Distinguished High Commissioner,
Madame President,
Estonia fully aligns itself with the statement delivered by the European Union.
Madame President,
We highly appreciate the attention of the High Commissioner on the most acute human rights situations in the world. It is important to keep these situations under the scrutiny of the Human Rights Council and to give a voice for the voiceless. As a member of the UN Security Council, Estonia has stressed the importance of promotion and protection of human rights as a crucial tool for conflict prevention and early warning.
We call on all countries to cooperate fully with the OHCHR, the treaty bodies and the Council’s mechanisms. All independent human rights mechanisms should have full and unconditional access to countries’ territories, including occupied areas, to conduct most efficient human rights monitoring.
As the UN Secretary General has noted in his Call to Action for Human Rights, in times of crisis our focus must be on preserving human dignity, preventing human rights violations and on responding promptly and effectively when such violations occur. We welcome and encourage even more reporting from the High Commissioner on emerging human rights concerns and violations as an early warning tool. Prevention together with accountability is the key in avoiding deterioration of human rights.
As new avenues are being used to erode the universal principles of human rights, we must remain vigilant and demand that States respect the human rights as well as the rule of law, democracy and civil society space.
Madame High Commissioner,
What in your view could be done in international cooperation to support people’s right to peaceful assembly in their aspirations for democracy and how to adequately respond to the oppressive authoritarian regimes’ violence and repressive actions against societies?
I thank you!