A/HRC/23/29 F. Director of the Colombian Commission of Jurists and participant in the World Conference 37. The Director of the Colombian Commission of Jurists, Mr. Gustavo Gallon, highlighted the achievements of the Vienna Conference, such as the recognition of the universal nature of all human rights, including civil, political, economic, social, cultural, and now environmental rights, and the right to development. He stated that lack of development was not a justification to curtail human rights and that States had a duty to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Mr Gallon also cited the achievements of the Conference with regard to those vulnerable segments of the population, such as indigenous peoples, women, children and persons with disabilities. In terms of armed conflict, the Vienna Conference called for a global and coordinated approach, and appealed to those States which had not to ratify the Geneva Conventions and their Optional Protocols. He added that the Conference also signalled the need to strengthen the advisory and technical cooperation services for greater cooperation and called for the periodic assessment of projects and yearly open-ended information sessions. Mr. Gallon highlighted the fact that the Conference supported the creation of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to put the human rights architecture and framework into practice. He outlined the substantial normative and institutional progress made in Vienna, whilst recognizing the need to continue fine-tuning the universal system for the promotion and protection of human rights. 38. Mr. Gallon stated that those achievements would not have been possible without the firm and unwavering participation of civil society, which was present in Vienna with some 4,000 representatives from some 1,400 organizations. 39. Mr. Gallon outlined five areas in which progress was needed as a matter of urgency. First, effective action mechanisms at the international community level were necessary to prevent grave violations being perpetrated, such as the violations which took place in the former Yugoslavia at the same time as the Vienna Conference. Second, there was a need to ensure the promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural and environmental rights. Third, there was a need to increase the human rights budget of the United Nations, and such an appeal had already been made at Vienna. Fourth, there was a need to set up an international human rights court or tribunal to overcome deficiencies in national human rights protection systems. And fifth, there was a need to overcome the conflict between security policies and human rights. Mr. Gallon concluded that there was merit in organizing a third human rights world conference in five years time, to match the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna Conference and building on the legacy of the Tehran Conference, held 45 years ago. IV. Summary of the discussion 40. Those participating in the discussion represented the following States members of the Council and observer States: Bahrain (on behalf of the Arab Group), Chile (on behalf of Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)), China (on behalf of a group of likeminded countries), Gabon (on behalf of the African Group), the Islamic Republic of Iran (on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement), Morocco (on behalf of the Group of Francophone States), Mozambique, Pakistan (on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation), Slovenia (on behalf of the Platform for Human Rights Education and Training, a group of seven States), the United States of America, and Uzbekistan, as well as the NGO the European Disability Forum. 41. The panellists were not provided with an opportunity to respond to the questions raised by the participants due to lack of time. The following States members of the Council and observer States did not have the opportunity to speak: Algeria, Andorra, Argentina, 10