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The UN Human Rights Council (HCR) on Monday marked its tenth anniversary by holding a high-level panel discussion to reflect on its achievements and challenges.
The event was presented with a full participation of representatives from all UN's 193 Member States, an unprecedented number during the HCR's history.
Created in 2006 as a replacement of the former UN Commission on Human Rights, the HRC is an inter-governmental body within the UN system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make recommendations on them.
"Since its first session 10 years ago, the Council's work had led to meaningful results worldwide, but that much work still remained for it to reach its full potential," Choi Kyong-lim, President of the Human Rights Council, noted in his opening remarks of Monday's panel discussion.
"The victims and the vulnerable looked to the Council for protection and the world pleaded with it to find solutions to grave situations," he added.
Jan Eliasson, UN Deputy secretary-general, highlighted the role of the HRC and its mechanisms in combatting and preventing human rights violations, in underscoring the need for accountability, and in amplifying the vital voice of civil society.
"The Human Rights Council gave new life to all efforts to advance human rights across the UN system, it provided a vital arena to discuss issues which other UN bodies initially would not address, and it demonstrated many innovative ways to highlight issues," the UN official noted.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed hope that all actors would be addressing the root causes of human rights violations much more forcefully when looking ahead to the next 10 years.
"The international community needed to work together to strengthen the impact of the Council's work at the country level, and to enhance the UN support for stronger national human rights systems, in order to enable greater freedoms, rights and dignity of people across the world," he concluded.
(APD)
