United Nations Human Rights Council

56^th session

Item 10 - Annual thematic panel discussion on technical cooperation and capacity-building

9 July 2024

EU statement

Thank you, Mr Vice-President,

The EU thanks the briefers for their contributions and the OHCHR for its report. We regret that the online repository mandated by resolution 54/28 could not be established because of the liquidity crisis. We encourage all states to pay their assessed contributions and arrears without delay.

All states agree on the immense value of the Universal Periodic Review, which empowers reformers and civil societies in all countries. The inclusion of UPR recommendation into UN Sustainable Development Cooperation frameworks is welcome; as one of the examples in the report shows, the EU works closely with UN partners to help deliver positive development and human rights outcomes in third countries. We welcome particularly the Human Rights Advisers system and the resolution presented at this session.

Human rights begin at home, and all EU member states benefit from the UPR process to improve their fundamental rights record, also thanks to technical support from the EU Fundamental Rights Agency, regional bodies like the Council of Europe or OSCE’s Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, and UN mechanisms. A future online repository should include Special Procedures and Treaty Body recommendations.

We would like to ask the panellists whether they see a need for a roster of human rights experts that could be deployed in the service of UN or regional human rights mechanisms to implement UPR recommendations.

Thank you for your attention.