GENEVA, The Human Rights Council this morning opened its fifty-first session, hearing an oral update by the Acting High Commissioner for Human Rights, Nada Al Nashif, on global human rights developments and the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner.
Ms. Al-Nashif extended her warmest welcome to Under-Secretary-General Volker Türk, whose appointment as the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on last Thursday. His leadership and commitment to championing human rights will be a real asset in the defence of the rights of everyone, everywhere.
Presenting the High Commissioner’s oral update, Ms. Al-Nashif said that since the Council’s last session in June, several situations around the world continued to raise serious human rights concerns requiring urgent action. The coming months were a critical test to political will.
”When galvanised through multilateral and concerted action, by building bridges rather than sowing division, political commitment that was grounded in international human rights standards could propel the world forward towards more just and equal societies. It lay at the core of the mission of the Council – to fulfil it was therefore to uphold the collective commitment to the enduring principle that all human beings were born free and equal in dignity and rights.” The general debate on the High Commissioner’s oral update will be held on Tuesday, 13 September.
Source: Emirates News Agency