Tag: 2026

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 July 2026.

UK General Comment on the draft resolution on women in humanitarian settings. Delivered by UK Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

Thank you, Mr President.

We join others in taking this opportunity to pay tribute to Colombia’s role as penholder in these difficult circumstances and wish to honour once again the memory of Ambassador Gustavo Gallon.

The United Kingdom is pleased to join consensus on this important resolution and thanks the Core Group for its leadership throughout the negotiations. 

As humanitarian needs continue to grow in scale and complexity, women and girls remain disproportionately affected by conflict, displacement, disasters and other crises. This resolution places the protection, participation and leadership of women and girls at the centre of humanitarian responses and reinforces the need for a comprehensive, human rights-based approach.

We particularly welcome the references to preventing and responding to gender-based violence. Indeed, conflict-related sexual violence continues to have devastating consequences for survivors, families and communities. Preventing these crimes, supporting survivors, and ensuring perpetrators are held to account must remain a central part of efforts to build sustainable peace and security.

The resolution also highlights the importance of ensuring uninterrupted and non-discriminatory access to healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health services, maternal healthcare, and mental health and psychosocial support. These services are essential to safeguarding the dignity, health and wellbeing of women and girls in crisis situations.

Equally important is its emphasis on the meaningful participation and leadership of women and girls, including women-led organisations, in humanitarian preparedness, response and recovery. Women and girls must be able to shape the decisions that affect their lives and communities.

The United Kingdom is proud to support this resolution.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 July 2026.

UK Explanation of Position on the draft resolution on human rights and climate change. Delivered at the 62nd Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Mr President,

The UK thanks the Core Group, led by the Philippines, for their hard work this session.  We appreciate their engagement with us.

The UK particularly welcomes the focus of this year’s resolution on the needs and interests of future generations. It is entirely appropriate to that theme that this resolution underscores the importance of efforts to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 Degrees Celsius.

The need and urgency for greater mitigation action and ambition is clear.  So, we are firmly of the view that mitigation should be more prominent in this resolution and we are disappointed that it is not. A just, orderly and equitable transition away from fossil fuels is integral to mitigation efforts, as the cross-regional General Comment has just set out.

There is no dispute from the UK that climate change can and does impact the enjoyment of human rights.  That is properly a matter for this Council.  However, the Human Rights Council should not be used as a forum to renegotiate the climate treaties or to misrepresent the independent legal nature of the Paris Agreement.  Accordingly, the UK does not support any text in this resolution that does not accurately reflect obligations under the Paris Agreement or the decisions taken under it, including those in paragraph 28 of the Global Stocktake.  Nor should the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities be applied in a manner inconsistent with that already agreed in UN climate negotiations, so we likewise do not support any such text that does so here.  

Whilst we appreciate the rationalisation of the text on loss and damage, we remain deeply concerned by this resolution’s framing of the provision of climate finance and loss and damage. The New Collective Quantified Goal, adopted at COP29 and which establishes the framework for climate finance through to 2035, represents a clear consensus on climate finance. It is simply unhelpful for this resolution to be inconsistent with that agreed outcome.  So, we do not support the parts of this resolution that elide obligatory and voluntary actions and introduce new terms that are not used in the UNFCCC and Paris framework.

The UK remains strongly committed to international climate action. So, we would welcome the Core Group and others working closely with us on the scope, focus and framing of the next iteration of this resolution over the coming year.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 July 2026.

UK General Comment on the draft resolution on independence and impartiality of the judiciary. Delivered at the 62nd Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Mr President,

The UK is proud to cosponsor Resolution L.15 on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors, and the independence of lawyers: the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. 

All legal professionals should be able to discharge their professional duties without fear of reprisals.  An independent legal profession and an independent and impartial judiciary are at the heart of the rule of law.  They play a vital role in promoting and protecting human rights.  That role is only enhanced by the balanced representation of men and women at all levels of the legal profession and the UK was proud to cosponsor a side event on “Women in Law” this Session.

We welcome this resolution’s focus on robust judicial selection and appointment processes and the UK was a proud cosponsor of a side event on that topic this Session too.  Rigorous judicial selection and appointment contributes to public trust in the judiciary as an organ of the State, thereby enhancing the rule of law and helping to discharge human rights obligations effectively.  We consider these principles are equally important at the international level, including in the selection of judges to bodies such as the International Court of Justice, where independence, impartiality and expertise are essential. That standard underpins the UK’s support for Professor Dapo Akande’s candidacy.

Finally, we welcome the rationalisation efforts made by the core groups to merge and streamline these two resolutions. 

Happily, this resolution already benefits from wide cosponsorship and we hope it will pass by consensus, as has happened in the past.  We thank Hungary and the Core Group for their leadership on this important issue.

Thank you.

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 7 July 2026.

UK General Comment on the draft resolution on freedom of expression. Delivered by UK Human Rights Ambassador, Eleanor Sanders.

Thank you, Mr President

The UK is pleased to join consensus on this important resolution and thanks the Core Group for its leadership throughout the negotiations. Freedom of opinion and expression is a cornerstone of democratic societies, accountability, and the protection of all human rights.

At a time when journalists, media workers, human rights defenders, and civil society actors face growing threats, this resolution sends a clear signal that they must be able to carry out their work freely and safely. The strengthened  language on safety of journalists, combating impunity, transnational repression, and strategic lawsuits against public participation is welcome.

We particularly welcome the resolution’s strong recognition of the barriers that women and girls continue to face in exercising their right to freedom of opinion and expression. The strengthened language on technology-facilitated gender-based violence, digital inequalities, and the importance of women’s and girls’ full, equal, meaningful and safe participation online and offline is especially important.

We welcome the resolution’s focus on digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and information integrity. Responses to disinformation must remain rooted in international human rights law while promoting transparency, accountability, and access to reliable information.

As co-chair of the Media Freedom Coalition alongside Finland, the UK remains steadfast in its commitment to media freedom worldwide and is proud once again to support this resolution.

Thank you.