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Russian diplomat says current UN Human Rights Council session is over-politicized

The diplomats discuss such things as maintaining peace and security, rebuffing terrorism, ensuring sustainable development instead of human rights

The High-Level Segment of the 28th session of the Human Rights Council EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

The High-Level Segment of the 28th session of the Human Rights Council

© EPA/SALVATORE DI NOLFI

GENEVA, 5 March. /TASS/. The current session of the United Nations Human Rights Council is extremely politicized, with political subjects relegating human rights topics to the background, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov told TASS on Thursday.

"Much is being said at the session about things that have nothing to do with its mandate," the Russian diplomat said. "These are maintaining peace and security, rebuffing terrorism, ensuring sustainable development. No doubt, these issues are very important and they do have a certain human rights aspect but nonetheless it would be illogical to try to solve them via the Human Right Council." He noted that the United Nations had bodies that tackled these problems rather successfully. "We would not like the Human Rights Council to supersede or duplicate them," he added.

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Summing up the results of the High-Level Segment of the Human Rights Council, Gatilov noted that this year "the High-Level Segment attracted a record number of delegates." He explained this fact, saying that human rights topics in the United Nations’ activities "are being given ever growing significance." Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke at the session. Participants in the High-Level Segment also included the United Nations Secretary of States, the German foreign minister and representatives of a number of other countries.

"We consider the United Nations Human Rights Council the leading human rights body and want to take an active part in its work," Gatilov said. This year, a high-level conference on the protection of Christians, including in the Middle East, was held within the framework of the Council at Russia’s initiative. "This issue is becoming ever more topical. This fact was ascertained by the unprecedented big number of delegates and representatives of non-government organizations present at it," the Russian diplomat said.

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Foreign policy Russian Foreign Ministry United Nations Human rights

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