Today the 46th session of the Human Rights Council has started, the United Nations’ principal body for the promotion and protection of human rights at the global level.
The session will be open with speeches by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, General Assembly President Volkan Bozkir and High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet. The subsequent three-day High Level Segment will be attended by Heads of State, Heads of Government and Ministers from over 130 countries, including the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Luigi Di Maio.
The month-long session will discuss situations concerning the protection of human rights in some fifty countries and specific issues of interest to the Council. Nearly one hundred reports submitted by human rights experts and other investigative bodies will also be examined and more than thirty interactive dialogues with special procedures mandate holders will be held.
The Council will also adopt the final reports of the last cycle of the Universal Periodic Review of 14 States: Belarus, Liberia, Malawi, Panama, Mongolia, Maldives, Andorra, Honduras, Bulgaria, Marshall Islands, United States of America, Croatia, Libya and Jamaica.
As a member of the Council for the three-year period 2019-2021, Italy takes an active part in its work, especially in relation to the priority issues of its mandate. The Permanent Representative of Italy to the International Organisations in Geneva, Amb. Gian Lorenzo Cornado, will speak in particular in the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty, at the annual debate on the rights of persons with disabilities, as well as in the interactive dialogues on freedom of religion and belief, the situation of human rights defenders, violence against children, children and armed conflict.
Follow the live streaming here: http://webtv.un.org
