A/HRC/16/2 Part Two Summary of proceedings I. Organizational and procedural matters A. Opening and duration of the session 1. The Human Rights Council held its sixteenth session at the United Nations Office at Geneva from 28 February to 25 March 2011. The President of the Council opened the session. 2. At the 1st meeting, on 28 February 2011, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the President of the General Assembly and Micheline Calmy-Rey, President of Switzerland, addressed the plenary. 3. At the 16th meeting, on 8 March 2011, the High Commissioner made a statement for the International Women’s Day. 4. At the 44th meeting, on 23 March 2011, Idriss Jazairy, Coordinator with the Human Rights Council review process in New York, provided a briefing on his joint mission with the Council President to New York to participate in the informal plenary meeting of the General Assembly on the review of the Council. 5. In accordance with rule 8 (b) of the rules of procedure of the Council, as contained in part VII of the annex to Council resolution 5/1, the organizational meeting on the sixteenth session was held on 14 February 2011. 6. The sixteenth session consisted of 48 meetings over 20 days (see paragraph 37 below). B. Attendance 7. The session was attended by representatives of States Members of the Human Rights Council, observer States of the Council, observers for non-member States of the United Nations and other observers, as well as observers for United Nations entities, specialized agencies and related organizations, intergovernmental organizations and other entities, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations (see annex I). C. High-level segment 8. At its 1st to 6th meetings, from 28 February to 2 March 2011, the Human Rights Council held a high-level segment, at which 80 dignitaries addressed the plenary, including 1 president, 1 vice-president, 7 vice-prime ministers, 43 ministers, 22 vice-ministers and 6 representatives of observer organizations. 9. The following dignitaries addressed the Council during the high-level segment, in the order that they spoke: (a) At the 1st meeting, on 28 February 2011: the Vice-President of Colombia, Angelino Garzon; the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, Kevin Rudd; the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Sergey Lavrov; the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Maldives, Ahmed Naseem; the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, Trinidad Jiménez Garcia-Herrera; the Secretary (Minister) for 106 GE.11-17059