On Wednesday 14 October, the EU spokesperson explained that the members of the UN Human Rights Council should be “exemplary human rights defenders”, following the election of Russia, China and Cuba in particular to the Council.
“It is their responsibility to uphold the highest standards in the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including in their own countries, and to cooperate fully with the Council and its mechanisms”, they stressed in response to questions from EUROPE.
The spokesperson added that all States must preserve the integrity and credibility of the Human Rights Council in the fulfilment of its institutional mandate and respect the independence of the High Commissioner and her Office.
The EU representative warned that the EU would continue to work for an improvement of the situation in the countries elected to the Human Rights Council and to call for respect for human rights there, both in its bilateral contacts and in multilateral forums such as the Human Rights Council. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)