The United Nations General Assembly has elected Spain as a member of the Human Rights Council for the period 2025-2027 during a vote held this afternoon in New York.
The Council's main goal is to protect and promote human rights around the world. Its aim is to strengthen the respect for human rights within the international sphere, without which sustainable peace, security and development cannot be achieved.
With this election, Spain is giving renewed impetus to its firm commitment to multilateralism and to the United Nations as a means to ensure coexistence, mutual trust, and peace. This is a new milestone in Spain's new foreign policy; a policy that has a distinct identity and a voice of its own, which is built upon a commitment to the values with which Spanish society identifies, such as peace, democracy and human rights, as well as the defence of its interests and its institutions.
As an elected member of the Council, Spain assumes the responsibility of contributing towards a more effective international protection of human rights. Spain will play an active role in seeking common ground in consultations and negotiations.
Likewise, through the Council, Spain will promote specific courses of action in which our country has proven experience, such as the defence of real and effective equal opportunities for both men and women; the fight against all types of discrimination, in particular on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity; the protection of rights for people with disabilities; the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights; and the protection of human rights defenders as positive agents for change.
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