March 28, 2015 – Ottawa, Ontario – Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
The Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., M.P. for Niagara Falls, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
“Canada looks to the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the UN to be a strong and impartial proponent for improved human rights globally.
“It is therefore with profound disappointment that Canada notes, at the just-concluded 28th session of the HRC, that Council time was again taken up on resolutions specifically and unfairly targeting the State of Israel. Israel is a strong liberal democracy with which Canada stands shoulder to shoulder. Our shared respect for freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law is the basis of our close relationship.
“At a time when the world is confronted by so many egregious instances of human rights violations, Canada urges HRC voting members to focus resources and Council time on those country situations which truly warrant international scrutiny and deliberation.”