IIMA and VIDES Participation in the 52nd Session of the Human Rights Council

The United Nations Human Rights Council held its fifty-second session from 27 February to 4 April 2023 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The agenda of the session included several high-level meetings addressing crucial human rights issues, such as the Annual Panel on human rights mainstreaming, the Annual Debate on rights of people with disabilities, and the Annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child focusing on the rights of the child and the digital environment.

IIMA and VIDES especially welcomed the choice to dedicate the annual high-level panel discussion on human rights mainstreaming to the theme of youth, and in particular on the implementation of the United Nations Youth Strategy, in line with the 2021 report of the Secretary-General entitled “Our Common Agenda”. In their oral statement addressed to the Council on this occasion, IIMA and VIDES recalled when the first resolution on Youth and Human Rights was adopted in 2016 by the HRC and acknowledged that, since then, Council has come a long way in identifying human rights violations suffered by young people, but also in recognizing the great contribution that they make for the promotion and protection of human rights both for their peers and for society at large.

And yet, much remains to be achieved: to adequately address the challenges faced by young people and unlock their potential as human rights advocates, there is a need for systematic and effective mainstreaming of youth rights, through the existing UN Human Rights mechanisms, especially the UPR and the Treaty Bodies.

In another oral statement delivered during the 52nd HRC session, IIMA and VIDES focused on children’s engagement in building an offline and online world free from violence, along the lines of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Furthermore, four oral statements were delivered on the adoption of UPR Outcomes for Brazil, Ecuador, India and The Philippines, addressing several topical human rights issues, including children at risk of separation and in need of alternative care, child labor, child marriage, educational challenges, rights of indigenous peoples, and gender equality.

Finally, IIMA and VIDES joined forces with NGO partners by supporting other statements also delivered during the HRC session.

The texts and videos of the oral statements are available on IIMA website.