The Human Rights Council this afternoon continued its high-level segment, hearing from 19 dignitaries who spoke about Russia’s attack on Ukraine, human rights, and the COVID-19 pandemic, among other issues.
Many speakers condemned the military aggression of the Kremlin against Ukraine, calling on Russia to immediately stop all hostilities, withdraw its military from Ukraine, and fully respect international norms and principles in doing so. Russia’s aggression must stop immediately and those responsible for it must be held accountable. The upcoming urgent debate on Ukraine was welcomed. The priority was to prevent further escalation of the conflict. An independent international commission of inquiry must be established in order to investigate all violations and abuses of human rights and international humanitarian law. Russia’s actions would have devastating consequences on the humanitarian situation in the region.
Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, said Russia’s attack against Ukraine had been made on the direct order of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who, a few days before that, had shared a list of false claims and accused Ukraine of having committed a genocide. This showed that Vladimir Putin and the Russian leadership existed in an absolute parallel reality.
Thousands of homes had been damaged or destroyed or left without electricity; 352 people, including 16 children had died, the youngest being 18 months old; and thousands had been wounded. As the President of Ukraine had said, Russia must be considered a terrorist State.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic was also highlighted by many of the speakers, who highlighted that equitable access to health care and vaccines was a global imperative. The road to recovery must include the elimination of discriminations and special attention should be given to safeguarding the rights of minorities, and other vulnerable groups. Many speakers also noted that human rights should be at the core of every day political action and special attention should be given to the rights of women and children. It was also widely agreed that nations should strive for a united position and for the right of each and every person to enjoy human rights to the fullest extent possible.
Speaking were Abdoulaye Diop, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali; Bujar Osmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs of North Macedonia; Ziyambi Ziyambi, Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs of Zimbabwe; Abdisaid M. Ali, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia; Edgars Rinkevics, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Latvia; Gedion Thimothewos Hessebon, Minister of Justice of Ethiopia; Odongo Jeje Abubakhar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda; Albrecht Freiherr von Böselager, Grand Chancellor and Foreign Minister of the Sovereign Order of Malta; Antonio García, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Honduras; Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary; Akmal Saidov, Minister for Human Rights of Uzbekistan; Emine Dzhaparova, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine; Megi Fino, Deputy Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of Albania; Adv. Lekhetho Rakuoane, Minister of Law and Justice of Lesotho;Rogelio Mayta Mayta, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bolivia; Ingrid Ingrid Brocková, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Slovakia; Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth; Julissa Mantilla Falcón, Commissioner and President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States; Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme; and Gillian Triggs, Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with the United Nations Refugee Agency.
Source: UN Human Rights Council