US Mission Geneva

The focus of many child-oriented initiatives in the General Assembly and Human Rights Council has rightly been on preventing and protecting against the violence, abuse, and exploitation of children.

The Commission of Inquiry will investigate all violations of international human rights law by Syrian Authorities and help the international community address the serious human rights abuses in Syria and ensure that those responsible are held to account.

Ambassador Donahoe: “Human rights are the inalienable right of every person, no matter who they are or who they love. The U.S. government is firmly committed to supporting the right of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals to lead productive and dignified lives, free from fear and violence. We look forward to working with other Governments from all regions and with civil society to continue dialogue at the Council on these issues.

During General Debate on Item 4 at the Human Rights Council the United States called attention to the human rights situations in the following countries: Libya, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Cote d’Ivoire, Eritrea, Burma, Cuba, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, China, Belarus and Sudan.

The Special Rapporteur’s report paints a grim picture of the continuing human rights tragedy in the country. Systematic human rights abuses continue. The Special Rapporteur cites an increase in the number of prisoners of conscience in the run up to the elections. As the cases he cites illustrate, part of this increase has resulted from the arrest of persons engaging in free expression about the elections. As the Special Rapporteur makes clear, thousands of prisoners of conscience continue to be held in deplorable conditions and tens of thousands of ethnic minority persons are fleeing into neighboring countries to avoid persecution.

While the United States supports the Government of Libya’s increased engagement with the international community, we remain deeply concerned about continued reports of incidences of torture, particularly in prisons. Several reports indicate that Libyan officials have tortured prisoners, some of whom have died from abuse.

The overall goal of this review should be to ensure that the Council is able to live up to its potential as the UN’s primary organization for promoting universal respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The United States welcomes the adoption today by the United Nations Human Rights Council of a resolution addressing the elimination of discrimination against women. Most significantly, this resolution establishes a working group of five independent experts from different regions of the world …

This resolution reinforces the role States play in taking appropriate measures to address the problem of discrimination against women and calls upon States to revoke laws that discriminate on the basis of sex. It stresses the need to promote equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, which the United States interprets as calling for non-discrimination in terms of remuneration.