Seychelles attends high-level segment of UN Human Rights Council |27 February 2020
Ambassador Faure delivering his statement at the high-level segment of the United Nations’ Human Right Council’s 43rd session in Geneva, Switzerland (Photo source: department of Foreign Affairs)
Ambassador Barry Faure, secretary of state for Foreign Affairs and the Blue Economy, participated in the high-level segment of the United Nations’ Human Right Council’s 43rd session in Geneva, Switzerland.
Speaking among state leaders and foreign ministers from across the world, Ambassador Faure expressed Seychelles’ commitment to the promotion and protection of fundamental human rights for all persons, and pledged Seychelles’ support to the work of the Human Rights Council.
Recent developments in Seychelles – such as the enactment of the ‘Access to Information Act, 2018’ and the establishment of the Seychelles Human Rights Commission – were highlighted as positive steps towards enabling a rights-based environment focused on the principles of good governance, accountability, and transparency.
In his statement, Ambassador Faure impressed upon the Council that the world is facing the consequences of a changed climate and “the solution to our predicament is not inaction, but urgent, decisive and perhaps most importantly, united and collective action”.
He called on the Human Rights Council to “continue to recognise the acute impacts of climate change on fundamental human rights, and to further strategies to ensure that the greatest existential threat of our times is a conscious part of all human rights dialogues and decisions”.
Ambassador Faure also put forward Seychelles’ intention to run for a seat on the Human Rights Council in 2021, in line with the modalities of the African Union.
Ambassador Faure’s statement at the Human Rights Council comes as part of Seychelles’ increased presence in the United Nations Office in Geneva, including active involvement at the Human Rights Council in order to ensure Seychelles’ voice is heard at the highest forum for international human rights.
Press release from the department of Foreign Affairs and Blue Economy