(March 24, 2022)

Mr. President,

I have the honor to speak on behalf of a group of countries. We are concerned with the fabrication and spreading of disinformation by some countries out of political purposes to smear others under the pretext of human rights. Their acts are designed to find excuses for interfering in other countries’ internal affairs, imposing unilateral coercive measures and setting up country-specific mechanisms at the Human Rights Council. This violates the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, runs counter to the principles of universality, impartiality and objectivity, constructive dialogue and cooperation of the work of the Human Rights Council, and will misdirect the work of international human rights mechanisms and undermine their credibility. We are also concerned with the breach of the Code of Conduct by certain special procedure mandate holders, who work on the basis of disinformation and issue misleading opinions.

We are of the view that disinformation is a common enemy of the international community. All stakeholders need to strengthen solidarity and work together to oppose and reject disinformation. In the course of discussion on human rights issues, all parties should express their views on the basis of facts rather than disinformation, still less fabricating disinformation to smear other countries and interfere in their internal affairs. Special procedure mandate holders should discharge their duties in a fair and objective manner, screen more closely the information they receive, and respect the authoritative information provided by governments so as to avoid being used by those with ulterior motives.

Thank you, Mr. President.

China, Belarus, Bolivia, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo, DPRK, Iran, Laos, Myanmar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe.