including least developed countries that are at risk of debt distress. This is indeed a complicated topic that needs to be understood from a human rights perspective and therefore, I look forward to reading the progress report to be submitted to the Council later this year.

Distinguished Members,
The topic of migrants has been at the forefront of the human rights debate over the past year. Many States are violating the human rights of those crossing their borders and in the process, they are also failing to protect unaccompanied children. Earlier this month we heard the disturbing news that more than 10,000 registered child migrants have disappeared in Europe alone. It is likely that many of them are, as I speak today, facing exploitation and abuse without any form of protection.

In such a grim context, OHCHR has spared no efforts in seeking to integrate a human rights perspective into national, regional and global discussions of migration. The Office has a long standing commitment to the human rights of migrants, and in recent years it has significantly stepped up its advocacy and work on protecting the human rights of all migrants, with a particular focus on those women, men and children who are most marginalised and at risk of human rights violations. The Office has also released a publication early last year on the economic, social and cultural rights of migrants in an irregular situation, in which it has also explored some of the legal and practical barriers that often prevent irregular migrant children from enjoying their rights to education, health, social security and housing, among others.

In addition to this, most recently, OHCHR has developed a set of Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human rights at international borders to assist States in developing human rights-respecting border governance measures, and pay particular attention to migrant children. The Principles assert, inter alia, that the best interest of the child shall be a primary consideration applicable to all children at international borders, regardless of their migration status or that of their parents.

Furthermore, as identified in one of OHCHR’s previous studies on children in the context of migration (A/HRC/15/29), child mobility has become much more complex. Often motivations for movement will change along the migratory route, shifting migrant children from one legally defined category to another. What will remain constant is that they will all remain children, and because they are children they will all be in need of the protection of the human rights framework. I believe that your report, focusing on this most vulnerable group of migrants, will draw the much-needed attention to the responsibility of States to protect them. OHCHR has continuously held that children should never be detained on the basis of their migratory status or that of their parents, and has joined an inter-agency working group and a global campaign to end immigration detention of children.

You may also wish to note that the latest OHCHR study on the human rights situation of migrants in transit, including unaccompanied children and adolescents, as well as women and girls, will be presented during the upcoming Human Rights Council session. The report underlines that the situation of migrant children in transit should receive particular scrutiny. It also recommends States, inter alia, to ensure that they are treated as children first and foremost and, in that regard, provides guidance on the operationalization of the principle of the best interests of the child for migrant children in transit.

In various regions as well, the Office has been actively engaged to protect the human rights of migrants, including unaccompanied children. For instance, in Asia and the Pacific, our staff has been monitoring multiple on-going human rights issues around boat arrivals.  In the Americas, we have intervened to uphold the rights of migrants and others threatened with deportation. OHCHR will also be soon training personnel of the European Union's counter-smuggling operation in the Southern Mediterranean, in addition to monitoring the human rights of migrants in

Distinguished Members,
Before I conclude, I am pleased to note that your Committee is not only seeking more cooperation with Civil Society and States, but also with colleagues in the academic field. At your 15th session in August last year you decided to establish a network of Academic Friends of the Advisory Committee in order to collaborate and share knowledge on mandated topics. Academics from around the world have responded to your call to join this network and I am pleased to note that a number of them are already attending this session. It is my hope that this network of excellent and internationally recognized academics will engage you in productive and insightful discussions.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Distinguished Members,
Let me conclude here by assuring you the full support of the Secretariat for your activities. I wish you very fruitful deliberations at the present session.

Thank you