Geneva, 25 January 2022 (TDI): Russian Permanent Representative to UN, G.M. Gatilova, attended the 40th session of UNHRC. He gave a speech during the review of the human rights records of Syria. The session started on 24 January and will end on 4 February 2022.
Purpose of the Session
The purpose of the session is to engage the UN member States in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and the subsequent human rights situation. Moreover, it is a state-driven process. It enables every state to talk about their actions taken for the improvement of human rights.
It is to be noted that every member state gets an equal opportunity to declare their actions taken for the improvement of human rights. Perhaps, it is the only way to address human rights violations as well. Besides, no other organization with a similar mechanism for human rights exists in the world.
Speech of Gatilov
In a speech given by Gatilov, he welcomed the establishment of the National Committee of Human Rights in Syria. This committee is supposed to oversee the norms of international humanitarian law. In addition, the committee will also overview the implementation of national legislation concerning international standards of humanitarianism.
He further reiterated that Russian Federation positively views Damascus’s efforts to engage with international organizations. But, the presence of illegal militia and unilateral western sanctions are the major hindrance factors in way of humanitarian development. Thereafter, he also stated that western sanctions are contradictory to international laws.
According to Gatilov, UN Human Rights Council must consider the significant efforts of Syria taken to develop the humanitarian response index. In the end, the Ambassador recommended two steps to combat the humanitarian crisis.
Firstly, the world needs to fight human trafficking at all levels. Thereupon, there should be mechanisms to help the victims as well. Secondly, there is a need to assist internally displaced persons by strengthening collaboration with humanitarian organizations.
The Ambassador also shed light on the human rights situation of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. According to him, there is a need to establish the office of OHCHR (Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights) in Venezuela in the first place. Eventually, this will help to evaluate the humanitarian conditions.
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