The European Union and Mexico held the 8th session of the High Level Dialogue on Human Rights on 25 and 26 October 2018 in Brussels. The meeting was co-chaired by the EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis on the EU side, and on behalf of Mexico, by the Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Miguel Ruiz Cabañas.

While taking stock of existing challenges, both sides agreed on the importance of continuing their close cooperation on the promotion and protection of human rights in the EU and Mexico, as well as at multilateraland global level. The dialogue covered a wide range of issues such as the rule of law, including torture and disappearances, fight against impunity, use of force, the situation of human rights defenders and journalists, as well as the protection of migrants' rights, xenophobiaand violence against women.

On the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and 20th anniversary of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, the EU and Mexico paid tribute to all individuals and societalgroups who promote and strive for the protection and realisation of human rights at national and international level. They also recognised the fundamental contribution of journalists to the exercise of freedom of expression and their role in holding democratic governments accountable.

The EU and Mexico strongly condemned all acts of aggression against human rights defenders and journalists. Both sides underlined their firm commitment to address the threats they face and to ensure they can fulfil their work with full independence. In this context, the EU and Mexico agreed on the importance ofensuring that mechanisms to protect human rights defenders, journalists and other vulnerable persons are fully resourced, effective and reliable.

Both sides exchanged information on efforts being undertaken to protect and promote human rights in the EU and Mexico and reviewed the status of bilateral cooperation projects. In this context, they welcomed the participation of Mexico in the EU-UN Spotlight Initiativeto eliminate violence against women and girls and look forward to the launch of a joint project to support the implementation of the 'Istanbul Protocol' (Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment) in Mexico, as agreed at previous sessions of the Dialogue.

The EU and Mexico reaffirmed their commitment to multilateralism and the rules-based international order and exchanged views on ways to strengthen multilateral human rights institutions such as the Human Rights Council in order to advance the global human rights agenda more effectively. Discussions included a review of recent developments and cooperation on upcominginitiatives at multilateral fora and also addressed the issues of death penalty and migration. Both sides arecommitted to the success of the 7th World Congress against the Death Penalty taking place in Brussels on 27 February 2019. They will continue to work to improve migration management worldwide on the basis of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and RegularMigration.

The Dialogue also provided an opportunity for the EU and Mexico to consider input from the 6th Civil Society Seminar held on 25 October in Brussels, which was presented at the Dialogue in a set of specific recommendations. The seminar allowed for aninteractive exchange of views and experiences from the EU and Mexico, with a particular focus on the protection of human rights defenders and journalists.

The EU and Mexico agreed to take all necessary measures in order to ensure follow-up of the discussion and implementation of agreed decisions. The 8th session of the Dialogue reconfirmed the strength of the partnership between the EU and Mexico based on shared values and a continuous solid commitment towards human rights.