MORNING - In Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building in the Field of Human Rights, Council Hears of the Importance of Technical Cooperation to Transform Human Rights Recommendations into Results on the Ground
Human Rights Council Concludes Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism and Hears Presentation of Office of High Commissioner’s Report on an Outreach Campaign for Racial Equality
The Human Rights Council this morning started an enhanced interactive dialogue on technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights. It heard a presentation of a report by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on an outreach campaign for racial equality. The Council also concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
The enhanced interactive dialogue on technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights had three main presenters.
Christian Salazar Volkmann, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting the report on “A way forward to improve technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights”, said the report examined good practices and gaps in technical cooperation and presented recommendations for the consideration of the Council. Technical cooperation, together with monitoring and reporting, advocacy and partnerships, was an important instrument to transform the norms, standards and recommendations elaborated by the international human rights system into results on the ground. The overall experience with the implementation of technical cooperation programmes showed that they needed to be tailored to specific national and local conditions and required full political support and institutional ownership of national authorities to produce meaningful and sustainable impact.
Azita Berar Awad, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for
Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights, said in 2023, the Voluntary Fund continued to be a key resource providing financial support for technical cooperation in the implementation of international human rights norms and standards at the national level. Ms. Awad shared some lessons learnt, including that the presence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the field was essential to build trust and working relationships with multiple stakeholders over a long term, in a sustainable manner; to better understand local contexts; and to adapt more swiftly to changing circumstances and to new opportunities and demands. Technical cooperation should extend well beyond the adoption of legislation to support capacities of local and national institutions for effective implementation.
Yvette Stevens, Universal Rights Group Africa, said the Human Rights Council needed to draw attention to technical cooperation and capacity building because it was mandated to: it had to make sure that these human rights obligations were implemented, as it had a key role to play in preventing human rights violations. There had been increasing attention paid to the implementation of recommendations and resolutions in countries: the packages of recommendations that countries received gave a clear indication of the state of human rights in that country. There should be a facility that aided States to implement recommendations, and the Office should look at how it could provide human rights advice in the field. There was a way forward that had been defined over previous years, and what was needed was action to implement it.
In the ensuing discussion, speakers said technical assistance and capacity building were vital for the improvement of human rights situations on the ground, for the prevention of further violations and abuses, as well as for the facilitation of accountability processes. Lack of progress in implementing human rights-based policies and programmes in many areas was often due to States’ limited resources and capacity. Therefore, the Council needed to explore additional effective and innovative resource mobilisation to improve the efficiency of technical cooperation and capacity building in helping States fulfil their obligations and make real impact for the enjoyment of human rights by all. Some speakers said unilateral coercive measures were a fundamental violation of human rights that impeded the achievement of development, and should be recognised as such. The consent of States for technical cooperation was essential for truly effective cooperation and should be the benchmark in all spheres.
Speaking in the discussion on technical assistance and capacity building were Lithuania on behalf of a group of countries, European Union, Venezuela on behalf of a group of countries, Oman on behalf of the Gulf Cooperation Council, Lebanon on behalf of a group of Arab States, Thailand on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Côte d'Ivoire on behalf of a group of African States, Suriname on behalf of a group of countries, China on behalf of a group of countries, Georgia on behalf of a group of countries, Qatar, Italy, Burkina Faso, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Armenia, Luxembourg, Timor-Leste, Mauritius, Indonesia, France, Colombia, United States, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, South Africa, Venezuela, India, Malawi, Tanzania, China, Gambia, Libya, Senegal, Yemen, Niger, Mauritania, Sudan, Georgia, Benin, Cuba, Russian Federation, Algeria, Botswana, Thailand, Nepal, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Philippines, Panama, Cambodia, Iran, Honduras, Antigua and Barbuda, Micronesia, Bahamas, Ukraine, Nauru, Peru, Viet Nam and Guinea Bissau.
The Council also heard an address by Nada Al-Nashif, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, who presented a report on progress made on the two-year comprehensive communication strategy to raise awareness about and mobilise global support for racial equality. Ms. Al-Nashif said that in implementing Human Rights Council resolution 48/18, the Office of the High Commissioner had amplified its call for meaningful action against racism through a two-year outreach campaign entitled “Learn, Speak Up, Act!”, linked to the wider #FightRacism campaign. The campaign highlighted United Nations instruments available to fight racism and racial discrimination, namely the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent.
At the beginning of the morning, the Council concluded an interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, which began in the previous meeting. A summary can be viewed here.
Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, in concluding remarks, said it had been a rich dialogue and she would give full consideration to what was said as she continued to develop the strategic priorities for her mandate. She appreciated the acknowledgement of States’ responsibility for colonialism: analysis of the contemporary roots of racism and racial discrimination would be a significant part of her mandate. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was a comprehensive and inclusive vision for the achievement of substantive racial equality, and a foundational standard for her mandate. She would provide substantive advice on how States could implement these international documents. National plans could help guide and monitor the implementation of international norms and standards. It was important to include such grounds for exclusion as Islamophobia in her work, and she would include this in her thematic work over the course of the mandate.
In the discussion, many speakers welcomed the comprehensive report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. They appreciated the special attention being paid to the issue of combatting glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contributed to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. It was regrettable that on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the fight against racism was needed more than ever, one speaker said. Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia should be prevented and combatted; the role of the Council was key in this regard. Speakers said that all States needed to demonstrate political will towards eliminating racism and achieving racial justice.
Speaking in the discussion on racism were Panama, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, Ukraine, United Nations Population Fund, Pakistan, Qatar, Lebanon, Iran, Dominican Republic, Syria, Bolivia, State of Palestine and Suriname.
Also speaking were International Youth and Student Movement for the United Nations, Friends World Committee for Consultation, Arab European Forum for Dialogue and Human Rights, Action Canada for Population and Development, Minority Rights Group, Partners For Transparency, Jameh Ehyagaran Teb Sonnati Va Salamat Iranian, International Organization for the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and Physicians for Human Rights.
Azerbaijan and Armenia spoke in right of reply.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s fifty-third regular session can be found here.
The Council will resume this afternoon at 3 p.m. to hold an urgent debate on the alarming rise in premeditated and public acts of religious hatred as manifested by recurrent desecration of the Holy Quran in some European and other countries. Time allowing, the Council will then conclude its enhanced interactive dialogue on technical assistance and capacity building in the field of human rights.
Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
The interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance started in the previous meeting and a summary can be found here.
Discussion
In the discussion, some speakers welcomed the comprehensive report of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. They appreciated the special attention being paid to the issue of combatting the glorification of Nazism, neo-Nazism and other practices that contributed to fuelling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
It was noted with appreciation that the Special Rapporteur was committed to basing her work on adopted international human rights instruments and standards, including protecting the centrality of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and the outcome Document of the Durban Review Conference, within her mandate. Speakers reiterated their own commitments to on-going collaborative efforts towards the full and effective implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and its follow-up processes.
Some speakers said the unambiguous support for the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action by the Special Rapporteur was important, as well as her call for States to recommit to the implementation of the Declaration. The Special Rapporteur should play an active role in a renewed global mobilisation to counter the virulent disinformation campaigns regarding the true content of the Declaration, which had caused damage in the struggle against racism.
It was regrettable that on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the fight against racism was needed more than ever, one speaker said. Racism, racial discrimination and xenophobia should be prevented and combatted; the role of the Council was key in this regard.
The rising trend of Islamophobia and Muslim hatred was extremely concerning and should be incorporated in an intersectional approach within the Special Rapporteur’s mandate, one speaker said. Discriminatory acts, such as insulting Islamic religious symbols, burning and tearing copies of the Holy Koran, and hate speech, were hostile to more than two billion Muslims in the world. Particularly disturbing was the incident where the Holy Koran was burned on the morning of Eid al-Adha in a European country.
Some speakers also condemned illegal unilateral coercive measures, which they said were abhorrent acts of racial discrimination directed against an entire population, depriving them of their fundamental rights to life, food and medicine.
A number of speakers said that all States needed to demonstrate political will towards eliminating racism and achieving racial justice. It was also important that an intersectional approach be taken into account in all aspects of healthcare provisions. States needed to fund health publicly and treat the privatisation of health care and health determinants as incompatible with human rights and racial equality.
Concluding Remarks
ASHWINI K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, said it had been a rich dialogue and she would give full consideration to what was said as she continued to develop the strategic priorities for her mandate. She aimed for constructive engagement with all stakeholders. She was open to continued engagement on anything addressed during the dialogue.
On her engagement with stakeholders, she appreciated the questions on how United Nations Member States could support her participatory approach: civil society groups played a significant role in this regard, and Member States could build their capacity, and consider the shrinking space of civil society in various States. She appreciated the acknowledgement of States’ responsibility for colonialism: analysis of the contemporary roots of racism and racial discrimination would be a significant part of her mandate. Many stakeholders had voiced support for her work on online hate speech and the intention of exploring the link between digital technologies and racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. Hateful ideas and concepts that fuelled these were widely disseminated online, often without accountability and with serious real-life consequences for targeted groups. The private sector could play an important role in addressing racism. She was committed to engaging with the relevant private sector entities in producing targeted responsibilities.
She encouraged all States to ratify the International Convention for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and remove any reservations that they had, engage in a constructive manner with the review process, and implement any recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action was a comprehensive and inclusive vision for the achievement of substantive racial equality, and a foundational standard for her mandate. She would provide substantive advice on how States could implement these international documents. National plans could help guide and monitor the implementation of international norms and standards. She welcomed support of her commitment to coordinate with other mechanisms working on racial justice issues at the regional and international levels, ensuring maximum impact on the experiences of those subjected to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.
On her report on Nazism, the inclusion of information in the report did not imply its endorsement. She encouraged all stakeholders submitting information to the report to focus on highly important topics as covered in the General Assembly resolution, and to avoid any glorification of any forms of Nazism, neo-Nazism, or other forms of far-right extremism. It was important to include such grounds for exclusion as Islamophobia in her work, and she would include this in her thematic work over the course of the mandate. The intersection between racial discrimination and gender discrimination was an area she intended to focus on specifically, including its expression online.
Presentation of the Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Two-Year Comprehensive Communications Strategy on Racial Equality
Report
The Council has before it the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights’ report on the progress made on the two-year comprehensive communication strategy to raise awareness about and mobilise global support for racial equality (A/HRC/53/61).
Presentation of Report
NADA AL-NASHIF, United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in implementing Human Rights Council resolution 48/18, the Office had amplified its call for meaningful action against racism through a two-year outreach campaign entitled “Learn, Speak Up, Act!”, linked to the wider #FightRacism campaign. A lack of knowledge about key instruments and initiatives for racial justice and equality was an obstacle to mobilisation and public advocacy for their full and effective implementation. Therefore, the campaign aimed at increasing public knowledge; encouraging action, in line with the High Commissioner’s agenda towards transformative change - an agenda containing actionable recommendations to end systemic racism and human rights violations by law enforcement against Africans and people of African descent; and contributing to making rhetorical promises a lived reality for victims of racism and racial discrimination. The campaign highlighted United Nations instruments available to fight racism and racial discrimination, namely the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and the programme of activities of the International Decade for People of African Descent.
The campaign was articulated around three key messages, which embodied central objectives towards achieving racial equality, including the right to learn about the history and legacies of racism, xenophobia, racial discrimination and related intolerance, and the tools to fight them today; the need to speak out against racism; and a call for all to act.
During the reporting period (January 2022 to March 2023) the Office developed key campaign products, including a dedicated webpage, videos, stories, and social media content, translated into all United Nations official languages, including some in Portuguese. They were promoted across a range of platforms, such as podcasts, radio segments, social media platforms, movie screenings, printed materials, e-tools, and a theatre initiative. The campaign products mainly targeted young audiences, intended to spark greater interest in the fight against racism, including through youth-friendly explanations and personal accounts of the impact of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, and the programme of activities of the Decade. With its dedicated resources, the campaign amped up outreach through interactive digital technologies, cutting-edge cinematography, and through cooperation with celebrities and influencers who amplified its messages. Overall, there had been several million interactions with the content of the campaign and the Office intended to build on these numbers.
Despite its success, the “Learn, Speak Up, Act!” campaign was not enough. There needed to be greater promotion and outreach efforts to foster the vigorous and decisive change. Specialised staff were needed to manage outreach and campaign efforts, as well as dedicated financial resources. The support of the international community was needed to extend the campaign and to realise the transformative change needed.
The Deputy High Commissioner showed a video during her presentation.
Enhanced Interactive Dialogue on Technical Cooperation and Capacity Building in the Field of Human Rights
Report
The Council has before it (A/HRC/53/63) by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on A way forward to improve technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights
Statements by Presenters
CHRISTIAN SALAZAR VOLKMANN, Director of the Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, presenting the report on “A way forward to improve technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights”, said the report examined good practices and gaps in technical cooperation and presented recommendations for the consideration of the Council. Technical cooperation, together with monitoring and reporting, advocacy and partnerships, was an important instrument to transform the norms, standards and recommendations elaborated by the international human rights system into results on the ground. Hence, technical cooperation was a very good channel to translate the important work of this Council, the treaty bodies and Special Procedures as well as the mandate of the High Commissioner into concrete improvements in countries, with positive impact on the lives of the people.
The report contained several good practices in this regard and recommended, amongst others, to adopt a holistic approach towards technical cooperation which explicitly linked programme and project outcomes and outputs to the national implementation of country-specific recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms. The report on technical cooperation provided many good examples of how technical cooperation on human rights was delivered in a large variety of very different contexts. The overall experience with the implementation of technical cooperation programmes showed that they needed to be tailored to specific national and local conditions and required full political support and institutional ownership of national authorities to produce meaningful and sustainable impact. They also required strong partnerships with civil society to be able to reach those persons and groups most in need for support and protection. In this context, it was vital for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to be present on the ground.
A main constraint for the advancement of technical cooperation in the area of human rights was funding. The underfunding for all types of activities related to human rights was, as all knew, a real problem. In the area of technical cooperation, this was especially serious as meaningful and lasting impact required time and thus predictable multi-year funding. One of the important messages that came from the inter-sessional debate on technical cooperation was the need to create more space for exchange amongst Member States on good practices in the area of technical cooperation for human rights. This was reflected in the last recommendation of the report, which suggested strengthening the capacity of the Office to facilitate and support the development of specific tools to enable this exchange.
AZITA BERAR AWAD, Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights, said the Voluntary Fund was the second largest trust fund administered by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and one of the oldest funds, operating since 1987. In 2023, it continued to be a key resource providing financial support for technical cooperation in the implementation of international human rights norms and standards at the national level. Ms. Awad shared some lessons learnt, including that the presence of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the field was essential, to build trust and working relationships with multiple stakeholders over a long term, in a sustainable manner; and to better understand local contexts and to adapt more swiftly to changing circumstances and to new opportunities and demands.
The country presences relied heavily on voluntary funding which made long-term predictable investment in capacity building of national partners more challenging, Ms. Awad said. The Board of Trustees had gathered numerous examples where country presences and technical cooperation resources had generated tangible results that were absent in similar contexts where such resources were not available. The Board also found that partnership across the United Nations system and in collaboration with the United Nations Country Teams had been a game changer. This conclusion was based on discussions held in New York during the Board’s fifty-fourth session, where the Board appraised the efforts undertaken at the global level to integrate technical cooperation in the field of human rights into system-wide peace and development efforts and the progress achieved.
Another lesson was the crucial importance of the availability and deployment of short-term cutting-edge technical expertise on the ground, in particular in the field of economic and social rights or around frontier issues of climate change and digital technologies. During the fifty-third session held in Chad, the Board observed the role that technical cooperation could play in a context of political transition and in addressing the challenges of poverty and socio-economic deficits and the intersectionality between human rights, development, and peace and security concerns. Technical cooperation support provided by the Office facilitated for the development of new rights-based approaches to long-standing challenges and conflicts which had been exacerbated by climate change. It was also observed how technical cooperation could bolster capacity building for the implementation of recommendations of human rights mechanisms including the Universal Periodic Review to promote protection.
Ms. Awad said that technical cooperation should extend well beyond the adoption of legislation to support capacities of local and national institutions for effective implementation. The last lesson was the importance of embedding a human rights perspective with respect to the planetary challenges, in particular climate change, and enabling the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to collaborate with other entities directly involved to devise practical programmes mitigating the impact of the crises on the most vulnerable, but in capacity building for preparedness and prevention.
YVETTE STEVENS, Universal Rights Group Africa, said the question was why did the Human Rights Council need to draw attention to technical cooperation and capacity building? The answer was first because it was mandated to: it had to make sure that these human rights obligations were implemented, as it had a key role to play in preventing human rights violations. There had been increasing attention paid to the implementation of recommendations and resolutions in countries: the packages of recommendations that countries received gave a clear indication of the state of human rights in that country.
What was the way forward? This had come out of the various discussions: first, the setting up at the country level of a national implementation monitoring mechanism, made up of a wide variety of stakeholders, and there should be a universality in this regard, so that when recommendations were brought in, then there was already a body that could examine implementation and report back to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. There should be a facility that aided States to implement recommendations, and the Office should look at how it could provide human rights advice in the field. However, the Office did not have the funding to provide such advice, and this needed to change.
Second, countries needed to be provided with assistance in requesting funding. There should be North-North and South-South cooperation. Another discussion at the country level should be that United Nations standards were embedded in country programmes. This discussion should be used to share best practices and share positive experiences: countries that were doing well had a platform to share what they were doing. There was a way forward that had been defined over previous years, and what was needed was action to implement it.
Discussion
In the ensuing discussion, many speakers said technical assistance and capacity building were of vital importance for the improvement of the human rights situation on the ground, for the prevention of further violations and abuses, as well as for the facilitation of accountability processes. All countries should provide unhindered access and cooperate with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, other United Nations human rights mechanisms, and the United Nations Country Teams, and implement their recommendations. In the spirit of dialogue and cooperation, this would, in turn, help States to overcome crises, achieve tangible human rights impact on the ground, build up resilience, and ensure sustainable economic development.
Human rights were the bedrock on which democracy was built, some speakers said. It was clear that the decline of democratic rights around the world was a human rights crisis, and therefore required the mobilisation of the human rights system to strengthen democracy and provide support to countries in implementing the recommendations made to improve the situation of human rights within their borders.
A number of speakers said demand-driven technical cooperation, partnerships, complementarity, as well as sufficient and predictable funding were key for solving global challenges, sustaining peace, and improving the human rights situation worldwide. The United Nations remained a central and indispensable forum for addressing issues related to economic development and social progress.
The COVID-19 pandemic had caused a crisis at national and international levels, with devastating consequences for humanity, one speaker said. It had reversed some of the hard-won developments made over previous decades, particularly in the field of social development and in the global South, and it had also enhanced inequalities. The realisation of the right to development required full respect for the principles of international law, in a context of friendly cooperation among States, with full respect for international law and solidarity.
Some speakers said technical cooperation and capacity building were a core part of the Council’s mandate. They allowed States to strengthen their ability to respect, protect, and fulfil their human rights obligations on three main conditions: that they mobilise the required expertise, financial resources, and political will. They were indispensable for human rights, and all should work to support technical cooperation effectively.
One speaker said that lack of progress in implementing human rights-based policies and programmes in many areas was often due to States’ limited resources and capacity. Therefore, the Council needed to explore additional effective and innovative resource mobilisation to improve the efficiency of technical cooperation and capacity building in helping States fulfil their obligations and make real impact for the enjoyment of human rights by all. There was a need for multi-stakeholder platforms to promote discussion and exchange of best practices with a view to States supporting each other on human rights implementation.
Some speakers said that through its field offices and the integration of human rights advisers into United Nations Country Teams, the Office of the High Commissioner had a central role in rolling out capacity building. However, there were significant funding gaps and political hurdles, notably when it came to tackling authoritarian backsliding, corruption, or systematic human rights violations. The level of technical cooperation and capacity building should be stepped up throughout all operations of the United Nations, including with regard to sustainable development. There was a need to guarantee the exchange of technical expertise and information through the various mechanisms of the Council, including the various technical mandate holders and the Universal Periodic Review mechanism.
All rights, whether economic, social and cultural rights or civil and political rights, including the right to development, were of equal importance, one speaker said. It was also important to support the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and to contribute towards the implementation of its programmes.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights was crucial in ensuring the development of human rights and human beings in general: from this point, there should be cooperation between States and the High Commissioner in order to ensure that capacity building took place effectively. The work of the Office was fully supported: its activities were an important lever in ensuring respect for human rights. One speaker said that the least developed countries and small island developing States Trust Fund Programme ensured and reinforced the universal participation of all countries in the work of the Council, thus donor countries and other stakeholders should continue their financial support to the Trust Fund, while encouraging other countries who had not yet done so to support the Trust Fund as well.
Some speakers said that technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights played a crucial role in renewing efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in preventing crises, in building more resilient societies, and in sustaining peace. They fostered an inclusive dialogue between policy makers and all relevant actors, including civil society organizations, with the view to promote human rights in countries. Unilateral coercive measures were a fundamental violation of human rights that impeded the achievement of development, and should be recognised as such. The work of the Office of the High Commissioner was pivotal for delivering technical cooperation and capacity building on the ground.
One speaker said that unilateral coercive measures were a fundamental violation of human rights that impeded the achievement of development, and should be recognised as such. The consent of States for technical cooperation was essential for truly effective cooperation and should be the benchmark in all spheres. It was inadmissible to politicise the field of technical assistance in the field of human rights: it should be granted to States only at their request and without preconditions. It was inadmissible to use it as a tool to interfere in the sovereign affairs of States: some States were using this agenda item as part of their own agenda to interfere in other States.
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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
HRC23.093E