Thank you, Chair.
The United States wants to specially thank Finland for conducting a thorough and transparent process, including spending many hours not just in the negotiation room but also engaging delegations bilaterally to address their concerns. We therefore regret the last-minute amendment presented by Egypt, particularly in light of the very hard work by the facilitator.
The United States believes no one should be subjected to extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions. As the paragraph in OP7b states, “Killings of all persons must be investigated, including because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. As has been reported, individuals belonging to the listed minorities in OP7b experience widespread intimidation, harassment, and violence, including killings, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Deleting this reference is deleting longstanding agreed language for more than 10 years, language that also enjoys consensus in other resolutions in this committee. For a body charged with protecting and promoting human rights, removing one group from this listing would be deeply troubling. For these reasons, the United States will once again vote “no” on this amendment and will urge others to do the same.
Original source can be found here.
