Human Rights Council Concludes General Debate on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights Format The Human Rights Council this morning concluded its general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development. Speakers emphasised that human rights defenders were at the forefront of protecting human rights; violence against them was a warning sign of broader human rights violations to come. All human rights defenders who were arbitrarily detained must be released and their work must be protected. Women and girls disproportionately suffered from gender-based violence and men disproportionately committed it. Orphaned children were some of the most vulnerable in all societies, which needed to protect them - their spirit was inspiring. Some speakers stated that it was outrageous that the Human Rights Council supported abortion. Children in conflict were in need of prioritized care, and realistic initiatives from States to support civil society’s efforts in this regard were essential. The rights of non-religious individuals were under assault during the pandemic, as religious leaders all over the world used inflammatory rhetoric to lay the blame for the pandemic on “sinners” and non-religious people. Noting that the world faced three global environmental crises – the pollution crisis, the biodiversity crisis and the global warming crisis, speakers urged the Council to recognize the right of all to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment. On transnational corporations, there was a need to ensure that prevention was not limited to due diligence and for legal liability to be determined independently from due diligence.