mr president i welcome the fact that the european parliament is going to adopt a resolution on the upcoming session of the human rights council
i also welcome the fact that the european parliament will be sending a delegation to the human rights council since our recommendations to the eu council are usually tabled on how to improve the work of the human rights council and strengthen the role of the european union in it
this thirteenth session is the most important one to take place in twenty ten and it will include high-level meetings and discussions with government ministers on a number of important issues already mentioned by the commissioner and the minister such as for example the impact of the global financial crisis on the human rights situation worldwide
we welcome the fact that our american partners are heavily engaged in the work of the human rights council
however we should note with concern that some countries are trying to hijack the whole process and undermine the credibility of the human rights council
iran has signalled that it might run in the elections for a place on the council
it would be highly regrettable if iran was elected as this would in fact increase the number of countries with problematic human rights records on the council
the human rights council would then risk becoming as defunct and inefficient as its predecessor the commission on human rights
in other words the credibility of the human rights council as such is at stake and we should therefore do everything we can to maintain the human rights council's authority
