General Comments by India during consideration of the Resolution on “Promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities” at the 54th Session of Human Rights Council (11 September - 13 October 2023) delivered by Ms. Seema Pujani,
First Secretary, Permanent Mission of India, Geneva 12 October 2023
Mr. President,
We thank the core group for their efforts to engage constructively with Member States to arrive at a balanced and streamlined text and to rationalize its asks.
2. We all believe that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated. Unfortunately, there has been a divide between civil and political rights and economic, social and cultural rights which is not conducive to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals or for the promotion and protection of human rights.
3. Therefore, we are supportive of the objective of this initiative to strengthen OHCHR’s work towards implementation of economic, social and cultural rights, in line with the vision report presented by the High Commissioner earlier during this session. We agree with the calibrated approach for enhancing OHCHR’s capacity, to begin with at the headquarters. We also appreciate the establishment of a knowledge hub dedicated for technical assistance and capacity building to consolidate best practices and know-how in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights.
4. For these reasons, we have co-sponsored the resolution under consideration.
I thank you.
