I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The European Union welcomes this opportunity to discuss human rights situations that require the Council's attention.

The Candidate Countries North Macedonia and Montenegro*, and the EFTA country Liechtenstein, member of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.

With regard to the situations in Venezuela, Burundi and Syria, we would like to refer to our statements during the respective interactive dialogues.

We condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. By its unprovoked and unjustified war of aggression against Ukraine, Russia is grossly violating international law and principles, including the UN Charter, and undermining European and global security and stability. We demand that Russia immediately ceases military attacks, unconditionally withdraws all forces and military equipment from the entire territory of Ukraine and fully respects Ukraine’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders. Such use of force and coercion has no place in the 21st century. We deplore the loss of life and humanitarian suffering. We have witnessed appalling scenes of indiscriminate attacks by the Russian military on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including reportedly using systematic sexual and gender-based violence as a weapon of war. Equally shocking are the reports of forcible transfer of population to territories under Russian military control and deportations to the Russian federation. We also deeply deplore the security checks (so-called “filtration camps“) that take place outside any legal framework and that result, according to credible reports, in numerous human rights violations. We call on Russia to grant without delay full and unhindered access to humanitarian actors. Safe humanitarian passages for civilians wishing to leave must be ensured. We urge Russia to respect international humanitarian law. The EU wishes to thank the Independent International Commission of Inquiry for their oral update and expresses full support for their work.  We also welcome the opening of an investigation by the ICC prosecutor into the situation in Ukraine after the referrals by ICC State Parties, including all EU member states. Those who violate the international law including international humanitarian law will be held accountable.

We are deeply concerned at the further deteriorating human rights situation in Russia. Russia’s unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression against Ukraine has amplified internal repression in Russia, targeting ordinary citizens and drastically limiting the right to freedom of expression and media freedom. The EU strongly condemns the massive expansion of restrictive legislation, including the law on so-called “false information about the use of the armed forces of the Russian Federation” (the 2022 “fake news” law). This law aims at further depriving the Russian people of independent information about illegal actions and atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Ukraine. The EU reiterates its condemnation over the imprisonment of opposition politicians, such as Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Alexey Gorinov, Leonid Gozman and others, for using their right to criticise the Russian leadership and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We deplore the charges brought against former mayor, Yevgeny Roizman, as well as the recent sentence against former journalist Ivan Safronov. We reiterate our call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, such as the opposition politician Alexei Navalny. We also call on Russia to fully implement all the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, including the most recent ruling on Russia’s foreign agents law. We will continue to call upon Russian authorities to uphold their domestic and international obligations and commitments to respect and ensure human rights and equality before the law. The so-called “foreign agents”, “undesirable organisations”, “extremism” and “fake news” laws, purposely aiming at silencing Russia’s civil society, political opposition and independent media, have seriously limited the ability of Russian independent civil society organisations to operate. We strongly condemn systematic repression against civil society actors and human rights defenders, as well as unabated crackdown on independent media, individual journalists, political opposition members and other critical voices. We continue to call on Russia to protect the human rights of persons belonging to minorities, including religious minorities and persons in vulnerable situations, and to thoroughly investigate the persistent reports of grave human rights violations and unlawful actions towards human rights defenders and their family members as well as persecutions, including torture, of LGBTI persons, including in Chechnya.

The EU is deeply concerned about human rights situation in Belarus that continues to deteriorate. We strongly condemn the ongoing repression and intimidation campaign against all segments of civil society, human rights defenders, journalists, trade unionists, media workers, lawyers, persons belonging to national and other minorities and ordinary citizens who voice any criticism of the system. The current political context in Belarus makes the situation even more worrying. The EU condemns in the strongest possible terms the involvement of Lukashenko in enabling and supporting the Russia’s war of aggression by providing its territory for the attack on Ukraine. A majority of Belarusian are opposed to the country’s participation in the war against Ukraine, but any attempt to voice this opposition is brutally silenced and prosecuted. The EU is also very concerned about recent changes in the penal code that introduce the death penalty for “attempted acts of terrorism”. Many representatives of the democratic forces and political activists are wanted under “terrorism charges” and are thus potentially subject of this widening of the scope of the application of the death penalty. Over 850 civil society organisations have been liquidated. Independent trade unions are no longer allowed to exist. The EU deplores the extremely harsh verdict against human rights defenders, including the most recent verdict by Minsk city court against the human rights centre Viasna’s representatives Maria (Marfa) Rabkova and Andrei Chapuk. The EU urges Belarus to immediately halt the repressions, start a genuine, inclusive national dialogue and end the complicity in Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. The EU will continue to raise the human rights violations in international fora and to support international initiatives to hold all perpetrators to account, including through the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Accountability Platform for Belarus. We reiterate our call on the Belarusian authorities to fully cooperate with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus and with the OHCHR examination on Belarus, including by granting access to the country. The EU reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners and urges Belarus to abolish the death penalty and, as a first step, to introduce a moratorium.

The EU remains committed to the Afghan people and to stability, prosperity and sustainable peace in Afghanistan and the region. The EU strongly condemns the detention and the use of violence by the Taliban and other groups against women, former Afghan security forces, former administrative and political representatives, former representatives of the judiciary, demonstrators, journalists and other media workers, human rights defenders, LGBTI persons, persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities and groups. The EU also condemns the systematic curtailment of the human rights of Afghans and particularly of women and girls and expresses deep concern about the deteriorating situation of children. Accountability for human rights violations and abuses and violations of international law must be ensured for which monitoring is fundamental. The EU expects the full, equal and meaningful participation of women in all areas of public life, including the political, educational, economic, social and cultural sectors, as well as free and equal access to education, employment and health. We call on the Taliban to respect international law, and the international conventions to which Afghanistan is a State Party, including on women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights, and the rights of persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. This will require an inclusive political process with full, equal and meaningful participation of all Afghans. We call on the Taliban to form a representative and inclusive government, to continue cooperation with UN agencies, with the Special Rapporteur on Afghanistan and other Special Procedures mandate holders appointed by the Human Rights Council.

As to the human rights situation in China, the EU welcomes the release of the assessment report of human rights concerns in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The report underscores the serious human rights violations occurring in Xinjiang and finds that these, may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity. The EU underscores the need for justice and accountability and urges China to cooperate with the OHCHR to implement the report’s recommendations. The EU reiterates its persistent and serious concerns about the existence of a large network of political re-education camps, mass arbitrary detentions, widespread surveillance, tracking and control measures, systemic and severe restrictions on the exercise of fundamental freedoms, including freedom of religion or belief, as well as the use of forced labour, torture, forced abortion and sterilisation, birth control and family separation policies, and sexual and gender-based violence, which have been confirmed by the report. As the report states, the human rights situation in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region requires urgent attention by the Chinese Government, the United Nations, in particular its human rights bodies, as well as the international community more broadly. The EU joins the call by UN experts reporting to the Human Rights Council to closely monitor, report, and assess the human rights situation in China. Latest documentations confirm the seriousness of the human rights situation in China, especially in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. The EU urges China to abide by its obligations under national and international law to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including Uighurs and persons belonging to ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities across China, especially in Xinjiang, Tibet and Inner Mongolia. This includes fully respecting the principle of non-refoulement. The EU notes the deposit of the instruments of ratification by China in August 2022, of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)  and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), and calls upon China to take the necessary measures to effectively implement them, bringing China's laws, regulations and practices fully in line with the obligations included therein. The intensified crackdown on human rights defenders, human rights lawyers,  journalists, independent reporters, other media workers and intellectuals who continue to be exposed to harassment, intimidation and surveillance, including the practice of the Residential Surveillance in a Designated Location (RSDL), and subjected to unlawful detention, sentencing and enforced disappearance, and torture and ill-treatment, remains of equally serious concern. The EU urges China to ensure full respect for the rule of law, to investigate violations of human rights or international law, to guarantee procedural fairness and due process of law. The EU continues to closely monitor the situation and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of, among others, Pastor Cao Sanqiang, Chang Weiping, Chen Jianfang, Chen Yunfei, Cheng Yuan, Ding Jiaxi, Dorjee Tashi, Fang Bin, Gao Zhisheng, Guo Quan, Guo Feixiong, Go Sherab Gyatso, Huang Qi, Huang Xueqin, Li Qiaochu, Li Yuhan, Qin Yongmin, Qin Yongpei, Rinchen Tsultrim, Tang Jitian, Tiyip Tashpolat, Sakharov Prize laureate Ilham Tohti, Wang Bingzhang, Wang Jianbing, Pastor Wang Yi, Wang Li, Wang Zang, Wu Gan, Xu Qin, Xu Na, Xu Zhiyong, Yang Maodong, Pastor Zhang Chunlei and Zhang Zhan as well as the EU citizen Gui Minhai whose right to consular access must be respected.

In relation to Hong Kong, the EU remains gravely concerned about the repressive National Security Law (NSL), the renewed use of the Sedition Law, and the sweeping changes in the electoral system that constitute a violation of democratic principles and political pluralism. The legitimate exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular freedom of peaceful assembly and association, freedom of expression including media freedom supposed to remain protected until 2047, has been substantially eroded. The arrests of Cardinal Joseph Zen, and four other trustees and the secretary of the 612 Humanitarian Relief Fund, the arrest of the chairman of the Hong Kong journalists association and the conviction of members of the general union of Hong Kong speech therapists for sedition, constitute deterioration of the freedoms guaranteed in the Hong Kong Basic Law. The independence of the judiciary is under immense pressure and the lengthy pre-trial detention in NSL cases is a source of concern, as well as the closure of numerous civil society groups. The EU urges the Chinese central government and the Hong Kong authorities to restore full respect for the rule of law, human rights, including freedom of association and freedom of expression, and democratic principles, including pluralism, to guarantee the independence of the judiciary and to preserve Hong Kong's high degree of autonomy under the ‘One country, two systems’ principle, in compliance with Hong Kong’s Basic Law and China’s domestic and international commitments.

The EU remains extremely concerned with the situation in Northern Ethiopia and the recent resumption and escalation of fighting. We reiterate our call for all parties to the conflict to immediately end the violence, agree to and observe a cease-fire, to protect civilians and humanitarian aid workers, to restore basic services and to cease human rights violations and abuses. We call on all parties to enter a process of political dialogue and we reiterate our support for African Union led mediation under the leadership of the High Representative of the African Union Commission Chairperson. We call for rapid, full and unfettered humanitarian access and full respect of international humanitarian law, international human rights law and international refugee law. All allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including sexual and gender based violence as well as violations of international humanitarian law, must be thoroughly and transparently investigated, perpetrators held accountable and brought to justice and the rule of law restored. International scrutiny remains necessary. We call on all parties to cooperate with the Commission of Experts established by the resolution HRC/S-33/1.

The human rights situation in Eritrea requires continuous international scrutiny and monitoring, including in the light of the situation in northern Ethiopia. The EU remains seriously concerned with the human rights situation and we call on the government to address all human rights violations including arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, inhumane prison conditions, and wide spread gender-based violence as reported by the Special Rapporteur. The EU also calls upon the Government of Eritrea to uphold the right to freedom of religion or belief.

The EU deeply regrets recent developments in Turkey, which increase concerns about the continued deterioration of respect for the rule of law and human rights, including fundamental freedoms and the independence of the judiciary. We reiterate the call on Turkey to comply with its obligations under international law, including human rights law, and protect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, including property rights of persons belonging to minorities and minorities’ legal entities, as well as universal access to cultural life in accordance with Turkey's international commitments. The targeting of political parties, human rights defenders, civil society, people participating in trade union activities, women’s associations, independent media, lawyers and judges, academics, LGBTI persons, members of parliament and democratically elected mayors, represent major setbacks for human rights and run counter to Turkey’s obligations to respect democracy, human rights and the rule of law. As an EU candidate country and long-standing member of the Council of Europe, Turkey is expected to apply the highest democratic standards and practices. In this context, we urge Turkey to implement all judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, which are legally binding, and to release all arbitrarily detained people. The EU calls on Turkey to fully uphold women’s and girls’ enjoyment of human rights. Human rights are non-negotiable and they continue to be an integral part of EU-Turkey relations.

The EU remains deeply concerned about the repeated cycles of violence and loss of human lives in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel. The Palestinian population continues to face repeated human rights violations and abuses. The worsening humanitarian and human rights situation in the Gaza Strip remains of grave concern. The EU deplores the loss of civilian lives, including a number of children and women, killed and injured in the recent escalation in and around Gaza in August 2022, and calls for a timely and thorough investigation into these civilian casualties. We call for an end to the closure of Gaza, full opening of the crossing points, and unimpeded access for humanitarian actors. The EU condemns the indiscriminate rocket attacks, incendiary balloons and other attacks by Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and other terrorist groups against Israel as well as any other violence. While recognising Israel’s right to defend itself, the EU underlines that this right must be exercised in a proportionate manner and in full respect of international human rights law and international humanitarian law. We draw particular attention to restrictions on human rights and call on the Palestinian Authority to uphold human rights in the areas where it is able to exercise control and thoroughly investigate alleged violations. We also recall the responsibilities of the de facto authorities in Gaza in this regard. The EU is also deeply concerned by the recent raids on six Palestinian civil society organisations, as part of a worrying reduction of space for civil society in the occupied Palestinian territory. A free and strong civil society is indispensable for promoting democratic values and for the two-state solution.  The EU calls on Israel to refrain from any action that would prevent these organisations from continuing their critical human rights, humanitarian and development work in the occupied Palestinian territory. In case Israel makes convincing evidence available that would justify reviewing the EU’s policy towards the six Palestinian civil society organisations, the EU would act accordingly. It is crucial to ensure a safe and enabling civic space, both online and offline, and that anti-terrorism legislation does not lead to undermining civil society and its valuable work and contributions to building fairer and more peaceful societies and the pursuit of accountability. The EU reiterates its call for a thorough investigation that clarifies all the circumstances that led to Shireen Abu Akleh’s death and for those responsible to be brought to justice. The EU is worried by the persisting negative trends on the ground, including illegal settlement expansion, violence against civilians committed by all parties, terror attacks and increasing demolitions and evictions, which severely threaten the two-state solution. The EU strongly opposes Israel’s settlement policy and activities, including demolitions and confiscation, including of EU funded projects, evictions and settler violence that will only escalate an already tense environment. The EU therefore calls on Israel to halt continued settlement expansion, including East Jerusalem. It is of utmost importance to implement the commitments made to improve Palestinian livelihoods and to restore a political horizon towards a two-state solution, develop confidence-building measures, and open the path towards the relaunch of the peace process as soon as possible.  The EU is ready to fully support Israelis and Palestinians in these efforts. The EU condemns the execution of five prisoners carried out in Gaza. The EU recalls its firm opposition under all circumstances to the use of capital punishment.

The European Union is deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of violence in Myanmar/Burma and the evolution towards a protracted conflict with regional implications. The EU remains firm in condemning in the strongest possible terms the 1 February 2021 military coup, continuing grave human rights violations including extrajudicial killings, torture, sexual and gender based violence, persecution of civil society, human rights defenders and journalists, attacks on the civilian population, including Rohingya and persons belonging to other ethnic and religious minorities, by the Myanmar armed and security forces. The EU calls for full accountability of the leaders responsible for the coup as well as of the perpetrators of violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law. The EU also reiterates its firm demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners arbitrarily detained since the coup and for the return to power of democratically elected leaders. The EU urges the Myanmar armed and security forces to grant without delay full and unhindered access to humanitarian actors. The EU strongly condemns the politically motivated executions of pro-democracy and opposition leaders by the Myanmar military, which represent yet another step towards the complete dismantling of the rule of law and a further blatant violation of human rights in Myanmar, and calls for a return to the de facto moratorium on the death penalty observed for decades prior. The EU reiterates its strong support for ASEAN’s efforts in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis and stresses the need for Myanmar to implement fully, swiftly and faithfully ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus of 24 April 2021. We also fully support the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General, Noeleen Heyzer, and welcome her close coordination with ASEAN.

The EU calls on the Nicaraguan authorities to abide by its own commitments, by Nicaragua’s Constitution and by international human rights law and standards. Since the 7 November elections which were neither free nor fair, repression has continued and the situation has deteriorated further. The Nicaraguan authorities must end all repression including the crackdown against political opponents, clergy, independent media, civil society and human rights-defenders, and guarantee full respect of human rights, including freedom of assembly, association, expression and religion or belief. The restoration of an inclusive dialogue between government and opposition, and genuine democracy, in line with the commitments made by the authorities in March 2019 following the national dialogue, is the only constitutional way to resolve the political, economic and social crisis in Nicaragua. The EU reiterates its urgent call on the Nicaraguan authorities to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and annul all legal proceedings against them, including their sentences. International human rights bodies must be authorised to return to Nicaragua, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). Finally, we call upon Mr. Ortega to return the sovereignty of Nicaragua to the Nicaraguan people, its rightful owners, and to restore genuine democracy.

* North Macedonia and Montenegro continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process