As prepared for delivery.
1. Madame President, members of the Executive Board, colleagues, and friends. It is my great pleasure to join you today for this first regular session of the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board for 2021.
2. Allow me to begin by congratulating Her Excellency Ms. Lachezara Stoeva, the Permanent Representative of Bulgaria, on her election as the President of the Board, and welcoming our new Bureau members for 2021.
3. I would like to express my gratitude to the outgoing Bureau members. In particular, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Walton Webson, Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda, for his unwavering leadership and guidance.
Submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for China
68th pre-session
This submission relates to the review of China under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It focuses on education policy in Tibet, barriers to education for children with disabilities, family separation in Xinjiang, conversion therapy against LGBT people, protection of education from attack, and shackling of people with psychosocial disabilities.
Education Policy in Tibet (article 13 and 15)
China’s education policy in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is significantly reducing the access of ethnic Tibetans to education in their mother tongue. The government policy, though called “bilingual education,” is in practice leading to the gradual replacement of Tibetan by Chinese as the medium of instruction in primary schools throughout the region, except for classes studying Tibetan as a language.
Submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights for Cambodia
68th pre-session
This submission relates to the review of Cambodia under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It focuses on the right and access to education, the right to an adequate standard of living, and the right to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health.
Lack of Adequate Standard of Living for Over-indebted Borrowers (article 11)
The Covid-19 pandemic sparked an economic crisis in Cambodia, in which hundreds of thousands of people were suspended from work with little or no pay, or laid off outright. Many Cambodians have taken out micro-loans, often using land titles as collateral, but without jobs or income, they are unable to repay the loans.
Peaceful (and not so peaceful) assemblies: Global webinar on 16 December to discuss latest international standards
GENEVA (14 December 2020) – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) and the University of Pretoria in South Africa will jointly hold a global webinar on 16 December to raise awareness on two new international instruments relating to the right of peaceful assembly.
During 2020, the United Nations issued two new international instruments on peaceful assembly. The Human Rights Committee’s General Comment provides legal guidance that defines assemblies as both physical meetings and virtual gatherings, and outlines governments’ obligations to facilitate peaceful assemblies. The UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement provides guidelines on the use of force in compliance with international human rights law.
Peaceful (and not so peaceful) assemblies: Global webinar on 16 December to discuss latest international standards
GENEVA (14 December 2020) – The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights) and the University of Pretoria in South Africa will jointly hold a global webinar on 16 December to raise awareness on two new international instruments relating to the right of peaceful assembly.
During 2020, the United Nations issued two new international instruments on peaceful assembly. The Human Rights Committee’s General Comment provides legal guidance that defines assemblies as both physical meetings and virtual gatherings, and outlines governments’ obligations to facilitate peaceful assemblies. The UN Human Rights Guidance on Less-Lethal Weapons in Law Enforcement provides guidelines on the use of force in compliance with international human rights law.