Joint Statement on the Promotion of Universality of the Standing Invitations to Special Procedures
Item 5 General debate – Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms
The United States joined the following Joint Statement at the 51st Session of the Human Rights Council
As delivered by Ambassador Bahtijors Hasans, Permanent Representative of Latvia
Thank you, Mr President,
I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of 66 countries.
Mr President,
We, the States subscribing to this statement and representing different regional and legal traditions, are united by the decision to extend standing invitations to special procedures mandate holders of this Council and to honor them.
We welcome the recent decision of the United States of America to extend a standing invitation to special procedures, bringing the total number to 128 UN members and 1 observer.
We welcome the comprehensive information on the cooperation by States with special procedures highlighted in their latest annual report. The examples of the impact of the work of special procedures available on the OHCHR webpage demonstrate the importance of such cooperation.
We share the concerns of the special procedures regarding non-cooperation and selective cooperation by States. This seriously hinders the ability of the special procedures to fulfil their mandates. The issuing of a standing invitation should result in genuine and non-selective cooperation with the special procedures.
Whilst recognising that the commitment to receive special procedures is voluntary, we continue to encourage current members and candidate States of the Human Rights Council to extend a standing invitation to the Council’s mechanisms, and once this commitment is made, to honour it.
Finally, we invite all States to continue to cooperate with and assist the special procedures mandate holders in the performance of their tasks and to promote an open, constructive and transparent dialogue in the Council.
I thank you!
Signatories:
Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Australia, Austria, The Bahamas, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Vanuatu.
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