43rd session of the Human Rights Council: H.E. Mr. António Guterres

Thank you very much, Your Excellency, and I now have the honour of passing the floor to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

Your Excellency, you have the floor.

Distinguished President of the Human Rights Council.

Madam, my Commissioner, Excellencies, colleagues and friends, I'd like to start by expressing my appreciation and admiration for the work being carried out by **** Commissioner Michelle Bachelet and their office.

Her personal history, an understanding of what it means for a society and individual to suffer human rights violations, and their experience in advancing human rights as a world leader, all of these gives her a unique and vital voice.

Excellencies, I have come to the Human Rights Council, the fulcrum for international dialogue and cooperation to advance all human rights, to launch a call for action.

And I decided to do it now, during the 75th anniversary year of the United Nations, because of the centrality of human rights in all UN does, and because human rights are under *******.

I want to begin where human rights begin, with a core understanding.

Human rights are about the dignity and worst of human person.

They expand the horizons of hope, enlarge the boundaries of the possible, and then leash the best of ourselves and our world.

Human rights are our ultimate tool to help societies growing freedom, to ensure equality for women and girls, to advance sustainable development, to prevent conflict, reduce human suffering, and build a just and equitable world.

As Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims, human rights are humanity's highest aspiration.

Progress in one corner of the globe nourishes progress in another.

I've seen it and I've lived it.

I grew up under the Salazar dictatorship in Portugal and did not experience democracy until I was 24 years old.

I saw the dictatorship oppressed not only its own citizens, but also people under colonial rule in Africa.

But it was the human rights struggles and successes of others around the world that inspired us.

Over the decades, the efforts of many have ushered in massive human rights gains on all continents.

Colonial rule and apartheid were overcome.

Dictatorships have fallen.

Democracy has spread.

Landmark covenants spell out the full range of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights.

A robust treaty based system is in place, along with special procedures and accountability mechanisms.

1 billion people have been lifted out of poverty in a generation and we have seen big advances from the excess of drinking water to big declines in child mortality.

All our societies have benefited from human rights movements led by women, young people, minorities, indigenous peoples and others.

Yet human rights today face growing challenges and no country is immune.

We see civilians trapped in war-torn enclaves, starved and bombarded in clear violation of international law, human trafficking affecting every region in the world, praying on vulnerability and despair.

Women and girls enslaved, exploited and abused, denied the opportunity to make the most of their potential.

Civil society activists tossed in gaol and religious and ethnic minorities persecuted and their overly broad definitions of national security.

Journalists killed or harassed for seeking only to do their jobs.

Minorities, indigenous people, migrants, refugees.

The LGBTI community vilified as the Others and tormented by acts of hate.

We also see global hunger on the rise and use unemployment at alarming levels.

A new set of challenges is arising from mega trends such as the climate crisis, demographic change, rapid urbanisation and the March of technology.

People are being left behind.

Fears are growing, Divisions are widening, and some leaders are exploiting and scientists to broaden those gaps to the breaking point.

A perverse political arithmetic has taken hold.

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The rule of law is being eroded.

And in so many places people are rising up against political systems that fail to take them into account and economic systems that fail to deliver prosperity for all.

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In the face of these tensions and tests, there is an answer.

Human rights.

Human rights are the birthright of every person and in the industry of every country.

They ensure stability, they build solidarity.

They promote inclusion, inclusion and growth.

They must never be a vehicle for double standards or a means to pursue hidden agendas.

Sovereignty remains a bedrock principle of international relations.

But national sovereignty cannot be a pretext for violating human rights.

We must overcome the false dichotomy between human rights and national sovereignty.

Human rights and national sovereignty go hand in hand.

The promotion of human rights strengthen States and societies, thereby reinforcing sovereignty.

Our enduring challenge is to transform the ambitions of Universal Declaration into real world change on the ground.

And This is why my call to action is to the UN family itself, to Member States, to parliamentarians, to the business community, to civil society and to people everywhere.

We have to fully mobilise the diverse capacities of the United Nations.

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Just as we might not discriminate between people, we cannot pick and choose among human rights.

It would be a mistake to diminish economic, social and cultural rights, but it would be equally misguided to think that those rights are sufficient to answer people's yearning for freedom.

For our part, as a United Nations family, a culture of human rights must permeate all we do.

Indeed, when we push for a surge of diplomacy, we are reducing human suffering and promoting human rights.

When we press for climate action, we are advancing intergenerational justice and promoting human rights.

And when you call out the rise of racism, white supremacy and other forms of extremism and issue the first ever UN system wide plan of action to combat hate speech, we are upholding human rights.

Human rights are part of the very identity of the United Nations, and that means we must deploy A diverse toolbox of actions depending on situation and context.

At times we will work hand in hand with governments and other stakeholders, providing Technical Support to build national human rights institutions and guide the national application of international norms and standards.

At other times, we will speak out, identifying both violations and violators.

And still other times we will work behind the scenes.

There is a place for each of these approaches, and often all Syria at once, and the ultimate test is not the headlines we generate or the catharsis of public critique.

Success must be measured by the yardstick of meaningful change in people's lives.

Excellencies, our call to action, singles out seven areas where concerted effort can achieve a quantum leap in progress or avert the risk of backsliding.

And allow me to briefly outline each.

First, rights are at the core of sustainable development.

Human rights permeate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The vast majority of the goals and targets correspond to legally binding human rights commitments made by every Member State.

When we help lift people out of abject poverty.

When we ensure education for all, notably girls.

When you get into universal health care.

When everyone has equal access to opportunity and choice, we are enabling people to claim their rights and upholding the core pledge of the 2030 Agenda to leave no one behind.

This promise obliges us to tackle all forms of inequality and eliminate all forms of discrimination.

Nobody's prospects in life should be determined because of age, gender, how they look, where they live, how they worship or who they love.

We also must focus on the needs and the experiences of young people, people living with disabilities, minorities, indigenous communities, refugees, migrants and other groups facing specific challenges.

A human rights based approach oriented around peaceful and just societies and respect for the rule of law delivers development that is more lasting and inclusive.

And today I call on all countries to put human rights principles and mechanisms front and centre in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including by creating wide avenues for civil society participation.

Second, rights in time of crisis, human rights face few greater tests than when conflicts erupt, terrorist attack or disaster strikes.

International human rights, refugee and humanitarian law can restore a measure of humanity in even the darkest movements moments.

Let me also_that even necessary efforts to combat terrorism must not compromise human rights.

Otherwise counter terror actions will be counterproductive.

This call to action recognises that respect for human rights is an essential crisis prevention mechanism.

But when prevention fails short and violence is rampant, people need protection.

To ensure the effectiveness and coherence of UN action, we will draw an extensive work in the field and development a common agenda for protection that will apply to the United Nations family.

This agenda will take full account of differences in age, gender and diversity among the people we serve.

And it will further focus on the protection of minorities and the rights of indigenous peoples.

And it will build on important initiatives such as the Human Rights Upfront, enhancing human rights analysis, and the expanding the presence of human rights advisors within UN country themes.

Meanwhile, will we continue to engage with the Security Council and other UN bodies to raise awareness, prevent crises, protect people and ensure accountability, including through International Criminal courts and other mechanisms for global justice?

These are also vital instruments in the prevention of genocide and other atrocity crimes.

3rd gender equality and equal rights for women Human rights will never be realised without the human rights of women.

Yet in this year, in which we mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Platform of Action, we see a push back against women's rights, alarming levels of femicide, attacks on women human rights defenders, and the persistence of laws and policies that perpetuate subjugation and exclusion.

Violence against women and girls is the world's most pervasive human rights *****.

We also continue to see chronic stagnation in women's participation in political leadership roles, peace processes and economic inclusion.

The gaps may vary, but the roots and reasons are the same.

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For millennia women have been systematically silenced, marginalised and ignored.

Policies and laws have been shaped largely through the experiences.

You have only half of humanity and we need a shift in our way of thinking so that we consciously build socio economic, governance and security systems that work for all.

As one noted expert wrote, if women are not perceived to be fully within the structures of power, surely it is power you need to redefine rather than women that work starts within on January the 1st for the first time in UN history, we achieved gender parity across our senior most rank of full time Ender and assistant secretaries general 9090 women and 90 men.

We pledge to reach gender parities throughout the UN system at all levels by 2028.

Apply a gender perspective to every single United Nations does strengthen our push for gender equality across the board and better track and set benchmarks on funding for gender equality.

Today, I call on every country to support policies and legislation that promote gender equality, repeal discriminatory laws and violence against women and girls, ensure sex and reproductive else and rights, and strive for women's equal representation and participation in all spheres.

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Thank you very much, Secretary General.

For action and I decided to do it now of ourselves and our human rights are our ultimate.

Over the decades, efforts of many have ushered in civilians that the war coming place started bombardment journalist skills were rust or seeking on to their resolve mission and challenges deriving from mega threats such as the climate crisis, democratic in the face of these tensions and gases.

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