UN Human Rights Council 49: UK statement on behalf of the mainstreaming panel contact group
Simon Manley, UK Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, delivered the UK statement on behalf of the mainstreaming panel contact group
Thank you
I am pleased to deliver the following statement on behalf of the Human Rights Council membership contact group.
Mr. President,
We welcome the holding of today’s panel.
We pay tribute to the work of the LDCs / SIDS trust fund, on the occasion of its tenth anniversary which has been one of this Council’s flagship achievements. Thanks to the fund, the range of states taking part in the Council’s work has expanded; the number of states represented in Geneva has grown; and the membership of the HRC has become more inclusive and diverse. It has led to several LDCs and SIDS serving on the Council. In 2019 an LDC ambassador served as President and in 2021 a SIDS Ambassador served as President for the first time - both with distinction. Such diverse representation from LDCs and SIDS has also been hugely beneficial for the body, allowing more perspectives and issues to be considered.
Importantly, achieving universal participation in the HRC could strengthen collaboration between SIDS-LDCs and UN entities, and should help to advance mainstreaming of human rights across the UN system.
But there is still some way to go. The majority of states who have yet to become members of the HRC are LDCs and SIDS. The purpose of our contact group is to make Council membership even more inclusive and diverse. We are ready to help those states who want to stand for election, and are committed to further strengthening the trust fund so that it provides additional support to those SIDS and LDCs that secure a seat.
Thank you