<h6><strong>Eduardo González</strong></h6> <h4><strong>The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, spoke this Wednesday at the first ordinary session of the Human Rights Council since Spain entered this body, in which he made a plea in favor of victims, human rights defenders, women and the International Criminal Court (ICC) "as a guarantor of accountability."</strong></h4> On January 1, Spain became part of the UN Human Rights Council for the period 2025-2027. This is the third time that our country belongs to this subsidiary body of the General Assembly. The two previous times were between 2011 and 2013 and between 2018 and 2020. Spain's entry was adopted last October by the United Nations General Assembly in New York. During his speech at the high-level segment of the Council, which took place at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva, the minister defended human rights “as an essential pillar of peace, justice and democracy” and assured that Spain’s objective as a member of the Council will be “to maintain the credibility and legitimacy of this body as a central piece in the system of promotion and protection of human rights, at a complex crossroads for all multilateralism.” He also declared that multilateralism is our best tool and affirmed that the Human Rights Council must be a “spokesperson for victims, for human rights defenders and for civil society.” Albares made special mention of women and warned that “there will be no peace without their full participation in decision-making.” In addition, he recalled the “feminist” tendency of Spain’s foreign policy and reaffirmed the determination of our country to continue fighting against all discrimination, especially those who suffer criminal persecution for their sexual orientation or gender identity. During his speech, the minister also expressed Spain's support for the International Criminal Court as a "guarantor of accountability" and Spain's support for the mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council aimed at providing recognition, truth, memory, justice and reparation for victims. Albares also assured that Spanish foreign policy is based on respect for International Humanitarian Law and human rights, which will continue to demand compliance "with the same conviction in Ukraine, Gaza, Syria or Sudan." Finally, the minister hoped that the International Conference on Financing for Development, which Spain will organize this year in Seville, will contribute decisively to reducing the financing gap of the 2030 Agenda. <h5><strong>The Council</strong></h5> The Human Rights Council, the main multilateral body for the protection and promotion of human rights in the world, was created by the UN General Assembly in March 2006, replacing the previous Commission on Human Rights, and is based in Geneva. The Council is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly that meets periodically throughout the year and is intergovernmental in nature. Specifically, the Council is composed of 47 United Nations States elected by the General Assembly through a direct and secret vote for a period of three years. Membership is divided among the regional groups of the United Nations: seven for Western Europe and other groups (including the United States and Canada), six for Eastern Europe, thirteen for Africa, thirteen for Asia and eight for Latin America and the Caribbean. The mandate of each member State is three years, although it is possible to be re-elected for up to two consecutive periods. Spain has been part of this body on two occasions: between 2011 and 2013 (it began during the PSOE government, with José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, but it was mainly developed under the presidency of Mariano Rajoy, of the PP) and between 2018 and 2020 (the candidacy was presented in 2017 by the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Alfonso Dastis, in the Rajoy Executive, but most of the mandate was spent under the government of the current president, the socialist Pedro Sánchez). <h5><strong>Disarmament Conference</strong></h5> Later, Albares intervened, also in Geneva, in the high-level segment of the Disarmament Conference, in which he reiterated “Spain's commitment to peace” and warned that “the current complex global situation makes it more important than ever to support global disarmament”, because “it is essential for the maintenance of international peace and security”.
