UN: Ambassadors of Switzerland and Morocco in NY Launch Process of Strengthening Human Rights Treaty Bodies

United Nations - Ambassadors Omar Hilale of Morocco and Jürg Lauber of Switzerland launched, Tuesday in New York, the process of strengthening the Monitoring and Implementation Bodies of the United Nations Conventional Human Rights Treaties, during a virtual meeting. This meeting gathered nearly 300 participants, including the ambassadors and representatives of the member states of the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, and was marked by the participation of President of the UN General Assembly Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michèle Bachelet.

In his opening speach at this meeting, Ambassador Hilale stressed that the Treaty Bodies represent key elements of the United Nations human rights architecture, and play a "decisive role" in promoting and protecting human rights around the world. The Moroccan diplomat clarified that these bodies guarantee victims an essential help, by providing states with guidance on how to ensure the full implementation of their human rights obligations. To this end, Ambassador Hilale noted three principles that will guide this strengthening process, namely the inclusion of all the actors concerned, in particular through broad consultations with all stakeholders, including civil society and human rights defenders, as well as transparency, which is essential to guarantee the credibility of the process and its appropriation by all the actors concerned, and finally consensus, which remains the main guarantee for success of the process. For his part, the Swiss ambassador presented the roadmap for this process, which will include gathering information from member states and other stakeholders, as well as holding consultations in New York and Geneva with them. Lauber said the outcome of the process will be in the form of a report to be submitted to the President of the UN General Assembly next September, and will contain recommendations on ways and means to strengthen the functioning of Treaty bodies.

All participants, including the President of the General Assembly and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, congratulated the ambassadors of Morocco and Switzerland on their appointment to lead this delicate and complex process.