The Social Forum
EOP by the Delegation of the United States of America
Human Rights Council 29th Session
July 2, 2015
Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States supports the engagement and participation of civil society organizations and the private sector in the work of the Human Rights Council. However, the United States has significant concerns about this resolution on the Social Forum, and therefore dissociates from consensus.
Among our many concerns is the fact that this resolution contains inaccurate and misleading language on economic and financial crises, which is inconsistent with previously agreed text from numerous recent UN General Assembly and ECOSOC resolutions. In addition, our views on the right to development are well known and apply here.
We are also deeply concerned about this resolution’s substantial budgetary implications. The costs this resolution imposes merit careful review and scrutiny given the large demands already placed on OHCHR. We must acknowledge the budgetary constraints that limit member states’ ability to provide OHCHR the additional resources it needs to respond to requests like the ones contained in this resolution. We continue to believe that the Social Forum requests too much in terms of resources – the resolution’s call for an unlimited number of experts is a clear example of this problem.