Geneva, 20 September 2021
Thank you, Madam President.
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the Nordic-Baltic States.
We thank the Working Group for presenting the report on its activities in 2020 and commend it for continuing its work under the difficult circumstances of the pandemic.
The Nordic-Baltic countries continue to be alarmed by the high level of human rights defenders arbitrarily deprived of their liberty across the world, and we all endorse the Declaration Against Arbitrary Detention in State-to-State relations. The situation is even more dire for women human rights defenders and those protecting the rights of children with disabilities, persons living with communicable diseases and LGBTI persons. We concur with the Working Group’s recommendation in this regard and call on all States to ensure that human rights defenders are not deprived of their liberty as a result of their activities.
The Nordic-Baltic countries welcome the latest Working Group’s deliberation on women deprived of their liberty.
Dr Šteinerte, what can we do to decrease the implementation gap between international norms, such as the Bangkok Rules, and the experiences of women deprived of liberty; and how can the engagement of arbitrarily detained women with the UN mechanisms, including the Working Group, be improved?
Thank you.