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General Assembly
61tt Session Third Committee Agendaitem 67 c UNITEDNATIONS

STATEMENT BEHALF THE EUROPEAN ON OF UNION IN ACCORDANCE WITH RULE116 O F T H E R U L E S F P R O C E D U R E T H EG E N E R AA S S E M B L Y O OF L AGAINST THE MOTION ADJOURN TO THE DEBATE Situationof humanrightsin Belarus NC.3t61rL.4A Mr.lanneJokinen P e r m a n e nM i s s i o n f F i n l a n dt o t h e U n i t e dN a t i o n s t o New York, 22 November2006

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Mr. Chairman, I have the honourto speak on behalfof the European Union. The Acceding CountriesBulgariaand Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatiaxand the former YugoslavRepublic Macedonia*, Countries the of the of and Association Process Albaniaand Serbia, Stabilisation and potentialcandidates with this declaration. as well as Ukraineand Moldovaalign themselves * Croatiaand the former YugoslavRepublic Macedonia of continueto be part of the Stabilisation Process. and Association M r "C h a i r m a n , It is an important matter of principlefor the EuropeanUnionto vote againstany motion to closethe debateon an item under discussion. The callingof this motion is clearlyaimed at preventingthis Committeefrom dealingwith a country-specific situation,namely the situationof human rights in Belarus.As we have repeatedly stated, no country - large or small - can be regardedas being beyondor above consideration internationalhuman rights fora. This would run counter to the by p r i n c i p l e s f u n i v e r s a l i t a n d i n t e r d e p e n d e n c e a l l h u m a nr i g h t s . o y of The EU firmly believesthat the Third Committeeof the GeneralAssemblymust address the situation of human rights in Belarus, based on the gravity of the situation on the ground. Previousresolutions the United NationsCommission by on Human Rights addressingthe issue, as well as recommendations made by various United Nationsand other internationalhuman rights mechanisms, have been ignored, and the systematic,widespreadand serious violationsof human rights continueto persistin Belarus.By choosingnot to addressthe situation,we would let down the very peoplewhose human rights we have committedourselves to protecting. Mr Chairman, If successful, this motion to adjourn the debate would prevent us from even This runs contraryto the spirit of considering the issuescoveredin the resolution. dialogueto which we are all attached.The GeneralAssemblywould undermineits i o w n c r e d i b i l i t y f i t r e m a i n e ds i l e n to n g r a v e a n d w i d e s p r e a d i o l a t i o n s f h u m a n v o rights in situations where the country concernedrefuses to cooperatein any m e a n i n g f um a n n e rw i t h t h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l u m a n r i g h t ss y s t e m . l h The EU strongly urges delegationsto vote against this motion to adjourn the debate for reasonsof principle,regardless their voting intentionson the draft of resolution contained documentL.40. in T h a n ky o u , M r . C h a i r m a n .