The 3-day High-Level Segment of the 55th session of the Human Rights Council, held from 26 to 28 February 2024, saw the active participation of around 130 high-level dignitaries and officials, including 2 heads or deputy heads of State, 8 heads or deputy heads of government, and 105 ministers or vice-ministers, as well as representatives from international organisations. The President of the Human Rights Council H.E. Mr. Omar Zniber opened the 55th session and the high-level segment, following which the Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Mr António Guterres, the President of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Mr. Dennis Francis (Trinidad and Tobago) and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights H.E. Mr. Volker Türk delivered their statements to the Council respectively.
State representatives, in their statements delivered to the Council, addressed both domestic and international human rights issues and concerns, developments and achievements, as well as their countries priorities in the international human rights arena for 2024 and beyond. As such, the participation of high-level representatives presented an opportunity to assess the extent of attention and prioritisation given by various States to specific human rights topics and areas of concern.
The Universal Rights Group (URG) has analysed the content of 115 statements made by State representatives during the high-level segment, to identify the key human rights themes, situations of concern, and priorities for 2024. The results of this analysis are presented below in a wordcloud of the most recurring terms, where the size of the word reflects the total number of mentions of the relevant topic/situation or area of concern, as well as in subsequent infographics representing the most commonly mentioned issues across different categories. URG has identified a total of 172 topics that were highlighted by at least 1 State representative during the high-level segment. These topics were grouped and classified into 7 different categories and URG has generated individual charts for each of them below. The categories are as follows: (1) institutional topics related to the UN system and the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms; (2) country or regional situations; (3) civil and political rights; (4) economic, social and cultural rights; (5) groups in focus; (6) cross-cutting themes; and (7) hybrid mentions. In addition, URG identified the top 22 most frequently mentioned themes across all categories, which are represented in the word cloud below.
Key findings from URG’s analysis include:
- During the 3-day high-level segment, State representatives overwhelmingly stressed the importance of the Human Rights Council, particularly in light of the various global challenges the world currently faces, including several ongoing conflicts and other crises, such as the triple planetary crisis i.e. biodiversity loss, pollution and climate change; the crisis of multilateralism; the crisis of democracy; and the crisis of rising global inequalities, amongst others. They affirmed their commitment to the UN human rights system and its founding document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) in celebration of its 75 years as of December 2023. Many State representatives explicitly committed to and detailed their cooperation with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), Special Procedures and Treaty Bodies and highlighted their efforts towards improved implementation.
- Many States referred to the funding or liquidity crisis within the UN system as a challenge to the efficiency and effectiveness of the Human Rights Council. Notably, some representatives made explicit financial commitments with a view to improving the situation.
- In terms of mentions, the High-Level Segment was clearly dominated by the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including the October 7 2023 attacks by Hamas, the subsequent Israeli military action, the resulting humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the human rights situation in the West Bank, amongst other related topics. Many State representatives condemned or expressed serious concerns about alleged violations of international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law and international criminal law, such as the crime of genocide, and emphasised the need for humanitarian access to Gaza. In terms of country or region-specific situations, this was followed by mentions of the human rights situation resulting from the war in Ukraine, which now marks 2 years since the Russian invasion.
- In terms of groups-in-focus, Women’s rights and gender equality featured prominently in the statements of State representatives, including notable references to specific challenges, such as sexual and gender-based violence. In this regard, State representatives drew particular attention to the rights of women and girls in specific country situations such as Afghanistan, and Iran.
- State representatives across regions also placed renewed emphasis on core human rights values and principles such as democracy, the need for cooperation and dialogue, the universality of human rights, accountability and the rule of law, amongst others. In the same vein, many State representatives cautioned against politicisation and double standards and underscored the need for objectivity and non-selectivity in the enforcement of human rights.
- State representatives also reiterated the linkages between the three pillars of the UN i.e. human rights, peace and security and development and highlighted the need for mainstreaming of human rights in the achievement of SDGs. Many statements also pointed to potential opportunities for human rights integration in the Summit of the Future later this year.
Most recurrent topics mentioned by State representatives at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
(1) UN System, HRC and its Mechanisms
Most frequently mentioned topics relating to the UN system, the HRC and its mechanisms at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
In terms of the UN system, including the HRC and the three human rights mechanisms, the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), was most referenced, notably through mentions of cooperation with the Office (e.g., capacity-building and technical assistance activities) and discussions of its contributions to the promotion and protection of human rights. A majority of these references came from the Asia-Pacific group, followed closely by the Western Europe and Others group, while the African group and the Latin American and the Caribbean group were also not far behind in this regard.
A close second in terms of the number of references in this category was the mention of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as State representatives seized the opportunity of the High-Level Segment to recall the UDHR’s 75th anniversary and reiterate their commitment to the foundational document of the international human rights system. Several States highlighted pledges made in the context of last year’s celebrations, while others urged countries to recommit to the values therein.
In third place, were references and explicit commitments to strengthen cooperation with the HRC and its mechanisms, including some references to funding and other financial commitments to address the UN’s liquidity crisis.
Finally, in fourth place were references to the mandate, purposes, aims and objectives of the HRC.
(2) Country and Region-Specific Situations
Distribution of mentions of country or region-specific situations by regional group at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
With regards to country or regional situations, the 2024 high-level segment was overwhelmingly dominated by the dire situation in Gaza and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including the West Bank and the actions of Israel-all of which accounted for around 42.5% of all country or region-specific mentions. The most references came from the Asia-Pacific group (42.5% of references), followed by the Western European and Others group (28.5% of references), while references to the situation in the OPT were relatively lesser amongst African States (14% of references), Eastern European States (around 9% of references) and Latin American and the Caribbean States (around 6% of references). However, in the case of the African States and the Latin American and Caribbean States, despite accounting for a smaller share of total references across all regions, the OPT still represented the country or regional situation with the most mentions within each of these two regional groups (60% and 65% respectively).
References to the situation in the OPT included condemnation of the October 7 attacks by Hamas, support for Israel’s right to self-defence in accordance with international law (mostly from States in the Western European and Others group and the Eastern European group), serious concerns about and/or condemnation of violations of international law including international human rights and humanitarian law and commission of actual or potential crimes i.e. war crimes and crimes against humanity including references to forced deportation and starvation as well as references to the commission of aggression and genocide by Israel (mostly from States in the African, Asia-Pacific and the Latin American and Caribbean), the implementation of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provisional measures, the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza including rights of women and children and targeted attacks against journalists/media workers and healthcare workers; the need for unimpeded humanitarian access in Gaza, the need for humanitarian pause/ceasefire, and the need for lasting and durable solutions for peace, amongst other topics.
Following suit, the human rights situations in Ukraine and Russia were the second and third most mentioned country or region-specific situations (14.3% and 13.8% respectively of all country or region-specific references). Though linked in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the countries are counted separately to also account for references to Russia’s internal human rights situation. In both situations, the Eastern European group led in terms of the references to Ukraine and Russia (approximately 56% and 53% respectively) followed closely by the Western European and Others group (approximately 38% and 45% respectively). References to either situation were thus minimal from the remaining three regional groups.
In addressing the human rights situation in Ukraine, State representatives recalled that this year marks the 2nd anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, condemned Russian aggression and its human rights and humanitarian law violations, including violations of the rights of Ukrainian children in light of illegal and forcible deportations and transfers. Moreover, with the news of the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny coming in the days leading up to the 55th session of the Council, many State representatives addressed the human rights situation in Russia, including the treatment of pro-democracy activists and political prisoners and pointed allegations of human rights violations on account of reports of arbitrary detention and torture amongst other human rights issues such as restrictions on various civil and political rights, including freedom of expression and opinion, freedom of peaceful assembly and association and press freedoms amongst others.
In order of mentions, State representatives further referred to other country or region-specific situations such as China (including issues related to Hong Kong, Tibet, Xinjiang and the treatment of Uyghur Muslims); Syria and issues related to Da’esh and the Yazidis; the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the Nagorno-Karabakh region; Myanmar and the situation of the Rohingya; and Sudan, amongst others.
(3) Civil and Political Rights
Most frequently mentioned terms/phrases relating to civil and political rights at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
In the civil and political rights category, URG analysis of the statements delivered during the high-level segment found that most references amongst 36 sub-categories of topics pertained to discrimination including gender-based discrimination, racism or racial discrimination, religious intolerance including Islamophobia and antisemitism and xenophobia (constituting 14% of all references). The Asia-Pacific group led in terms of references to discrimination (approximately 27%) with many countries addressing issues such as the burning of holy books, and increasing polarisation, hate speech/crimes amongst others. This was followed by the Latin American and the Caribbean group (22%) and further followed closely by the Western European and Others group (approximately 21%) and the African group (approximately 19%), with the Eastern European group constituting the least number of references (approximately 11%).
Next in this category in terms of the number of references were the mentions of accountability and the need to fight impunity constituting around 8% of all references in this category. The Eastern European group (34%) and the Western European and Others group (29.5%) led in terms of references to this topic by a considerable margin over the other groups.
Mentions of terrorism, counter-terrorism or violent extremism came in close third, by a margin of 0.1%. In this regard, the Asia-Pacific group led the most mentions (approximately 28%) followed by a near equal number of references by each of the remaining groups (between 16-18% each).
Other major categories of references, classified in descending order by number of mentions, included: democratic participation and elections including the right to vote, transitional justice including truth, justice, reparations and reconciliation, sexual and gender-based violence, torture, rule of law, freedom of expression and opinion, and freedom of the press and independence of media amongst others.
(4) Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Most frequently mentioned terms/phrases relating to economic, social and cultural rights at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
In the category of economic, social and cultural rights URG analysis of the statements delivered during the high-level segment found that most references amongst 17 sub-categories of topics pertained to inequality (constituting 17.25% of all references in this category). Many State representatives highlighted growing inequality as amongst the most pressing challenges to human rights today and most of these references to inequality came from the Asia-Pacific group (approximately 28%), followed closely by the Latin American and the Caribbean group (approximately 26%).
General references to economic, social and cultural rights and links with sustainable development/sustainability tied in second place in terms of the most number of references in this category. On both these topics, the Asia-Pacific group once again led in terms of the number of mentions (approximately 41% for economic, social and cultural rights and 34% for sustainable development/sustainability respectively).
Other notable references in this category include mentions of the right to education or access to education, the right to food, the right to health or access to healthcare, poverty, social protection measures including social security and other safety nets, the right to work or employment and social inclusion amongst others.
(5) Groups in focus
Most frequently mentioned groups in focus at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
In the category of groups in focus or groups in vulnerable situations, references to women’s rights and gender equality stood out in the high-level segment, accounting for around 30% of references to groups. The Western European and Others group led in this regard, closely followed by the Asia-Pacific group. State representatives emphasised that progress in terms of human rights was impossible without the enjoyment of human rights by half of humanity and addressed issues pertaining to forms of discrimination and violence against women including sexual and conflict related or gender-based violence, public and political participation and representation, their right to health including sexual and reproductive health and right or access to education and employment amongst others. Many also addressed the situation of women and girls in specific countries or regions such as in Afghanistan and Iran.
The references to women’s rights and gender equality were followed by references to children’s rights. The Asia-Pacific group led in this regard, closely followed by the Eastern European group. State representatives highlighted the particularly heightened vulnerability of children in situations of conflict or crises such as in Gaza or in the face of poverty or climate change, and also outlined other issues such as conflict related violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, their right to education and health amongst others. Many also specifically addressed the illegal and forcible deportations of Ukrainian children by Russia and violations of their rights in this regard.
Significant number of references were also made to the rights of migrants as well as the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) taken together under the overarching rubric of human rights issues related to freedom of movement. The most references to this group came from the Eastern European and the African States. This includes references by representatives to forced displacement and other related issues in specific country or regional situations like in Gaza or Sudan while also addressing the various rights pertaining to the treatment of migrants, refugees, IDPs and others more generally.
In terms of the number of references, this was closely followed by references to the rights of persons with disabilities where many State representatives underlined the necessity of mainstreaming the rights of persons with disabilities by ensuring inclusive legal and policy frameworks and practices. Many State representatives also affirmed the key role played by civil society in the protection and promotion of human rights, while expressing concern at increasing crackdown on civil society and human rights defenders around the world and urging countries to step up efforts for their protection. Other groups in situations of vulnerability or in focus in the statements delivered by State representatives included Indigenous People, victims, LGBTQI persons, youth, minorities including religious, ethnic, racial or other minorities, armed groups and older persons amongst others.
(6) Cross-Cutting Themes
Most frequently mentioned cross-cutting themes at the HRC55 High-Level Segment
Looking at cross-cutting themes in the statements delivered during the 55th session, States overwhelmingly stressed the inextricable link between peace and security and human rights, and emphasised the centrality of peace and security for the protection and promotion of human rights. These also include mentions to specific country or regional situations including calls for humanitarian pauses, end to hostilities or ceasefire in Gaza/OPT (predominantly coming from Asia-Pacific and African States) amongst others.
These mentions pertaining to peace and security typically appeared in the context of general observations by States of the serious challenges posed to human rights in light of multiple ongoing conflicts, crises and humanitarian situations, a theme which represented the second most number of references in this category. While references to this general theme were geographically distributed across all regions, most mentions came from the Asia-Pacific group followed by the Western European and Others group.
Following suit by a narrow margin, the third most number of references were to mass atrocity crimes including the crime of genocide as well as war crimes and crimes against humanity (included in this category for its implications cutting across the spectrum of human rights including both, civil and political rights as well as economic, social and cultural rights). This also includes references to specific country or regional situations, most prominently to describe the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s military action in Gaza/OPT, with variations in the descriptions of these situations, for instance the use of terms such as ‘aggression’ or ‘genocide’, amongst others.
Other cross-cutting themes also referred to by delegations include democracy, the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation, the importance of dialogue, the universality, indivisibility, interdependence and interrelatedness of human rights, climate change/crisis, sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, issues of humanitarian access/assistance, new and emerging digital technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), and international humanitarian law amongst others.
(7) Hybrid Issues
URG has also identified clusters of terms/phrases that were recurrently used together during HLS statements. References to atrocity crimes in Gaza/OPT, including mentions of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, forced displacement, collective punishment and starvation topped this category, representing 36% of all the references to hybrid issues. These references predominantly came from the Asia-Pacific group followed by the African group and the Latin American and the Caribbean group, with negligible references from the Eastern European as well as the Western European and Others groups.
This was followed by an equal share of references to the rights of women and children in Gaza/OPT and the rights of children in Ukraine including mentions of illegal and forcible deportations by Russia (both representing 19.5% of references in this category of hybrid issues). However, while the Asia-Pacific group led in terms of references to the rights of women and children in Gaza/OPT, the Eastern European group led in mentions of the rights of children in Ukraine.
Near equal proportion of references were also made to the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan and Iran, representing approximately 8% and 7% respectively of the total references in this category. The Western European and Others group led in terms of references to both these hybrid issues. Additionally, this was followed by references to the issues of displacement in Sudan, attacks against health workers in Gaza/OPT and the targeting of journalists/media workers in Gaza/OPT.
Image credit: UN Photo/Elma Okic
Share this Post
