PRESS RELEASE : UN Human Rights Council 54 – Statement for Item 10 General Debate [October 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 October 2023.
Statement for Item 10 General Debate. As delivered by the UK’s Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.
Thank you, Mr Vice President,
The United Kingdom strongly supports the vital role of technical cooperation. The international community must challenge States with egregious human rights situations, but it is equally important to support States who are cooperating with the UN and those who are looking for assistance to meet their human rights obligations.
We welcome the many countries who are doing so, who have seen the long-term benefits of technical cooperation. There is perhaps no better example of this than the many years of cooperation between the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Colombia, where there is a significant country presence. We welcome the ongoing positive example demonstrated by Colombia, and welcome its willingness to share its experience with the Council over recent sessions.
We share the regret expressed by High Commissioner Turk over the recent closure of the Uganda country office. During its 18 years in Uganda the office engaged closely with the government and other partners on a range of important human rights issues. We share the High Commissioner’s hope that the Uganda Human Rights Commission will be provided with adequate human, technical and financial resources to execute its mandate.
The human rights situation in Yemen remains dire – we welcome the Arab Group’s resolution in providing technical assistance to Yemen. Monitoring and reporting to the Council by the Office of the High Commissioner would help ensure independent oversight as is the practice in other Item 10 resolutions. We encourage the Arab Group to these provisions in future resolutions on Yemen at the Council.
