Statement by H.E. Ms. Nazhat Shameem Khan, President of the Human Rights CouncilMeeting of Ministers’ Deputies of the Council of Europe

11 February 2021 at 9:30am

Ambassador Rolf Mafael, President of the Ministers’ Deputies,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to be here with you today in my capacity as President of the United Nations Human Rights Council. I would like to thank H.E. Ambassador Rolf Mafael and the members of the Council of Europe for the very kind invitation, and for providing me with this opportunity to exchange views with all of you on the year ahead as well as on the Human Rights Council’s work in relation to the implication of the COVID-19 pandemic on human rights.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year is first time that the Presidency of the Human Rights Council is held by a representative of a Pacific Small Island State, and of Small Island Developing States. This is a credit to multilateralism. Multilateralism works for small countries which otherwise individually may not have an effective voice, but together and in partnership, have the capacity to speak with a louder voice.

As President, I am committed to bringing to the Council a determination to maintain both impartiality, and inclusivity. With the support and determination of the Human Rights Council Bureau which is made up of the Ambassadors of Sudan, Netherlands, Bulgaria and the Bahamas, I will work to ensure that the Council fulfils its mandate and remains guided by the principles of universality, and constructive international dialogue, in order to enhance the promotion and protection of all human rights, everywhere.

I am also committed to ensuring that the Council continues its work and remains relevant and effective, including by continuing and strengthening those processes, including the efficiency processes, which are designed to make the most efficient and effective use of the time and resources at the Council’s disposal.

Furthering the existing work of the Council in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in continuing to enhance the inclusive and representative nature of the Council is also a priority for me. The work of the SIDS/LDCs Trust Fund of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is of particular importance as it is intended to assist those states which find it difficult to achieve representation in the Council for reasons such as capacity constraints.

The Presidency is committed to prioritizing the input of representatives of civil society, who support, contribute to and enrich the Council`s work and ensure the inclusivity of its dialogues. I am equally committed to prioritizing the input of representatives of civil society, who support, contribute to and enrich the Council`s work and ensure the inclusivity of its dialogues as well as prioritizing the safety of civil society space and those NGOs and human rights defenders who seek to cooperate with this body and its mechanisms.

And finally, I will work to ensure that the Council is able to fulfil its role despite the various challenges posed, whether caused by a global health or human rights crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic continues to pose important organizational challenges to the Council and to the wider United Nations. Though the virus does not discriminate, its impacts certainly do, and it has the effect of exacerbating existing inequalities and deepening poverty. It is the Council’s collective responsibility to draw attention and to respond to the deep inequalities that have been laid bare by the pandemic - and to ensure that human rights standards, in combination with the shared commitment to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, will guide what can be done to recover from what is, a global health and a human rights crisis.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Addressing the Covid-19 pandemic’s adverse impact on human rights worldwide is unquestionably one of the Council’s ongoing priorities.

I wish to commend my predecessor, as well as express my gratitude and appreciation to Her Excellency Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, for leading the Human Rights Council through a year that was both challenging and decisive. Her leadership was determined and unwavering and allowed all sessions to proceed with precautions as to the health and safety of all.

During the first, hard lockdown in Europe last Spring, the Council’s members and observers engaged in virtual informal conversations on human rights issues stemming from the COVID-19 crisis - first with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and later on with Special Procedures mandate holders. Subsequently, on 29 May, the Council adopted, for the first time ever by way of a silence procedure, a President’s Statement on the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.

With determination, flexibility and creativity, the Human Rights Council took up its formal work again in June last year – as soon as the United Nations Office at Geneva was re-opened – using an innovative hybrid format. This allowed the Council to complete its three regular sessions and respond to current developments around the world – including by holding an urgent debate on racially inspired human rights violations, sparked by the killing of George Floyd, and an Urgent Debate on the situation of human rights in Belarus.

It also allowed the Council to receive the oral updates of the High Commissioner on the human rights impact of the COVID-19 pandemic at its forty- fourth and forty-fifth sessions, as per the PRST adopted in May, and to adopt numerous resolutions mandating activities to occur this year on human rights and the Covid-19 pandemic.

Accompanying the former-President’s leadership in 2020, was the laudable dedication of Special Procedures Mandate Holders to their mandates and to providing the Council, and indeed the world, with important guidance on the human rights impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association developed a toolbox and flash cards on how to assess freedom of assembly during public health emergencies and a video on how to protect this right. Additionally, the Special Rapporteur for the protection and promotion of human rights while countering terrorism published an online-based tracker that monitors State responses to Covid-19 that affect civic freedoms and human rights.

Of course, there are a great many more Special Procedures Mandate Holders than I could hope to thank developed guidance, released press statements and authored reports on the impact of the pandemic on human rights and how to build back better from the pandemic in a human rights-based manner.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

The Council has a wide-range of activities planned this year to continue to discuss and address the adverse human rights impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

For example, during the Human Rights Council’s upcoming 46th session, which will open on 22 February at 9 a.m., the Council will convene its Annual High-Level Panel Discussion on Human Rights Mainstreaming, which this year will focus on state of play in the fight against racism and discrimination 20 years after the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Plan of Action and the exacerbating effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on these efforts. Pursuant to the PRST adopted last May, the Council will also consider at it 46th session the High Commissioner’s report on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the enjoyment of human rights around the world, including good practices and areas of concern.

During the 47th session this June, the Council will convene a High-Level Panel Discussion on efforts to prevent female genital mutilation in the context of global pandemics and economic shocks, and the 48th session in September will feature a presentation by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the impact of Government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic on the safety and work of journalists and media workers.

Additionally, the Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights is dedicating his next annual report to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the enjoyment of all human rights by persons in extreme poverty.

This is a just a sample of Council activities aimed at better understanding how the pandemic has impacted human rights. I am proud to say that this demonstrates the Council’s commitment to remain active in assessing how the pandemic has and is impacting all human rights - civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights. There is no doubt that a coherent understanding of how the pandemic has impacted all human rights is a prerequisite for formulating coherent, human rights-based responses to it.

In this regard, Excellencies, I am pleased to inform you that the Council will also continue to address the issue of how the world can build back better, in a human rights-based manner, from the pandemic. In fact, these activities have already begun.

On 14 January 2021, the Council held a half-day intersessional meeting on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development focused on integrating human rights into plans for sustainable and resilient recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with a focus on SDGs 10 and 16.

Additionally, during its 47th session, the Council will hold a thematic panel discussion on the plans of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, regional organisations and relevant United Nations country teams and agencies to support States’ efforts to promote and protect the right to education, including those efforts aimed at alleviating the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Excellencies,

As you can see, there are numerous Council activities planned in 2021 that will provide a comprehensive overview of the human rights impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and help States to formulate human rights-based responses to it.

In my capacity as President of the Human Rights Council, it is my strong determination to continue the work of the Council despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, just as my predecessor did.

Indeed, I am currently working hard to ensure that the Council will continue to effectively promote and protect human rights while also safeguarding the health of all participants in all Council activities. This will guarantee the proper functioning of Council activities in 2021, including all of those aimed at ensuring the world can build back better in a human rights-friendly manner from the Covid-19 pandemic.

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

To conclude, I would like to thank you all for inviting me to participate in this important meeting. I am eager to hear your views on the Council’s work and how the Council can best address the human rights impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic.

I thank you.