Interactive Dialogue on the High Commissioner’s Annual Report
Statement of the United States of America
As delivered by Allison Lombardo
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs
United Nations Human Rights Council 47th Session
Geneva, June 21, 2021
Thank you. We welcome the High Commissioner’s invaluable work to shed light on the human rights situations in Belarus, Burundi, China, the DPRK, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, Nicaragua, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen, among others.
We urge you to speak out against the atrocities in Xinjiang, China. We condemn Belarus’s detention of Raman Pratasevich after the forced diversion of his commercial flight. We call for his release and that of all political prisoners unjustly detained by the Lukashenka regime. We are deeply concerned by human rights abuses in Tigray, Ethiopia, including those involving sexual violence. We support the OHCHR-EHRC joint investigation into abuses committed by all parties. We condemn the military coup in Myanmar and call for a cessation of violence, the release of all those unjustly detained, and the restoration of Myanmar’s democratic transition.
We reiterate in the strongest terms our support for the work of special procedures in United Nations processes globally. We commend OHCHR’s support for special procedures mandate holders in developing tools to respond to human rights challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is critical we protect special procedures mandates against attempts to undermine their credibility, independence, or effectiveness.
Question: How can UN member states best support the effectiveness of special procedures mandate holders?