LOC17:39
14:39 GMT
GENEVA, Feb 26 (KUNA) -- The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk launched on Monday the "UN Protection Pledge and Agenda for Protection", which will ensure that the entire UN prioritizes the promotion of human rights in all circumstances.
Addressing the opening of the 55th session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk called for renewed action for peace economies that work for people and planet effective governance and guardrails for digital and scientific progress.
"It broadens the way we think about rights in ways that can transform societies and our global community," he said, hoping the plan would inform world leaders coming together for the Summit of the Future in September.
"In retrospect we have come a long way on that journey but we are at a precarious moment and cannot take things for granted," he said.
"As we face these challenges we recall the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and its conviction that no matter what the context it is by respecting human rights that we build a better future for "our human family," Turk added.
The High Commissioner said the year-long Human Rights 75 commemoration had allowed a rare opportunity for collective reflection on the trajectory for human rights its successes and failures and on the current crisis of implementation.
"It is precisely at these moments where freedoms are so imperiled that the Declaration and the global human rights framework it seeded are most needed. Division unequal outcomes and unsolvable crises are not an inevitability" he said.
Turk outlined crucial messages that underpin the vision statement, emphasizing the necessity of supporting and fostering innovation within the strong global constituency for human rights he also he stressed the pivotal role of placing human rights at the forefront of efforts to cease recurring conflicts and promote peacebuilding.
Turk advocated for the transformation of economies and underscored the integration of environmental action particularly addressing climate change within the framework of human rights, while calling for responsive governance emphasizing full participation and the eradication of impunity.
He highlighted the importance of harnessing human ingenuity for the betterment of humanity particularly through technology and science that benefit all, and emphasized the inclusion of youth and children in decision-making processes and the imperative to act for the sake of future generations.
Trk went on underlining the promotion of economic cultural and civil rights and the right of persons with disabilities to participate and integrate as well as the promotion of women's participation and resistance to violence against them.
The High Commissioner also expressed concern about attempts to undermine the legitimacy and work of the United Nations and other institutions including disinformation that targets UN humanitarian organizations UN peacekeepers the Human Rights Office. (end)
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