Opening Statement by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein and srilankan war videos https://youtu.be/zoqtgr3GSAc 15 September 2015 The Human Rights Council started during its noon meeting a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, Pablo De Greiff, and the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, Ariel Dulitzky. Mr. De Greiff said prevention was crucial as an object of concrete and deliberate policy making that could be planned, budgeted, implemented and monitored. There was no such thing as a universal non-recurrence policy that could be applied to any type of transition. Context, needs and stage in the transitional process mattered as much as what institutions were apt to accomplish, and the violations that needed to be redressed most or that were most likely to occur. Institutional reforms were not enough, and interventions in the societal sphere were needed to strengthen civil society and transform attitudes and mindsets. Prevention also required the strengthening of civil society, including establishing legal empowerment regimes at the community level and creating an enabling environment for civil society organizations. Mr. Dulitzky said it was vital to execute reforms in order for the United Nations to comply with promises made to victims of enforced disappearances 35 years ago. The only effective and lasting security could be one that upheld human rights without discrimination. When States scarified human rights in the name of fighting terrorism, they increased the effects of terrorism. The Working Group had started processing 384 new cases of enforced disappearances in the past year, and more than 43,000 cases were still unresolved, and this was only the tip of the iceberg. States should take specific measures to prevent enforced disappearances of human rights defenders and a high-level Coordinator should be set up within the United Nations to deal with issues of reprisals against human rights defenders. Burundi, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo on behalf of the Governmental Commission for Missing Persons in Kosovo spoke as concerned countries and parties. During the dialogue on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, speakers supported the Special Rapporteur’s view that non-recurrence and prevention required to be addressed through a multi-sectorial policy, including legal, judicial and constitutional reforms, as well as the empowerment of civil society, cultural reforms and education efforts. Speakers welcomed the emphasis by the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on the links between enforced disappearances and economic, social and cultural rights. Some of them presented their national efforts in addressing past cases of enforced disappearances, while others raised the Council’s attention to cases of enforced disappearances occurring in other countries. Speaking in the interactive dialogue were the European Union, Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Algeria on behalf of the African Group, Ecuador on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, France, Portugal, Egypt, Austria, Tunisia, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba, Morocco, Belgium, Sierra Leone, Japan, Russian Federation, Bahrain, Poland, United States, Colombia, Algeria, Nigeria, Iran and Republic of Korea. Nicaragua, Serbia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Japan spoke in right of reply. The Human Rights Council, during its afternoon meeting, will hold its annual discussion on the integration of a gender perspective in its work. It will conclude its interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence and with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances on Wednesday, 16 September at 9 a.m.

• published: 16 Sep 2015
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