Mr. President,
Cuba has the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Like-Minded Group of countries. The list of supporting States will be updated on HRC Extranet.
The current international crisis, the unjust and undemocratic international economic order and the irrational and unsustainable patterns of production and consumption perpetuate inequalities within and among countries, hinder efforts to achieve sustainable development and the full promotion and protection of human rights.
We are concerned about the proliferation of hate speech, racism, religious intolerance, discriminatory policies against migrants and the application of unilateral coercive measures.
We emphasize that unilateral coercive measures have negative and devastating impacts on the realization of human rights, including the right to development and the right to food.
Mr. President,
We are strongly of the view that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing and that the Human Rights Council should be guided by the principles of universality, impartiality, objectivity and non-selectivity, and constructive international dialogue and cooperation to enhance the promotion and protection of all human rights, economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, including the right to development, in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis.
Now, more than ever before, there is need for the Council to ensure balance in its work by giving due attention to the effective enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights.
In accordance with HRC resolution 5/1 and GA resolution 60/251, the methods of the Council should be transparent, fair and impartial and enable genuine dialogue and be results-oriented. The human rights agenda must be pursued with due respect for the principles of UN Charter such as national sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of States.
In our view, proliferation of country-specific man-dates that do not enjoy the support of the States concerned does not lead to improvement in the human rights situation on the ground. Efforts must be made to build consensus on vital issues of universal concern within the Council.
I thank you.