The 34th Session of UN Human Rights Council begins in Geneva today
27 February 2017, Geneva, Switzerland
The 34th session of the UN Human Rights Council began today in Geneva, Switzerland, and will continue for 4 weeks, ending on 24 March 2017.
His Excellency Dr. Mohamed Asim, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will address the High-Level Segment of the Session later today. During this visit, Minister Asim, will also meet with other high level dignitaries who are in Geneva for the session.
The Maldives will continue to play an active role in the debates, panels, side-events, and negotiations on several key human rights issues during the session. The Maldives along with a core group of other states, will be leading the negotiations on resolutions regarding the fifth-year anniversary of the voluntary trust fund for technical assistance and capacity-building for LDCs and SIDS and on Environment and Human rights.
The Maldives will also co-sponsor and participate in a High-Level Panel discussion on the human rights challenges faced by individuals suffering from thalassaemia, including unfair and discriminatory treatment.
Among other things, the Maldives and Australia will jointly co-host a reception to welcome delegates participating in the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council with the support of the SIDS/LDCs Trust Fund on 28 February 2017.
In line with its core priorities at the UN Human Rights Council, the Maldives will also co-sponsor several other resolutions, including those on political rights, economic, as well as social and cultural rights. The Maldives will also actively participate at the negotiations on resolutions on combatting religious intolerance, rights of persons with disabilities, rights of the child, among other resolutions, which are part of the Maldives priorities at the Council.
The Maldives is currently on a mandatory break from the Council in 2017, after two consecutive terms as a voting member.