Mr. Chairman,
Let me first of all thank the three panellists for their interesting presentations and for providing three different perspectives on this topic. Even if I am speaking in national capacity today, let me mention that when Sweden was preparing the priorities for the Presidency of the European Union, it became evident that we needed to put focus on the economic and financial crisis.
Managing the financial crisis presents a challenge to the international community as a whole, and we suffer its’ consequences in many parts of the world. Also in the more developed countries, we need to handle risks of increased poverty and prevent higher rates of unemployment. Today, three out of ten Europeans in working age are not active in the labour market, which poses a threat to our welfare. This comes at a time when there already is pressure on our welfare systems, since people, in our part of the world, are living longer and get fewer children.
In 50 years there will be twice as many elderly people as children in Europe, if this trend continues. Sweden therefore believes it is important to promote an active labour market policy which, in combination with a social security system, can handle adjustments effectively. We listened with great interest to the discussions on that topic, which took place yesterday.
We also listened to the presentation today by Mr Draganov, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD. We share the concern that the financial crisis might lead to increased protectionism. The WTO has confirmed a slippage towards increased restrictions and distortion in certain tradable goods sectors in the world economy, in the last couple of months, which of course threatens the goal of achieving a fair free-trade policy. In this respect, Sweden welcomes the renewed engagement in the Doha Round and genuine desire to finally bring these talks to a successful conclusion. We believe, however, that general questions related to trade policy are better dealt with in other organisations, than in the Human Right’s Council.
In our view, governments have the primary responsibility for determining how to respond to this crisis. Let me therefore return to the human rights aspects of our discussions here today, and suggest the following recommendation:
To encourage states to ensure that responses to financial pressures do not diminish human rights protection, especially with regard to marginalized and vulnerable groups.
We fully share the view expressed by Mrs Bras Gomes that States should pay special attention to women’s rights and gender equality. Women’s participation in the economy and in the development of the society, is important for economic growth and poverty reduction, and to achieve aid efficiency and environmental sustainability.
The current financial and economic situation shall not be a reason to weaken the responsibility of States to respect, protect and fulfill all human rights, both those related to ICESCR and ICCPR.
We therefore encourage States to ensure that measures taken to alleviate the current financial crisis do not erode their human rights obligations.
Thank you.