Inimõiguste Nõukogu 35. sessioon
Intervention by ESTONIA
Item 2 – Annualreport of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
General segment
Genf, 7 juuni 2017
Mr President,
Mr High Commissioner,
Estonia fully alignsitself with the statement made by the European Union. We would like to thankthe High Commissioner for Human Rights and his Office for his oral update andfor bringing to our attention the most urgent human rights violations. We willnot comment here on various reports or country situations before the Counciland will instead do so under other agenda items. I would however use thisopportunity to raise some other important questions.
Estonia would likehighlight the need for more emphasis on prevention, early warning and effectiveresponse from the Council. The national human rights institutions (NHRIs), NGOsand human rights defenders have a crucial role in this context, as theirexperience and expertise on the ground level are valuable contribution to theCouncil’s preventive efforts. For this reason, we need to create and safeguardthe space to enable their work. This is a way to meaningfully contribute to theprevention of human rights violations and promptly respond to human rightsemergencies. At the same time we emphasize the role of the field presence ofthe OHCHR in providing information on the ground. We welcome the appointment ofAndrew Gilmour as the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights – to leadthe efforts to stop intimidation and reprisals within the UN system.
Furthermore, humanrights need to be mainstreamed in all of our activities in the United Nations,as human rights are both a means and the end of development. Human rights arecentral to the achievement of the sustainable development goals. Thus, we needto take common steps to realize the human rights of all. Reminding thestatement by the High Commissioner at the 34th session – either we areall together or we fall together.
We would like toask the High Commissioner, what can the Council do to increase theeffectiveness of the prevention in addressing the human rights protection, andwhat, possibly new, tools and mechanisms are needed for this?
Thank you.