30th Plenary Meeting of General Assembly 71st Session

With violent extremism on the rise, speakers at the General Assembly urge the international community to uphold its human rights treaties, at 30th meeting of the 71st session.

• Categories: Meetings & Events / General Assembly
• Video Length: 00:57:40
• Production Date: 19 October 2016
• Asset Language: Arabic; Chinese; English; French; Russian; Spanish
• Personal Subject: PETER THOMSON; JAN ELIASSON
• Subject Topical: 50TH ANNIVERSARY; CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS; CIVIL SOCIETY; DISPLACED PERSONS; HUMAN RIGHTS; HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS; INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION; MIGRANTS; REFUGEES
• MAMS Id: 1746892
• Parent Id: 1745447

Description

Warning against greater restrictions on rights and freedoms, Peter Thomson, the General Assembly’s President, urged Member States to work together to uphold basic human rights: the right to life, liberty and security; to equality before the law; to gender equality, education and health; to freedom of expression, worship and association; and to freedom from discrimination, torture, slavery and hunger.

Echoing that sentiment, United Nations Deputy Secretary‑General Jan Eliasson said that in a world of widespread suffering, the fiftieth anniversary was an appropriate moment to rally around the Covenants’ principles and vision. The 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development provided a timely global blueprint to implement the Covenants in a deeper sense. Human rights were not only interrelated, interdependent and inalienable; they formed the very bedrock of a humane world.

Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, credited the Covenants with being a lifeline for millions of women, men and children over the past 50 years. However, with the current state of the world, “will it be our generation that breaks away from the human rights principles drawn up to save the world from the horror of the past?,” he asked, warning that “in a tide of hatred and divisiveness, deep and vital principles may be swept away unheeded”.

Some speakers stressed that even the most basic human rights could not be fully realized without taking into account civil liberties, with Waleed Sadi, Chair of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, saying that one could not enjoy the right to food, work, housing, education or health, if the political environment was not appropriate for their enjoyment.

Fabián Omar Salvioli, Chair of the Human Rights Committee, called for more unity and collaboration, urging Member States to leave behind “artificial divisions” for a pro‑person approach and universal ratification of both instruments.

Kuwait’s representative, speaking on behalf of Asia‑Pacific States, said that faced with ongoing global conflicts and a staggering 65.3 million refugees and internally displaced persons, the fiftieth anniversary of the Covenants was a reminder of the obligation to defend each individual’s basic human rights.

Special attention must be given to the world’s most vulnerable, Chile’s delegate, speaking for Latin American and Caribbean States, said, calling for the empowerment of all women and girls and the protection of rights of children, persons with disabilities, indigenous people and people of African descent, migrants and the elderly.

The United Kingdom’s representative, speaking on behalf of Western European and other States, said that people expected accountability from their Governments. To that end, national Governments, international organizations and civil society had to work together to protect and strengthen human rights and to work with countries that had yet to sign or ratify the Covenants.

Also speaking today were representatives of Georgia (on behalf of Eastern European States) and the United States (speaking as the Host Country).