Statement delivered by Her Excellency, Ambassador Vasilika Hysi, the Permanent, Mission of Albania during the Organizational meeting for the 61st session of the Human Rights Council

Mr. President,

Albania would like to thank you, ambassador Lauber for your leadership and hard work in guiding the Human Rights Council, especially during this difficult period of financial challenges. Your efforts to keep the Council functioning efficiently have been very important and greatly appreciated.

We welcome the steps the secretariat, the bureau and you have initiated to make the Council’s work more effective, such as reducing costs, improving the use of digital tools, and ensuring that all countries and civil society can participate. We commend the work done by the secretariat and the co-facilitators. These measures have helped the Council continues its work despite the financial crisis.

Mr. President,

We would like to express our concerns regarding the proposed reduction in the budget allocated to human rights issues, particularly with respect to OHCHR and HRC.  Albania remains firmly committed to protect the core values of HRC and to support the OHCHR.

Albania has made a financial contribution to the United Nations Trust Fund to Support the Activities of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights as well as to the United Nations Voluntary Funds for Participation in the Universal Periodical Review.

In addition, Albania strongly supports all initiatives that aim to make the Council more efficient and effective.

In this regard, we fully support the Presidential Statement on efficiency and addressing financial and time constraints and its implementation in the work of the Human Rights Council. We believe that the measures outlined in the declaration—such as rationalization of initiatives, improved digital tools, and cost-saving modalities—are crucial for the Council to deliver on its mandate in a sustainable way.

Albania reaffirms its commitment to fulfilling its priorities as a member of the Human Rights Council, including promoting efficiency, inclusivity, and constructive dialogue. We are ready to work in the future with all delegations and new members of the Bureau to achieve these goals and ensure that the Human Rights Council continues to fulfill its important mandate.

Thank you, Mr. President.