The Fifth Intersessional Meeting of the Human Rights Council on Human Rights and 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was held in Geneva on 19th January 2023. The Foreign Minister of Chile Her Excellency. Ms. Antonia Urrejola, the President of the Human Rights Council His Excellency Mr. Václav Bálek and the High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr. Volker Türk addressed the Meeting. The theme of the meeting was “Overcoming multiple crises: realising the SDGs through a human right enhancing economy”.
During the session, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the UN Office in Geneva, His Excellency Dr. Asim Ahmed, delivered a statement and highlighted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development must be the guiding framework to end poverty, to protect the planet, and to ensure peace and security for all. He further stated that the promotion and protection of human rights is one of the integral pillars of the Maldivian foreign policy and as a member of the Human Rights Council, the Maldives will continue to advocate for the promotion and protection of human rights at home and abroad.
The 2023 intersessional meeting is the fifth of a series of inter-sessional meetings of the Human Rights Council on human rights and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The meeting focused on the importance of integrating human rights into the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development and discussed the socio-economic impact of multiple crises in the world today.
Maldives won a seat on the Human Rights Council following the elections held on 11 October 2022, in New York.
The Maldives membership will be guided by the principles of human rights, democracy and good governance and climate action, which underlies the basic principles of Maldives’ foreign policy. During the three years of membership, Maldives will strive to advance key areas of human rights in the true spirit of multilateralism.