Ekaterina Zaharieva: “Human rights must be respected even in times of crisis”
24 February 2021 News
"Respect for human rights must remain at the heart of our efforts to tackle and recover from the pandemic", said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva during her participation in the High-Level Segment, which opened the March 46th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
In her speech, Minister Zaharieva highlighted some of the human rights challenges revealed by the deployment of the coronavirus. She focused on some of our national priorities, such as equality between men and women, empowerment of women and girls, rights of children with disabilities and development of tolerant society.
"We believe that tolerance and promotion of religious freedom are fundamental democratic values", Minister Zaharieva said, adding that Bulgaria's efforts to combat all forms of racism, anti-Semitism and xenophobia will continue. She reminded that a few days ago the Bulgarian authorities prevented the march of extreme nationalists, known as "Lukov marsh", for the second year in a row.
In conclusion, Minister Zaharieva pointed out that as a current member of the Human Rights Council, Bulgaria is committed to promoting and developing the highest standards in this area. That is why our country has launched a campaign to gain support for its re-election as a member of the Human Rights Council for the period 2024-2026. Our Foreign Minister thanked for the vote of confidence and the election of Bulgaria's Permanent Representative to Geneva, Ambassador Yuri Shterk as Deputy President of the Council in 2021.
The sessions of the Human Rights Council are held three times a year in March, June and September. The current session started on 22 February and will last until 23 March 2021. The session opens with a High-Level Segment, during which high-ranking representatives from countries around the world take part for three days. Bulgaria is in the last year of its membership in the Council (2019-2021)