The 69-page report, “Keeping the Momentum: One Year in the Life of the UN Human Rights Council” examines the Council’s work from July 2010 through June 2011, and describes some notable progress by the Council in its fifth year. Human Rights Watch ascribes this progress to “the work and determination of a number of key delegations that allowed the Council to move towards more effective implementation of its mandate in places like Côte d’Ivoire, Iran, and Belarus. Prior to this, the Council had failed to respond to a large majority of new human rights emergencies or chronic situations of violations of human rights that needed its attention”.

“The countries that made the critical difference during this period came from different regions of the world. They worked both collectively and in parallel to ensure that the Council’s mandate to address and prevent situations of violations was fulfilled more rigorously, recognizing the Council’s inaction of the past”.

“Among the delegations that had the most impact in this regard were: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Maldives, Mexico, the United States, and Zambia. These delegations were joined by states such as France, Japan, Jordan, Mauritius, Senegal, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay that also played a significant role in mobilizing the Council to respond to victims’ needs around the world”.

Speaking in response to the report, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem said: ”At the time, many people doubted the Government’s decision to put forward the Maldives’ candidature for the UN Human Rights Council, saying we are too small to make a difference. Human Rights Watch’s new report shows unequivocally that such doubts were misplaced. Not only has the Maldives played a central role at the Council, we have also helped make the Council far more effective as the pre-eminent global body responsible for protecting human rights”.

“We in the Maldives are proud that the country is now internationally-respected for its commitment to human rights and for its influence on the global stage”.

Notes to Editor:

The full report can be found at: http://www.hrw.org/reports/2011/09/22/keeping-momentum-0