EU General Comment - HRC60 - Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights

EU General Comment - HRC60 - Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights

UN Human Rights Council

60th Session - Item 5

L.25 - General Comment

Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights

EU General Comment

Mr President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU Member States that are members of the Human Rights Council. This general comment has been agreed by the EU as a whole.

The EU thanks the core group - Hungary, Ireland, Uruguay, Fiji and Ghana - for once more presenting this important initiative and for their transparent and inclusive approach during the consultation process, accomodating a broad range of suggestions from States and civil society.

The EU expresses its resolute support for the right of everyone, individually and in association with others, to access, communicate, and cooperate freely with the United Nations and its mechanisms. Yet, reports of intimidation and reprisals continue to persist across all regions.

We condemn in the strongest terms all acts of intimidation and reprisals - online and offline - by state and non-state actors. These actions weaken both individuals and civil society's ability to contribute meaningfully to UN processes. We furher condemn the targeting of human rights mechanisms and the deterrent effect this has on those who seek to cooperate with the UN.We appreciate that the text before us highlights the particular challenge of the increasingly transnational nature of acts of reprisals and the chilling effect that fear of retaliation has on individuals and organizations. Many victims of reprisals request anonymity during documentation or refrain from reporting altogether. The true number of reprisals cases is therefore likely to be much higher than what is included in the Secretary General's annual report. We are further concerned that underreporting hampers efforts to ensure accountability and to step up prevention efforts.

For the reasons presented above, the EU supports the text as presented by the Core Group and calls on all members of the Human Rights Council to join the consensus on this important resolution.

Thank you.