Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken Delivers National Statement at Human Rights Council

FINAL AS DELIVERED 

Deputy Secretary Antony Blinken
Human Rights Council National Statement

Wednesday, March 2, 2014
Geneva, Switzerland

Mister President of the Council, distinguished delegates, it is an honor to represent the United States here at the Human Rights Council on its 10^th anniversary.

The United States’ commitment to the mandate and mission of this Council runs deep into our nation’s history, where it is engraved into our founding values and etched into standards we strive to hold ourselves to every day. When the United States engaged with this Council under the leadership of President Obama, We made that decision not only because we share the aspirations of this Council—but because the world does. The fight for greater freedom, greater respect, greater dignity is a unifying narrative of our humanity in all its diversity, and we are proud to join this Council in upholding our common responsibility to this universal pursuit. That is why I am very pleased today to reaffirm the United States’ intention to seek reelection to the Council.

The principled, balanced, proactive leadership of this Council is needed now more than ever before in a world where a growing number of countries are laying siege to civil society. It is a world where violent extremism thrives in the shadows of marginalization and transforms some of those who feel cast aside, left behind, or repressed into slavers and executioners. And it is a world where unprecedented refugee and migrant flows are making more people—especially women and children—vulnerable to predation, trafficking, and abuse.

In Russia, a little more than a year after former Deputy Prime Minister Boris Nemtsov’s murder in central Moscow, the Russian government’s attempts to suffocate civil society, suppress political opposition, and stigmatize members of minority groups continue unabated.  As we approach the two-year anniversary of Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, we remain gravely concerned about the deteriorating human rights situation inUkraine’s Donbas and in the occupied peninsula.

Raids, arrests, baseless prosecutions, and torture have become regular facts of life for civilians, especially for those in the Tatar community. Occupation authorities and Russian-backed separatists have moved systematically to suppress dissent and impose a new repressive way of life in these parts of Ukraine. Russian-supported separatists in the Donbas prevent Ukrainian residents from accessing humanitarian assistance, leaving civilians without sufficient food and shelter. This is simply unacceptable. We welcome the Council’s continued attention to these egregious abuses and call on Russia to do its part by putting an end to this behavior.

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