Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marija Pejčinović Burić attended the 37th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, held 26-27 February in Geneva.
At the most important international forum for the protection and promotion of human rights, Pejčinović Burić presented Croatia’s activities on that front, its commitment to the strengthening of human rights within the UN system and its activities as a UNHRC member country.
In her address, the minister warned that 70 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights the international community was still faced with big challenges in the prevention of violations in many parts of the world, adding it was necessary to find new ways to effectively protect and improve human right standards worldwide.
Pejčinović Burić voiced her concern about the flagrant, continuous and grave human rights violations in Myanmar, North Korea, Syria, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Yemen, Libya and Ukraine. She presented Croatia’s views and priorities concerning the protection of human rights, notably children’s rights, the improvement of the position of women and girls, the non-discrimination against particularly vulnerable social groups, freedom of faith, and the protection of ethnic minority rights. She also expressed concern over the status of religious and ethnic minorities in crisis areas. Croatia’s global activities regarding human rights are further strengthened by our 2017-2019 UNHRC membership, where we advocate the equality, dignity and freedom of every individual and the full respect and promotion of human rights in every country, the minister said.
Apart from attending the UNHRC meeting, Pejčinović Burić held talks with UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein. The two officials exchanged views and expressed concern over the human rights status in crisis areas, reviewing Croatia’s activities as a UNHRC member country.
The foreign minister’s address: