Statement by India at the Organizational meeting of HRC for the 14th cycle of the Human Rights Council, delivered by Ambassador Rajiv K. Chander, Permanent Representative of India [06 December 2019, Geneva]

Mr. President,

We congratulate you and Members of the Bureau on completing one year of successful conduct of the Human Rights Council. We appreciate all your efforts towards upholding the rules of procedure and the standard practice of the Council. We also commend your and the Bureau’s contributions towards building up the process of consultations as well as the informal exchange of views among all stakeholders to promote dialogue and cooperation in the functioning of the Council.

2. We also appreciate the informal consultations led by you and your team on the efficiency measures for this year. We can’t wish away the fact that the UN is facing difficulties in absence of timely contributions from Member States. We understand the difficulty of achieving an outcome on the efficiency measures which would please everybody. India is generally supportive of the measures outlined in the PRST and congratulate you on its adoption. Despite the current challenges to the Council, it would also be important for us to ensure that efficiency measures under consideration do not affect our quality of work.

3. We congratulate Her Excellency Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, the Permanent Representative of Austria on assuming Presidency of the next Cycle of the Human Rights Council. We are confident that the next Bureau would continue the good work of its predecessor in adhering to due procedures and in building consensus through consultations and exchange of views on all issues of human rights. I wish you all success.

Thank you, Mr. President.

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