Human Rights Council 40: Item 10: Maldives, Georgia, Afghanistan, Libya
The UK welcomed progress and highlighted its concerns regarding the human rights situations in Georgia, the Maldives, Afghanistan and Libya.
Mr. Vice-President,
The UK welcomes co-operation between Georgia and OHCHR and the government’s openness to discuss its human rights challenges and accept assistance. We remain concerned that those in effective control of Abkhazia and South Ossetia continue to refuse access to OHCHR and other international human rights mechanisms. Uncertainty over the recent death of Irakli Kvaratskhelia is of further concern.
It is troubling that the de facto authorities continue to restrict freedom of movement and that OHCHR has also received information of ethnic discrimination in accessing identity documents necessary to exercise full civic rights.
The UK welcomes the Maldives’ constructive reengagement with the international community and steps taken since elections to strengthen democracy, governance and rule of law. We encourage the government to seek support from OHCHR and UN human rights mechanisms to build a democratic, tolerant society.
The UK welcomes progress made on human rights by the Government of Afghanistan since 2001. However, developments are fragile and we urge all parties to take all measures possible to avoid the killing of innocent civilians. In 2018, we continued to see a worrying level of violence towards members of ethnic minorities, journalists, children and women.
We continue to press strongly for a political settlement and firmly believe any settlement should protect rights of all Afghans.
We remain concerned that instability and insecurity continue to create a permissive environment for human rights violations and abuses in Libya. The Government of National Accord has taken some positive steps, including releasing arbitrarily detained prisoners and creating a Human Rights Office, but significant challenges remain.
We call for a united and representative government and fully support the efforts of Special Representative Salamé to achieve a comprehensive political settlement.
Finally, we reiterate our appreciation for OHCHR’s work and encourage all States to offer them their full support and cooperation.
Thank you Mr Vice-President.