GENEVA, OCTOBER 7 – The Human Rights Council has adopted a European Union resolution aimed at establishing a UN Special Rapporteur to monitor human rights in Afghanistan. “It was a great result and a success of Italian diplomacy: the result of many missions and meetings we had in recent weeks,” commented on Twitter the Italian Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Benedetto Della Vedova.
The outcome was not a foregone conclusion, said the Undersecretary, who reviewed the process that brought to the vote on the resolution: “Since the end of August I appealed in front of a special session of the Human Rights Council to establish a monitoring mechanism”. The ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, kept working with his staff in the following weeks, in close contact with the Farnesina, with Della Vedova himself and the rest of the European Union delegations, managing in creating a sufficient consensus around the idea. The resolution was adopted with 28 votes in favour, 5 no and 14 abstentions.
On September 14 Della Vedova went back in person to Geneva to reiterate the point during the ordinary session of the HRC and in several meetings, including one with the UN Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet. “This is a first important result. It does not solve the problems of Afghanistan tragically plunged back under the heel of an obscurantist and ruthless regime. However, it is a crucial signal that the international community is paying close attention to the situation of Afghan women, men and children and is demanding respect for their fundamental rights,” the Undersecretary noted.
The next challenge will be to ensure that the Special Rapporteur enters his functions quickly and can exercise them as effectively as possible, given the difficult context. (@OnuItalia)
