The 62nd regular session of the Human Rights Council Started on the 15th of June and ended on the 7th of July. Amidst the hustle and bustle of the G7 summit which took place in the nearby French boarder not far away from Geneva. During that time, the city of Geneva overflowed with visitors and every boarder checks and security was reinforced just to ensure that people did not take advantage of the situation to sneak into the countries. Before then, travellers were warned to refrain from traveling without valid documents if for any reason they were to pass through any of the surrounding boarder check points, by car, by train, or by plain. The canton of Geneva as always did their best to showcase the beauty of the city and to make the best out of tourism.
Alongside the G7 Summit, which lasted only for three days, was the beginning of the 62nd Session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC62). The High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk presented his annual report, warning that global human rights are under “unprecedented strain”[1]. He also stressed that international law is eroding rapidly and urgently called on member states to address the devastating impacts of escalating conflicts, inequality, and emerging challenges like unregulated autonomous weapons[2].
The High Commissioner’s address and the ensuing interactive dialogues highlighted several critical human rights emergencies: Financial and Systemic Crisis: and noted that the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) faces a severe liquidity crisis. This financial strain has caused significant reductions in field monitoring and the deferral of crucial State reviews. Active Conflict Zones: The report detailed the catastrophic human rights impacts of armed conflicts with a “red alert” for Sudan; describing it as another unfolding human rights catastrophe and demanded an immediate ceasefire following deadly strikes in Ukraine and ongoing violence in Gaza, the DRC, and Myanmar.
Turk also presented the situation of Transnational Repression and Civil Space: and strongly condemned the rise of transnational repression, the suppression of civil society actors and journalists, and the shrinking space for human rights defenders globally.
As always, Many institutions, academia, civil society and NGOs/FBOs Responded to the report during an interactive dialogue in defence of Human rights situation around the world and complementing the mission of the expert mechanisms in defence of Human rights. In the name of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, I Submitted four oral statements On (International Solidarity, Violence against women and girls in the context of migration, Human Trafficking in the context of Statelessness and extreme poverty in the context of forced labour) and delivered two out of the four statements during the Human Rights sessions. Dominating the global conversation was the injustice surrounding the Externalisation of Migration Governance as adopted by many countries and using it as an instrument to sabotage the international law. In Geneva, The Faith based organisations and NGOs along with the Holy See did very well to include excepts from Pope Leo XIV first Encyclical (Humanitas Magnifica) And with him, proclaimed the gospel of peace, hope, non-violence and human dignity in the Global Conversation while drawing attention to the subtle enslavement through the use of artificial intelligence and digital technology as a means to violet human right.
[1] https://www.gicj.org/conferences-meetings/human-rights-council-sessions/discussion-reports/4464-hrc62-the-un-human-rights-system-is-running-out-of-money-rocio-gomez-rodriguez.
[2] Ibidem.