12. 9. 2022

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The 51st regular session of the Human Rights Council opens today in Geneva. Slovenia will actively participate in the discussions and negotiations on the initiatives and will also table a resolution on a global agenda for human rights education on behalf of its regional group. Together with Argentina and Brazil, Slovenia will also propose extending the mandate of the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons.

human rights situation on a country-by-country basis, with human rights in Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Burundi, Syria, Ukraine, Belarus, Venezuela, Congo, South Sudan, Cambodia, Somalia and the Central African Republic (CAR) taking centre stage. The European Union will seek a renewal of the mandate of the Special Rapporteurs on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and Burundi and of the International Commission of Human Rights Experts on Ethiopia.

Thematic areas to be addressed include indigenous peoples' access to clean drinking water and sanitation, the right to privacy in the light of technological developments, the problem of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, the rights of the elderly, the right to work in the context of climate change, and racial discrimination.

At the meeting, Slovenia will be tabling a resolution on the World Programme for Human Rights Education together with other members of the Platform for Human Rights Education and Training, which is composed of Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Morocco, the Philippines, Senegal, Thailand and Slovenia, to launch preparations for the fifth phase of the World Programme that currently focuses on human rights education for young people. At the end of the three-year mandate of the UN Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons, which is currently held by the Austrian expert Claudia Mahler, Argentina, Brazil and Slovenia will propose that this important work continue for a further period of three years.

Interactive dialogues with the Human Rights Council's special procedures mandate holders will be held as part of the session. Slovenia will take part in the discussions in line with its national foreign policy and human rights priorities and EU positions, devoting special attention to discussions on the rights of older persons, mainstreaming a gender perspective into the work of the UN, gender equality and retaliatory measures against civil society. Slovenia will also announce its mid-term UPR report, such reports being drafted on a voluntary basis by countries in the period between the periodic reviews in Geneva.

The session will end on 7 October 2022. As an observer, Slovenia participates in discussions and negotiations, submits resolutions, and presents joint statements independently or in cooperation with other countries. In addition, engaging with civil society representatives is an important priority.