Mr. President,

The Kingdom of the Netherlands aligns itself to the EU statement and wishes to thank the High Commissioner for his update which is balanced, thorough, insightful.

Regarding the situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories, we are gravely concerned and we refer to our statement during the Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner last week, Thursday 29th of February.  

Mr. President, I would like to specifically raise four points.

The HC referred to the fact that more than half the world’s population will get to vote. We call upon all respective states to ensure freedom of expression and assembly and effectively protect civic space and civil society before, during and after elections

South Sudan is scheduled to hold its first elections ever this year. We urge the Government to take, without delay, all necessary steps to enable free, fair and credible elections, and to create a viable political and civic space, so that all can freely express views without threat or hindrance.

On Venezuela, the Kingdom of the Netherlands stresses the importance of a solution for the ongoing concerning situation regarding democracy and human rights. We remain supportive to the Venezuelan-led negotiations and its clear terms and guidelines as stated in the MoU signed in Mexico. We call for the implementation of the Barbados Agreement towards democratic presidential elections in the second half of this year.

Finally, Mr. President, we have deep concerns about the persistent persecution of dissenting voices and the deterioration of the human rights situation in Nicaragua. We urge the authorities to free persons arbitrarily detained and to ensure full adherence to national and international commitments on human rights.

Thank you.