Human Rights Council ends its second session, deferring decisions on draft resolutions

The United Nations Human Rights Council today ended its second session but decided to put off any decisions on draft resolutions until 27 November because of the large number involved after three weeks of wide-ranging discussions covering everything from racism to counter-terrorism.

Once the Council concludes taking action on the proposals next month, it will immediately open its third session, a UN spokesman told reporters in New York, adding that since the debates began in Geneva on 18 September, nearly 50 resolutions had been tabled.

Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba of Mexico, the President of the Council, said in his concluding statement that more than 40 reports had been heard during the three weeks, while dialogue had also been undertaken with the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

He said the large number of resolutions submitted was an indication of delegations’ interest in substantive matters, even during the first phases of the new body, but acknowledged that better working methods were required to deal with each and every subject.

These were no meagre results, he said, but added that the challenges facing the Council were even greater than the progress that had been made.

The Council, which was set up to replace the much-criticized Commission on Human Rights, held its first session in June.