Mr. Chairman,

On behalf of the Like Minded Group of States, I would like to make some initial comments on the reform of the UN human rights machinery, which is an issue of common interest to us all.

The LMG welcomes the efforts of various sides to promote changes to the UN human rights machinery and, in this context, LMG takes note of the proposals on human rights as contained in the report submitted by the Secretary General entitled In Larger Freedom: towards Development, Security and Human Rights for All, as well as his statement made last week at the current session of the Commission. We are fully aware that all the proposals contained in the report are under heated and thorough discussions in New York at the moment. However, based here in Geneva, we are duty-bound to make our contribution on those elements concerning human rights.

As the central UN organ on human rights, the Commission has in its history contributed in a positive way to the promotion and protection of human rights worldwide, including the drafting of a series of international human rights legal instruments, the establishment and development of the concept of right to development and the eradication of apartheid in South Africa. At the same time, it has been plagued with, in the words of the Secretary General, "declining credibility and professionalism".  LMG tends to go along with the Secretary General as he said the other day that "Change is needed if the United Nations is to sustain long-term, high-level engagement on human rights issues". With regard to change and reform, the LMG would like to say the following:

Firstly, the key to such reform is to change the current practice of politicizing the human rights issues, as manifested by selective naming and shaming in this august chamber and the increasing number of the controversial country specific resolutions. And the way out is to reduce confrontation and promote cooperation, and come back to the principle as enshrined in the UN Charter, namely "to achieve international co-operation in promoting and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all". Otherwise, a mere change of title might not work, just like "old wine in a new bottle".

Secondly, LMG has noted the proposal to create a small-scaled human rights council to replace the present Commission. This is a new proposal presented by the Secretary General. It does not stem from consultations among member states at the Commission on Human Rights, the ECOSOC and the General Assembly. Such a proposal requires thorough understanding and full discussion by the UN member states before it can be considered seriously. This is particularly so, because the proposal would create a new body within the UN system and scrap the existing mechanisms, which despite their weakness have played a useful role in the promotion and protection of human rights. Whether or not the replacement will overcome the serious "credibility deficit" characterizing the international human rights work is a topic that needs further earnest exploration.

Thirdly, the reform of UN should be a system wide undertaking. For developing countries which accounts for majority of member states, issues such as economic development and poverty alleviation are equally, if not more important. And those issues deserve equal treatment when it comes to UN restructuring. LMG urges that equal attention should be given to strengthening UN mechanisms that deal with economic and social issues.

Last but not least, as this morning's discussion is an informal one, any concrete steps call for further and substantive discussions.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.