US Mission Geneva

The United States makes the following statement to clarify its position on issues that were present in various resolutions during the current Human Rights Council session.

We reject any suggestion that development goals could permit countries to deviate from their human rights obligations and commitments.

As we have previously stated, the United States is deeply concerned by the violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DRC) Kasai Provinces as well as by the political uncertainty in the country, resulting from the DRC government’s failure to hold elections in accordance with the DRC Constitution.

Our statement to be delivered at the end of Item Three will explain our position on this resolution on national policies and human rights.

As we have stated previously, the United States does not agree with attempts to develop a collective “right to peace.”

The United States strongly supports the engagement and participation of civil society organizations and other stakeholders in the work of the Human Rights Council.

Eliminating discrimination against women worldwide is a key foreign policy goal of the United States, as reflected among other programs in the U.S. Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gender-Based Violence Globally and our Let Girls Learn initiative.

The United States continues to oppose language that we believe undermines intellectual property rights.

The United States takes its human rights obligations and commitments seriously in cities, just as it does everywhere within its territory.