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was merely a subsidiary body work. It was not an easy task, good achievement. During list of priorities because it is
of ECOSOC - the Economic but nevertheless this was that period Azerbaijan was hardly possible to embrace
and Social Council. indeed the final outcome. The co-ordinator of the Eastem everything here. As to the
pary significance of this European Group on Human Hiunan Rights Council, since
Our participation and outcome was that the new Rights. Basically, our job was this was the periodwhen-so to
membership in this Council Council has ushered in a new, to participate in restricted speak-the cod was just born,
were basically dictated by our fresh spirit of consensual discussions in a bureau particular care had to be
desire to fonow human rights decision-making inviting all consisting of the President, applied on the part of all so
developments more closely, those who are faced w'th this the vice-presidents and co- that it survived and grew into
and through our conshuctive or that difficulty to walk an ordinators of the regional a healthy child. Another ttffig
and active engagement to extra step and arrive to a groups. We represented the was that because the Council
extend our humble contribu- mutually acceptable compro- Eastern European Group, lived through the phase of
t'on in setting up the Council. mise. Lack of consensus on made up of twenty-two coun- institutional building it was
This new bodywas created by such an important document tries and very diverse in natu- almost all the time in session,
a General Assembly resolu- as the institutional building re some of them having quite like a perpetuum mobile, so

tion, many aspects related to package would immediately differing views on various for small-sized mission repre-
its functioning remained send the wrong message to issues. It was quite an expe- senting a member of the
rather vague, quite a few the outside world, in the first rience for us. Our delegation Council it was difficult to do
elements were invented for place to those who were is not big, it consists only of a something else than the
the first time, so it took quite welcoming the establishment few people, but we tried to be Human Rights Council
an effort on the part of all of the new global human as accurate, as constnichve (smiles).
members and observers on rights body with a hope that it and as transparent vis-A-vis
the Council to "put some flesh would indeed make a our group as possible. We Another task in front of us
on the bones", that is to go difference for the victims of were acting as co-ordinators, was the chainnanship dining

ahead with the institutional the human rights violations. taking views and messages one calendar year over the
building of the newly created First, it would mean that back to our constituency and OIC Group in Geneva of
body, which was not an easy countries cannot even agree tg to reflect their views in which there are fifty-seven
task at all. on the basic text and, second- the bureau discussions. We members. As a member state
ly, it would create a very acted as a channel of cominu- of the OIC, that had hosted

One of the distinctive features dangerous precedent for the nication between the bureau the Meeting of Foreign
of this Council is to ensure future work of the Council. A and the group. It was an inter- Ministers of the OIC in 2006
that it is not a closed body, lot of count'es did not really esting experience and very we had taken over the chair-
that it's transparent, inclusive believe in the longevity of this useful for us: to better iu'iders- manship of the group. Here I
and non-discatory with body. TheythoughtUhatitwas tand fu'stly, the human rights shorild pay a special tribute to
regard to members and difficult to expect that it machinery and secondly, the the Permanent Mission of
observer states and broader would be different, right after specificities of tbis new body. Pakistan in Geneva led by my
international community, the demise of the previous As a bureau member, we also friend Ambassador Masood
including in the first place the Commission. felt a certain additional Khan, who did a marvellous
civil society. responsibility to make sure job of Coordinator of the OIC
The fact that consensus was a that our job was done proper- Group on hun"ian rights and
It took quite an effort on the major cornerstone of t's new ly hutnanitarian issues and has
part of all the regional groups process helped a lot to put it been providing for an exem-
and the first the President of on the right track. As I said, Q: You said that your plary leadersip all this time.
the Human Rights Council- lots of lacunae still were there mission does not have a
Ambassador Luis Alfonso de to be filled when the General lot of staff, which implies Another matter that expanded
Alba of Mexico. He tried his Assembly adopted the that you were constantly our experience in a particular
best to ensure transparency of resolution on the creation of working on this issue? field was Azerbaijan's mem-
the process and to provide all this Council. Sometimes in bership in the Working Group
member states of the UN with diplomatic parlance it is That is tnie, especially given on Situations. an'iis is a speci-
a certain sense of ownership called "consti'uctive the fact that I'm also enttusted fic group made up of five
over the ciucial formation ambiguity" simply because w'th several other responsibi- ambassadors representing
phase of the work of the one then may interpret things lities, as the Azerbaijani major regional groups and
Council. Still, he benefited a differently. This may be help- ambassador accredited in dealing with individual com-
lot from close interactionwith fiil when a decision is taken Switzerland, the Holy See and plaints filed with the Office of
a selected core group of but then, when you need to the Picipality of the UN High Commissioner
countries, who would be put the decision in practice Liechtenstein. When it comes on Human Rights. The Group
willing to and would actually you face up the challenge of to Geneva as a diplomatic works within the framework
act as "friends of the chair". addressing those ambiguities. posting, it is a very busy place of a confidential procedure

They would hy to overcome with a large number of inter- that used to be called "the
differences that existed and Anyway, the reached consen- national organizations dealing 1503 procedure" and now -
come up with a consensus sus text required quite an with different issues and the Complaint Procedure.

text that would lay the effort by all members anyone working here has to Any individual may file a
groundwork for the Council's involved and was therefore a clarify for himself or herself a complaint against a State, for
2 2008 Diva 11

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