Foreign Secretary statement on UN Human Rights Council resolution

The Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has issued a statement following a vote at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.

This follows a statement delivered by the UK’s Permanent Representative in Geneva, Simon Manley, on behalf of the UK and Australia. The statement was a response to the resolution titled ‘From rhetoric to reality: a global call for concrete action against racism, xenophobia and related intolerance’.

The UK called for a vote on the resolution to take place, and subsequently joined nine other Council Members in voting against the resolution as tabled.

The Foreign Secretary said:

The UK remains steadfast in its commitment to tackling racism around the world.

The resolution presented the Human Rights Council today contains a number of references to the Durban Conference, from which the UK has repeatedly disassociated itself due to historic concerns over antisemitism.

Discrimination and intolerance has no place in society and we encourage countries to uphold their human rights obligations.

The joint statement by the UK and Australia can be read here