HE Carole Lanteri, Ambassador and Representative of the Principality to the United Nations Office in Geneva, participated in a Divonne-les-Bains retreat on Thursday, February 1, in the Francophone Group, dedicated to strengthening the Human Rights Council.
Ambassadors and experts from the member countries of the Group of Francophone states discussed the current challenges facing the UN Human Rights Council. Topics – such as the effectiveness of decisions taken, budgetary constraints, the efficiency of working methods and respect for multilingualism – were on the table.
Ms Lanteri co-chaired, together with the Ambassador of Switzerland, the session on challenges related to the internal functioning of the Human Rights Council. This session discussed the problems of delegations following the work of the Council, in particular the multiplication of the number of texts negotiated and adopted as well as the large number of meetings necessary to respect the calendar. The discussions held during this session threw up some solutions to meet the challenges.
The Human Rights Council is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. As the main United Nations forum for the promotion and protection of human rights, the Council is based in Geneva, where it holds three annual sessions. It is composed of 47 States elected by the General Assembly for a period of three years.
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