United States Mission Geneva

Well, let me say first how great it is to be back at Brookings where I spent many happy hours as a trustee before I was forced to resign, to serve in the U.S. government. It’s also great to be here with so many good friends and colleagues from the human rights world.

Four years ago, imams (Islamic religious leaders) in the south-western village of Chakoria began receiving training to mobilize their communities to combat trafficking under the USAID-funded Bangladesh Human Rights Advocacy Program.

For an Acehnese woman in a conservative society, Nur is remarkably forthright when analyzing her life choices. “I think I knew I could take a position of leadership as far back as junior high school.

The U.S. has presented to the Human Rights Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of Complementary Standards an “Action Plan to Combat Racial and Religious Discrimination and Intolerance” that begins to lay out a roadmap for practical action.

The United States was pleased to co-sponsor the resolution sponsored by Argentina on the right to truth, which may be characterized differently in various legal systems, such as our own, as the right to be informed or freedom of information or the right to know. We thank the Delegation of Argentina, for both putting this important matter before the Council and for its hard work and collaboration on the resolution.

We take the floor to express our disappointment at the outcome of this session. The U.S. joined the Human Rights Council because of our deeply held belief that this institution can be a key forum for constructive and honest discussions on important human rights issues. This belief shaped our engagement on the Goldstone Report. In support of this, the United States participated actively in debate over the Report at the 12th Session of the Human Rights Council. We regret that the Council chose precipitous action rather than judicious deliberation regarding a 575 page report that has far reaching implications.

Mr. President, though we do not believe that this Special Session constitutes the appropriate forum for such a discussion, the United States will take this opportunity to share our views on the Report of the United Nations Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict. On September 28, 2009 Assistant Secretary for Human Rights, Democracy and Labor, Michael Posner, offered the U.S. assessment of the Report itself. As he said, the report raises important issues and serious allegations and the United States has serious concerns about many of its conclusions and recommendations which are, in our view, flawed. Our concerns have been outlined in this forum.

The governments of the United States and the Arab Republic of Egypt take this opportunity to underscore the constructive partnership between our two nations in sponsoring the landmark resolution on the freedom of expression passed October 2 by the UN Human Rights Council.

The United States joined consensus on this resolution as we recognize that dumping of toxic wastes can have a negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. We commend the efforts of the delegation of Côte d’Ivoire to forge consensus on this important issue. We would like to offer a point of clarity on the use of the term “dangerous products” throughout the resolution.