Minister Delegate for European Affairs George Ciamba participated today, February 27, 2019, in the high-level session of the UN Human Rights Council and in the ministerial segment of the Conference on Disarmament, both of which took place in Geneva.
In his address before the Human Rights Council, the minister delegate for European affairs underlined our country’s commitment in promoting the global human rights agenda, in accordance with the values and objectives agreed upon with our partners from the European Union. During its Presidency of the European Union Council, Romania has among its priorities to support policies which should safeguard human rights, with an emphasis on combating antisemitism, equal opportunities, combating domestic violence and child protection.
Moreover, the Romanian Presidency’s fourth pillar is dedicated to stimulating cohesion around the values which constituted the foundation of the European idea. This is an efficient method to combat racism, intolerance, xenophobia, populism and any form of hate speech. Combating antisemitism is the theme of many high-level conferences, organised under the aegis of the Romanian Presidency of the EU Council, such as: “The Fight against antisemitism: a common approach to better protect Jewish communities in Europe – from policy to action” (February 7, Brussels).
During the Conference on Disarmament, the Romanian official restated Romania’s support for reviving and relaunching the body’s fundamental activity, in the context of celebrating the 40th anniversary since its foundation in 1979, also underlying its unique role and potential in the multilateral negotiation of disarmament issues. In his intervention, Minister George Ciamba reiterated that Romania, during its Presidency of the EU Council, is firmly committed to preserving and consolidating the current international security framework and the global non-proliferation policy. In the outlook of the third reunion of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the minister delegate for European affairs stated Romania’s support for the efforts to consolidate and fully implement this essential instrument for the current global security framework.
Additional information:
Human Rights Council (HRC)
The UN’s concern in the human rights field has seen an institutional progress immediately after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948.
The Human Rights Commission, which had been the main international body dedicated to protecting and promoting human rights in the world for nearly 60 years, was replaced in 2006, as part of the UN reform, by the current Human Rights Council after the adoption of the General Assembly Resolution 60/251.
Romania has held two mandates within HRC – the first one, between June 19, 2006 and June 18, 2008, during which it also held the HRC presidency (2007/2008), and the second, between August 2011 and the end of 2014.
Conference on Disarmament
Since its foundation in 1979, the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva is the established body for dialogue and multilateral negotiations on the non-proliferation of mass-destruction weapons and on disarmament. Under its aegis and that of its foregoing bodies, the main multilateral legal documents in the field were negotiated: The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The agenda of the Conference on Disarmament includes seven main topics: ending the arms race and nuclear disarmament; preventing nuclear war, including associated issues; preventing the arms race in outer space; efficient international agreements for safeguarding non-nuclear countries against the use and threat to use nuclear weapons; new types of mass-destruction weapons and new launching systems, including radiological weapons; the comprehensive disarmament programme; transparency regarding armaments.
Romania held the Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament in 2017.