The thirty-fourth Session of the Human Rights Council has been inaugurated in Geneva by its new elected President, Ambassador Joaquín Alexander Maza Martelli.

The Council was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006. The theme of the panel is “The contribution of human rights to peacebuilding through the enhancement of dialogue and international cooperation for the promotion of human rights”.

During the course of the four-week session, over 100 reports will be presented by some 30 human rights experts and investigative bodies on a wide range of issues addressing over 40 human rights themes and the human rights situations in more than 45 countries.  The themes to be addressed include torture, freedom of religion or belief, peaceful assembly, child rights, countering terrorism, the right to privacy, human rights defenders, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the right to privacy, among others. 

The Council will also hold 10 interactive panel discussions focussing on multiple issues, including the death penalty, climate change and human rights, the rights of persons with disabilities, the rights of the child, access to medicines, maternal mortality, racial profiling, and arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances in Syria for which Syrian victims and witnesses will share their stories.

Sri Lanka’s delegation to the 34th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) arrived in Geneva on Sunday.