Regional Workshop on LDCS / SIDS - Closing Remarks by UN Interim Resident Coordinator Mr. Niels Scott

Your Excellency Mr. Omar Zniber, President of the UN Human Rights Council,

Your Excellency Dr. Salma Rasheed, Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Office in Geneva, 

Your Excellency Mr. Ahmed Shiaan, Secretary Multilateral, Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Mr. Mahamane Cisse-Gouro, Director, Human Rights Council and Treaty Mechanisms Division,

Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to join you this afternoon at this closing ceremony, having just started as the new interim Resident Coordinator. 

Congratulations first to the Government of Maldives, the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) particularly the LDCs / SIDS Trust Fund Secretariat, and the participants, the crucial beneficiaries of the Trust Fund, for the successful conclusion of the regional workshop for the Asia region.

The experiences and best practices shared during this workshop underscore the critical importance of the Voluntary Trust Fund in enhancing the capacities of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States to promote and protect human rights in the region. I recognize that these contributions have significantly strengthened Member States' engagement with the Human Rights Council and other international human rights mechanisms. 

I am optimistic that the outcome recommendations adopted today—focused on the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, the intersection of climate change and human rights, migration and human rights, and the integration of Sustainable Development Goals with human rights—will soon translate into action. The approaches discussed here provide a valuable framework for implementing these recommendations.

I would like to echo His Excellency Human Rights Council President, in recognizing the important role that the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) plays as an effective platform for organizing resources in a country as well as fostering collaboration among states, non-governmental actors, and the UN system. With the Maldives scheduled for UPR as well as three treaty body reviews next year, I encourage comprehensive engagement on the part of the government with all relevant stakeholders to ensure effective reporting on as well as implementation of the recommendations from these human rights mechanisms. We at the UN Maldives remain committed to supporting the government in these efforts.

Last but certainly not the least, I recognize the remarkable efforts of Trust Fund beneficiaries, who have been working with their governments to advance human rights at home. Your dedication reflects the core purpose of this initiative. 

Thank you.