40/3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

GE.19-00833(E)



Human Rights Council Fortieth session

25 February–22 March 2019 Agenda item 2

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the

High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights*

* Agreement was reached to publish the present report after the standard publication date owing to circumstances beyond the submitter’s control.

United Nations A/HRC/40/3

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 48/141 and

highlights activities undertaken by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights (OHCHR) between 1 December 2017 and 30 November 2018 in support of

international human rights mechanisms and in the areas of development, peace and security,

non-discrimination, accountability and participation.

2. As of 30 November 2018, OHCHR had 71 presences worldwide. In 2018, the

previous High Commissioner visited Ethiopia, Fiji, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The

Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights visited Afghanistan, Bangladesh,

Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Yemen.

3. The year 2018 marked the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. OHCHR implemented a year-long campaign to promote the principles of

the Declaration, engaging a wide range of audiences across the world and reflecting on

human rights progress to date.

II. Activities of the Office of the High Commissioner

A. International human rights mechanisms

1. Treaty bodies

4. OHCHR continued to facilitate the work of the human rights treaty bodies. It

supported the reviews of 141 State party reports; the adoption of views and decisions on

232 individual communications; visits to 7 State parties by the Subcommittee on Prevention

of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the

elaboration of 3 general comments; and the initiation of 3 confidential inquiries. The Office

registered 274 complaints by individuals alleging violations of their human rights, but

inadequate resources prevented timely action.

5. The second biennial report of the Secretary-General on the status of the human

rights treaty body system (A/73/309) confirmed the pressing need for additional resources

to ensure its effective functioning. The 2020 review will be a crucial opportunity for

addressing the situation.

2. Human Rights Council

6. OHCHR continued to support the efforts of the Human Rights Council, which held a

total of 140 meetings on a broad array of chronic and emerging human rights issues, and to

respond to human rights crises.

7. OHCHR also continued to support the commissions of inquiry on Burundi and the

Syrian Arab Republic; the group of eminent international and regional experts on Yemen;

the commission on human rights in South Sudan; the team of independent experts on the

Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo; and the fact-finding mission on Myanmar.

It also supported the commission of inquiry established in June 2018 to investigate all

violations of international humanitarian law and human rights law in the occupied

Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, particularly in the occupied Gaza Strip.

Pursuant to resolution 39/2 of the Human Rights Council, OHCHR prepared, in

collaboration with the Office of Legal Affairs, for the establishment of the independent

mechanism for Myanmar.

8. OHCHR also supported the endeavours of the Human Rights Council Bureau to

increase the efficiency of the Council and therefore its ability to manage the exponential

growth in its work.

9. The increasing support of States for the Voluntary Technical Assistance Trust Fund

to Support the Participation of Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing

States in the work of the Human Rights Council, administered by OHCHR, enabled 25

delegates, including those from six small island developing States without permanent

representation in Geneva, to attend Council sessions. OHCHR supported a workshop for

the Caribbean region, at which the Georgetown Declaration Towards 2022 was adopted,

which seeks to facilitate the engagement of the least developed countries and small island

developing States with the Human Rights Council and its mechanisms.

3. Universal periodic review

10. With the support of OHCHR, the universal periodic review continued to see 100 per

cent participation by States under review during the ongoing third cycle. The Voluntary

Trust Fund for participation in the universal periodic review, administered by OHCHR,

benefited 22 of the 42 Member States reviewed during the reporting period. To facilitate

follow-up to recommendations, upon completion of reviews the High Commissioner

continued to address letters to Ministers of Foreign Affairs offering support.

4. Special procedures

11. OHCHR continued to support the work of 44 thematic and 12 country-specific

special procedures mandates. It also assisted the Coordination Committee of Special

Procedures and ensured the increased visibility and efficiency of the overall system. The

report on the annual meeting of the special procedures contains an overview of the

activities of mandate holders in 2018 (A/HRC/40/38 and Add.1).

5. Follow-up to the work of human rights mechanisms

12. OHCHR intensified its support for the comprehensive implementation of

recommendations issued by United Nations human rights mechanisms, which provide

opportunities for United Nations system-wide engagement at the national level.

13. Through the Voluntary Fund for financial and technical assistance for the

implementation of the universal periodic review that it administers, OHCHR continued to

respond to requests for assistance from Member States. In 2018, it initiated regional

workshops involving a wide range of actors to share good practices on the universal

periodic review, including on follow-up to recommendations.

14. OHCHR presences throughout the world continued to support Governments and

other actors in submitting reports for the universal period review. They assisted States in

establishing or strengthening national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up, and in

developing tools to track the implementation of recommendations, sometimes in

combination with the Sustainable Development Goals, including in Antigua and Barbuda,

Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, Chile, Colombia,

Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Kenya,

Kuwait, Lebanon, Namibia, Panama, Peru, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts

and Nevis, St. Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, the United Republic of

Tanzania and Uruguay. In Haiti, Nauru, the Republic of Moldova, Samoa and Uganda

OHCHR additionally assisted in the elaboration or revision of national human rights action

plans.

15. Through the treaty body capacity-building programme, OHCHR provided national

and regional training courses, building the capacities of officials from more than 50 States.

It produced guidance and training materials and continued upgrading the Universal Human

Rights Index.

6. Humanitarian funds

16. The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery and

the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture, both administered by OHCHR,

awarded grants to support redress and rehabilitation for about 10,000 victims of

contemporary forms of slavery in 32 States and for about 40,000 victims of torture in 78

States. The Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture also issued emergency grants to respond

to cases occurring in human rights and humanitarian crises. The Special Fund established

by the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or

Degrading Treatment or Punishment supported 13 prevention projects in 12 States parties.

B. Development

1. Sustainable Development Goals

17. OHCHR increased its engagement in advancing sustainable development through

the promotion and protection of human rights. It supported regional events with Resident

Coordinators and other senior United Nations officials in Chile, Ethiopia and Senegal to

foster linkages between the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the

recommendations of international human rights mechanisms. It also produced analyses on

the links between economic, social and cultural rights and the Sustainable Development

Goals.1

18. At the country level, OHCHR provided technical assistance to and participated in

inter-agency engagements, including support to States through mainstreaming, acceleration

and policy support initiatives, and in capacity-building for United Nations country teams,

including in El Salvador, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan and

Zimbabwe. It strengthened the collaboration between statistical offices and human rights

institutions on indicators and a human rights-based approach to data, including in Guinea-

Bissau, Kenya, Pakistan, Tunisia, Uganda and the State of Palestine.2

19. OHCHR supported Member States and civil society in the context of the 2018 High-

Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It organized expert meetings and side

events, including on the enjoyment of human rights by all women and girls and the

systematic mainstreaming of a gender perspective into the implementation of the 2030

Agenda for Sustainable Development.

2. Right to development

20. OHCHR completed studies on the international dimensions of the right to

development, illicit financial flows, international investment agreements and

industrialization, and climate finance to support the Working Group on the Right to

Development. It also supported the work of the Special Rapporteur on the right to

development. With academic institutions, OHCHR provided an e-learning module on

operationalizing the right to development in implementing the Sustainable Development

Goals to over 100 participants from over 60 countries.

3. International financial institutions

21. OHCHR continued its engagement with development and financing institutions to

promote the integration of human rights into their policies and accountability mechanisms.

It also contributed to initiatives to develop policies governing responses to intimidation and

reprisals against environmental and human rights defenders.

4. Economic, social and cultural rights

22. OHCHR strengthened its work and partnerships to promote and protect economic

and social rights, including the rights to education, food, health, housing, water and

sanitation, work and land rights. It raised the visibility of those rights through collaboration

with United Nations agencies in the context of the UDHR70 campaign. In the framework of

UN-Water, it led inter-agency advocacy efforts on the human rights to water and sanitation

for World Water Day in 2019.

23. OHCHR engaged on addressing forced evictions, including those related to land and

natural resources, often affecting indigenous communities. It engaged in advocacy and

provided advice on legislative and policy changes, mediation and/or capacity-building

support for civil society and affected communities, including in Cambodia, Colombia, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fiji, Guatemala and Thailand.

1 See A/HRC/37/30, A/HRC/37/32, A/HRC/38/37 and E/2018/57.

2 See “A human rights-based approach to data: leaving no one behind in the 2030 Agenda for

Sustainable Development”, available from www.ohchr.org/HRBAD.

24. OHCHR expanded its work on integrating economic, social and cultural rights into

early warning and conflict prevention frameworks, based on the analytical framework

developed in 2016 (E/2016/58).

25. OHCHR expanded its collaboration with regional and local authorities on a human

rights-based implementation of the New Urban Agenda and the relevant Sustainable

Development Goals. It continued to promote the “Shift” initiative of the Special Rapporteur

on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on

the right to non-discrimination in this context, which is aimed at changing the perception of

housing from a commodity to a human right.

26. OHCHR contributed to the work of the Committee on World Food Security in

taking stock of the use and application of the Voluntary Guidelines to Support the

Progressive Realization of the Right to Adequate Food in the Context of National Food

Security. It supported the Special Rapporteur on the right to food, including on improving

the human rights situation of agricultural workers. It also supported the open-ended

intergovernmental working group on the rights of peasants and other people working in

rural areas, which completed its mandate by adopting a United Nations declaration.

27. Together with the World Health Organization (WHO), OHCHR developed a

framework of cooperation and a workplan to implement the recommendations of the High-

level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and

Adolescents. It contributed to inter-agency initiatives, such as the United Nations Common

Position on ending HIV, tuberculosis and viral hepatitis through intersectoral collaboration

and also organized a consultation on human rights and mental health (see A/HRC/39/36).

5. Business and human rights

28. OHCHR assisted the open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational

corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights, which embarked

on negotiation of a legally binding instrument and optional protocol. It organized the annual

forum on business and human rights, addressing the emerging practice and enabling factors

for corporate human rights due diligence. More than 2,700 representatives, including some

from the private sector, participated in over 70 panels and round-table discussions. OHCHR

organized a multi-stakeholder consultation on corporate human rights due diligence in

practice and several regional consultations on the gender lens to the Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights.

29. OHCHR provided technical support for the implementation of the Guiding

Principles on Business and Human Rights, notably for the development of national action

plans for business and human rights, including in countries in central Africa and in

Colombia, Honduras, Kenya, Thailand and Uganda. Particular attention was paid to

consultations with and the protection of indigenous communities affected by business

practices and infrastructure projects.

30. In several countries, including Senegal and Uganda, OHCHR helped to develop the

capacity of national human rights institutions, of civil society organizations and of

communities to monitor and report on the impact of business, notably mining companies,

on human rights (in Cameroon and Guinea). It supported the establishment of an economic,

social, and cultural rights observatory in Madagascar and a national observatory for the

respect of human rights in the extractive sector in Senegal.

31. OHCHR launched the third part of the accountability and remedy project, which

focuses on enhancing the effectiveness of non-State-based grievance mechanisms for

access to remedy in cases of business-related human rights abuse. It pursued its engagement

to ensure responsible business involvement and respect for human rights in the context of

mega sporting events, supporting the creation of an independent centre for sport and human

rights. It worked to clarify the human rights responsibilities of companies in the finance and

technology sectors and to strengthen corporate reporting in line with the Guiding Principles

on Business and Human Rights.

C. Peace and security

1. Support to peace missions

32. OHCHR continued its strategic and operational support to human rights components

of United Nations peace operations and its engagement with the Security Council.

33. OHCHR participated in strategic assessments of peace operations in Mali and the

Central African Republic and in transition planning in Darfur in the Sudan. It contributed to

the development and review of policies on the protection of civilians, conflict-related

sexual violence and child protection, and conducted training of uniformed peacekeeping

personnel and senior leaders of peace operations.

2. Human rights due diligence and compliance frameworks

34. OHCHR co-led the global review of implementation of the human rights due

diligence policy and provided technical and operational expertise for the implementation of

the policy in the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-

Bissau, Haiti, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Somalia, South Sudan and Uganda.

35. OHCHR worked on the human rights compliance of non-United Nations

international military operations authorized or mandated by the Security Council. It

engaged with the Joint Force of the Group of Five for the Sahel and its member States for

the establishment and operationalization of a human rights and international humanitarian

law compliance framework. 3 It continued working with the African Union towards

strengthening the human rights, international humanitarian law and conduct and discipline

compliance framework for their peace support operations.

3. Prevention, early warning and emergency response

36. OHCHR supported the efforts of the Secretary-General to prioritize prevention and

continued to implement the Human Rights Up Front initiative.

37. As part of its enhanced focus on preventing violations and strengthening protection

of human rights, OHCHR continued to refine methodologies and reinforced its information

management and early warning capacity. It developed a field-oriented information

management strategy to respond to the needs of an increasingly data-driven environment

and established emergency response teams in the regional offices for Southern Africa and

South-East Asia. It also embarked on a project with the World Bank to strengthen the

continental early warning system of the African Union.

38. Early warning tools developed by some human rights components of peace missions

contributed to strengthening the protection of civilians in countries such as Mali and South

Sudan. In the Central African Republic, OHCHR supported the adoption of a national

action plan on the prevention of public incitement to violence and hate speech and the

related national campaign.

39. OHCHR engaged in conflict prevention or resolution, for example between

internally displaced persons or refugees and host communities in the south of Mauritania

and in Nigeria, where it engaged with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner

for Refugees in alternative dispute resolution measures on land and property issues

emanating from the Boko Haram insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

40. OHCHR dispatched teams to several countries to respond to crises and other

emerging situations (Ecuador and Nicaragua), including as part of United Nations missions

in Comoros and Togo. It remotely monitored the situation in the Bolivarian Republic of

Venezuela and conducted missions to Cox’s Bazar in Bangladesh, in relation to the

situation of the Rohingya population of Myanmar and to the integration of human rights in

humanitarian assistance. It also supported the response of the humanitarian country team in

Ethiopia and enhanced its advice to the authorities.

3 Security Council resolution 2391 (2017) provides for this compliance framework.

4. Sexual and gender-based violence, trafficking and related exploitation

41. OHCHR organized a workshop on the protection of victims of sexual violence;

promoted coordination among United Nations entities on critical country issues and

enhanced capacities for monitoring, analysis, and reporting arrangements on conflict-

related sexual violence. It monitored, analysed and reported on sexual and gender-based

violence in a number of places, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya,

South Sudan, Ukraine, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Indian-Administered

Kashmir and Pakistan-Administered Kashmir.

42. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, OHCHR contributed to the

implementation of the action plan against sexual violence of the national armed forces and

the development of the national plan of action against sexual violence of the National

Police. It supported the implementation by the South Sudan People’s Defence Force of an

action plan to address and monitor conflict-related sexual violence.

43. In Guatemala and Uganda, OHCHR supported the filing of strategic litigation cases

for reparations on behalf of women who survived sexual violence committed during the

conflicts. In Kenya, with the national human rights institution it convened consultations

with the Government and civil society on strategies for an effective response to the

widespread sexual violence that took place during the 2017 elections, leading to a plan of

action for prevention, coordination of data collection, monitoring, protection, prosecution

and redress.

44. Promoting the implementation of the Latin American Protocol for the investigation

of the gender-related killings of women (femicide), OHCHR launched an online course to

strengthen the investigation capacities of public officials in Costa Rica, El Salvador,

Guatemala, Honduras and Panama. In Argentina, it supported the elaboration of a protocol

for the investigation of femicide cases.

45. In Colombia, OHCHR developed a tool to map gender-based violence against

women in high-risk areas to guide authorities and civil society in their prevention efforts. In

Jamaica, it supported the development of a national strategic action plan on ending gender-

based violence.

46. OHCHR and the International Civil Aviation Organization organized a human

trafficking forum and launched guidelines to train cabin crews in identifying and reporting

trafficked individuals. It also supported the work of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in

persons, especially women and children (A/73/171 and A/HRC/38/45).

5. Humanitarian action

47. OHCHR remained actively engaged in United Nations efforts to ensure respect for

international human rights and humanitarian law in crises. It continued to integrate human

rights into the overall efforts of protection clusters, humanitarian country teams and

humanitarian coordinators, including in relation to the crisis in the Syrian Arab Republic. It

continued to lead the protection cluster in the State of Palestine and participated in the work

of protection clusters or working groups in countries including Bangladesh, Ethiopia,

Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Mexico, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea,

Somalia, Timor-Leste, Ukraine and Yemen, as well as in the Pacific and Southern Africa.

48. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, OHCHR provided technical support in the

context of the Ebola virus outbreak, and developed a “rights watch strategy” involving

human rights monitoring and reporting, and advocacy with the relevant authorities and

humanitarians in affected provinces. It deployed monitors in north-eastern Nigeria to assess

the human rights impact of the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency and support the

humanitarian response. In Guatemala, it provided advice in the context of the humanitarian

response following the volcanic eruption. It also provided support to the Caribbean Disaster

Emergency Management Agency.

D. Non-discrimination

1. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance

49. OHCHR continued to work on the implementation of the Durban Declaration and

Programme of Action. It supported the launch of the International Decade for People of

African Descent in Canada and also on the African continent during the first African

Union-United Nations high-level dialogue on human rights. The fellowship programme for

people of African descent administered by OHCHR sponsored and empowered activists

from 13 countries.

50. OHCHR contributed to the guide on preventing unlawful profiling produced by the

European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights. 4 Together with the Economic

Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, it finalized a tool to facilitate

measurement of the racial equality of populations of African descent.

51. In Kyrgyzstan, South Africa and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,

OHCHR provided advice on harmonizing anti-discrimination legislation and action plans

with international human rights standards. In Tunisia, it advised on the drafting of the law

against racial discrimination. It also contributed to a training manual on combating

incitement to racial and religious hatred for judicial training institutions in the Middle East

and North Africa.

2. Migrants

52. OHCHR continued to focus on the human rights of people on the move and

countering xenophobia. In the context of negotiations on the Global Compact for Safe,

Orderly and Regular Migration, it convened strategic stakeholder discussions and provided

expert advice to States on the Compact and on the establishment of a new United Nations

migration network. It also co-drafted the Principles and Guidelines, Supported by Practical

Guidance, on the Human Rights Protection of Migrants in Vulnerable Situations 5 and

convened an expert meeting on human rights violations related to the return of migrants.

53. With the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, OHCHR developed a training

course for border officials and supported pilot training courses at the regional level (for

example in the Middle East and North Africa) based on the Recommended Principles and

Guidelines on Human Rights at International Borders. It conducted missions to Austria,

Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and the Niger to monitor the human rights of migrants, and

engaged with the Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants

from Venezuela. It pursued its advocacy with the authorities in Australia and Papua New

Guinea to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees on Manus Island.

54. As part of the Stand Up for Migrants campaign, OHCHR launched videos featuring

conversations with migrants and their communities. It assisted the Special Rapporteur on

contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences, who assessed the

impact of slavery and servitude on marginalized migrant women workers in the global

domestic economy (A/HRC/39/52).

55. OHCHR prepared reports on climate change and human rights protection for cross-

border migrants (A/HRC/38/21 and A/HRC/37/35), which contributed to the adoption by

the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with Climate

Change Impacts of recommendations that explicitly reference a rights-based approach to

climate-related migration.

3. Discrimination on the basis of indigenous or minority status

56. OHCHR facilitated the inclusion of indigenous peoples in decision-making at the

national and international levels. It provided support to Governments and minority

4 Preventing Unlawful Profiling Today and in the Future: a Guide (Luxembourg, Publications Office

of the European Union, 2018).

5 Available at www.ohchr.org/Documents/Issues/Migration/PrinciplesAndGuidelines.pdf.

representatives for strengthening legislation on minority rights and addressing key concerns

ranging from the protection of religious minorities to advancing the rights of Roma. It

contributed to a specialized training course, held in Vienna, on protecting national

minorities in the area covered by of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in

Europe. A mission to France sought to strengthen the actions of the Government to promote

and protect the right to housing and related rights for Roma.

4. Gender equality and women’s rights

57. OHCHR organized panel discussions on access to and participation in information

and communication technologies, violence against women human rights defenders and

women’s organizations in digital spaces, and gender integration in human rights

investigations. It issued two reports on the implementation of the technical guidance on the

application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and

programmes to reduce and eliminate preventable mortality and morbidity (A/HRC/39/26

and A/73/257).

58. OHCHR supported the Equal Opportunities Commission of Uganda in

mainstreaming gender issues in the programming and budgeting of local government. In El

Salvador, it provided technical support to the authorities for the establishment of a

committee of experts to review the cases of women accused and/or convicted of homicide

charges following miscarriages and other obstetric emergencies.

59. OHCHR organized two workshops relating to gender, human rights and migration as

well as gender-based violence and human rights for West African countries. With the

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and WHO, it organized an expert meeting in

Bangkok on surrogacy and human rights and conducted a regional workshop for women

human rights defenders with UNFPA in Pretoria on engaging international and regional

human rights mechanisms to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights. It

supported two meetings of the Central American network of women’s non-governmental

organizations working on sexual and reproductive health rights.

60. Further to the 2017 report “Women’s rights in Africa”, OHCHR, with the African

Commission, contributed to a project on ratification, domestication and implementation of

the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women

in Africa.

61. OHCHR continued to support the Working Group on the issue of discrimination

against women in law and in practice in setting progressive standards and, with the Special

Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, in strengthening protection networks

for women human rights defenders.

5. Persons with disabilities

62. OHCHR contributed to the development of an action plan and accountability

framework to strengthen accessibility and mainstreaming of the rights of persons with

disabilities across the United Nations system. It continued to support the implementation of

the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the adoption of legislation on

the rights of persons with disabilities in a number of countries, including Burundi, Guinea,

Papua New Guinea, Peru, Suriname and Uganda. In the former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, OHCHR advised on the elaboration of a national strategy on the

deinstitutionalization of persons with disabilities.

63. In Timor-Leste, OHCHR, together with United Nations agencies in the framework

of the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, embarked on a

joint project to reduce violence and discrimination against women and girls with disabilities.

It co-organized events in the occupied Palestinian territory on the protection of persons with

disabilities in conflict and on mainstreaming disability in the humanitarian response.

6. Sexual orientation and gender identity

64. OHCHR worked to raise awareness of the human rights concerns of lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. It led the United Nations Free and Equal public

information campaign; raised awareness for the global equality standards of lesbian, gay,

bisexual, transgender and intersex persons for the business community, which were

launched in 2017 and supported by over 200 of the world’s largest companies; and

supported the second joint dialogue between African and Inter-American regional human

rights mechanisms and United Nations human rights experts on strategic approaches to

addressing violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and

intersex persons. It also supported the work of the Independent Expert on protection against

violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

7. Older persons

65. OHCHR assisted the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing and supported the

Independent Expert on the enjoyment of all human rights by older persons. It organized a

seminar on the obligations of States under international human rights law with regard to the

protection of the family; contributed to the International Day of Older Persons; organized a

consultation on promoting the human rights of older persons in business and a side event on

the exclusion of older persons; and contributed to the international conference on the

human rights of older persons in Vienna.

8. Children and youth

66. OHCHR contributed to the formulation of the United Nations Youth Strategy,

Youth2030, organized the annual full-day meeting of the Human Rights Council on

protecting the rights of the child in humanitarian situations (see A/HRC/37/33) and

prepared a report on discrimination that young people face in claiming their rights

(A/HRC/39/33).

9. People with albinism

67. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi and Mali, OHCHR continued to

raise awareness of the regional action plan on albinism in Africa. It followed up on the

work of the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human rights by persons with albinism.

In Guinea, it supported the drafting of a law on the rights of persons with albinism.

10. Caste-based discrimination

68. OHCHR published a guidance tool on descent-based discrimination entitled Key

Challenges and Strategic Approaches to Combat Caste-Based and Analogous Forms of

Discrimination.

E. Accountability

1. Transitional justice

69. OHCHR worked to strengthen the rule of law and accountability for past and present

human rights violations. It provided expertise for the establishment of transitional justice

mechanisms, supported their work, undertook capacity-building for judicial actors and civil

society, participated in workshops and contributed to the protection and participation of

victims in a number of countries, including the Central African Republic, Colombia, El

Salvador, the Gambia, Guatemala, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Nepal, South Sudan, Sri Lanka

and Tunisia.

70. Also in the Gambia, OHCHR supported the establishment of a gender platform to

ensure women’s meaningful participation in the transitional justice process.

71. OHCHR supported the Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice,

reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence in his work on the contribution of transitional

justice to the prevention of mass atrocities, undertaken jointly with the Special Adviser to

the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide (A/HRC/37/65).

2. Death penalty

72. OHCHR advocated with States for the establishment of moratoriums, pursuant to

General Assembly resolution 67/176, and for the protection of the rights of those facing the

death penalty in countries including Bangladesh, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Japan,

Malawi, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States of America.

73. OHCHR organized a high-level panel discussion on poverty, the right to legal

representation and the death penalty in New York and a regional event on the death penalty

and drug-related offences in South-East Asia. It held a joint consultative meeting with the

African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the death penalty and human rights.

3. Counter-terrorism and prevention of violent extremism

74. OHCHR trained defence and security forces on the integration of human rights

norms and standards into fighting violent extremism and terrorism in Cameroon and for the

Joint Force of the Group of five for the Sahel and its member States. It conducted a joint

regional workshop with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime on the gender

dimensions of criminal justice responses to terrorism for government representatives from

Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Somalia. In

Nigeria, it held an expert workshop to revise a training module on the gender dimensions of

criminal justice responses to terrorism and conducted human rights and humanitarian

training for the security forces in Somalia.

75. As chair of the inter-agency Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force

Working Group on promoting and protecting human rights and the rule of law while

countering terrorism, OHCHR published guidance to States on human rights-compliant

responses to the threat posed by foreign fighters and participated in an expert meeting on

the development of a memorandum on the use of rule of law-based administrative measures

in the context of counter-terrorism.

4. Administration of justice and law enforcement

76. OHCHR continued its support for effective, accountable and human rights-based

national law enforcement institutions. It supported the World Wildlife Fund on integrating

human rights into its training and policy guidance. It led training sessions on human rights

and the protection of civilians at the inaugural United Nations police commanders’ course

in Langfang, China, for senior law enforcement officials awaiting deployment to

peacekeeping missions. In Liberia, OHCHR supported efforts to implement good practices

related to the use of force and firearms. In Fiji, it supported efforts to institutionalize human

rights in training and policy frameworks. In Mauritania and Papua New Guinea, OHCHR

supported national training academies to integrate human rights in their training curricula.

77. In Uganda, OHCHR supported the development of internal witness and victim

protection guidelines for State prosecutors. It supported the implementation of the general

law on disappearances in Mexico and provided technical assistance to the Ministry of

Justice in Guinea in conducting inspections in pilot civil courts in five regions. It conducted

workshops in Argentina, Panama and Uruguay on addressing harmful gender stereotypes

among the judiciary in Latin America.

78. In the Central African Republic, OHCHR supported the drafting of legislation to

establish oversight mechanisms for the police and gendarmerie. In South Sudan, it provided

technical assistance to national police training academies and in Jamaica, it worked with the

National Police College on developing the curricula for law enforcement officials. In

Lebanon, it contributed to the elaboration of a code of conduct and human rights curriculum

for the armed forces and to a training-of-trainers course for senior officials. It took part in

developing a code of conduct for the Jordanian Gendarmerie. In Colombia, it supported the

Ministry of the Interior in developing a protocol to prevent the excessive use of force and

guarantee the right to peaceful protest.

79. In discussions held by the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, OHCHR continued to

advocate for the implementation of the human rights commitments made in the outcome

document of the General Assembly special session on the world drug problem in 2016. In

Vienna, it organized a high-level expert panel on human rights and drug policy and a panel

on drug offences, criminal justice responses and the use of the death penalty. In Bangladesh,

Belarus, Cambodia, Colombia and the Philippines, OHCHR supported national authorities,

the United Nations country teams and other stakeholders in applying a human rights-based

approach to the drug problem.

80. In Yemen, based on over 100 visits to prisons and detention facilities, OHCHR

engaged with the authorities and humanitarian agencies on improving conditions of

detention and respect for human rights. It also trained law enforcement officials on human

rights.

F. Participation

1. Enhancing and protecting civic space and people’s participation

81. On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right and

Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect

Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, OHCHR supported a

high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly.

82. Within the framework of the Joint Action Mechanism to contribute to the protection

of human rights defenders in the Americas, OHCHR followed up on the implementation of

precautionary measures granted to human rights defenders at risk. In Mexico, it participated

in the National Protection Mechanism for human rights defenders and journalists,

supporting the design of public policies and protocols. In Guatemala, it provided technical

assistance for the adoption and implementation of a protocol on investigating crimes

against human rights defenders.

83. In Guinea-Bissau, the National Human Rights Defenders Network, with the

technical and financial support of the United Nations Integrated Peacebuilding Office in

Guinea-Bissau and OHCHR, concluded a mapping of human rights defenders, leading to

the establishment of an early warning mechanism. In Kenya, OHCHR supported the

training of environmental human rights defenders from different counties, contributing to

the creation of an information-sharing and advocacy network. In the Democratic Republic

of the Congo, it provided individual protection to 304 human rights defenders. In South

Africa, it co-organized a conference on the theme of supporting social movements and civil

society activism to leave no one behind for peace, prosperity and sustainable development.

84. OHCHR conducted workshops to strengthen the capacity and resilience of women

human rights defenders to meet challenges related to their work in East Africa and the

Middle East and North Africa regions. It supported advocacy by civil society organizations

on removing barriers to access to education for pregnant girls.

85. OHCHR addressed acts of intimidation and reprisals against those who cooperate

with the United Nations on human rights, including through the Assistant Secretary-

General for Human Rights, the senior official designated to lead efforts within the United

Nations system in this regard. High-level engagement with States concerning urgent cases

and on patterns of intimidation and reprisal was undertaken. In addition to the regional

human rights defenders security platform, held in Bishkek and gathering together about 100

human rights defenders from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, a

regional consultation in Bangkok with civil society representatives from 16 Asian countries

was organized in March 2018 to engage with civil society from the region.

86. The United Nations Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples continued to facilitate

the participation of indigenous representatives in meetings of human rights mechanisms and

the OHCHR fellowship programmes brought to Geneva 73 advocates from indigenous and

minority communities from 52 countries. The booklet marking 20 years of the fellowship

provides a snapshot of the inspiring work of former fellows upon their return to their

communities.6

87. OHCHR worked on human rights in the digital space by enhancing its engagement

with digital and technology stakeholders to ensure that the international human rights

framework serves as a reference for digital and technology companies and to leverage the

benefits of technology for advancing human rights. It contributed to efforts to address the

challenges faced by human rights defenders and other threats to civic space posed by new

technologies by involving stakeholders in exchanges on the practical challenges facing

technology companies that relate to their responsibilities under the Guiding Principles on

Business and Human Rights.

88. In Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia, OHCHR conducted workshops on the role of

religious leaders, women and youth in the promotion of human rights in the Middle East

and North Africa, in line with the Rabat Plan of Action on the prohibition of advocacy of

national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or

violence and the Beirut Declaration and its 18 commitments on “Faith for Rights”.7

2. Electoral processes

89. In the context of electoral processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,

Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar and Mali, OHCHR conducted human rights monitoring,

advocated with the authorities, electoral bodies and the media, and built the capacity of

national partners. In Uganda, it supported the national human rights institution in

monitoring the first local council and municipal elections since 2001. In the Gambia, it

organized a dialogue and training for women candidates for election. In the final stage of

the presidential campaign in Colombia, based on OHCHR advocacy candidates signed a

commitment to “respect, protect and guarantee human rights” and to protect human rights

defenders and social leaders.

90. OHCHR drafted guidelines for States on the effective implementation of the right to

participate in public affairs to increase public participation in electoral and non-electoral

contexts, and at the international level (A/HRC/39/28).

III. High Commissioner’s reflections for 2019 and conclusions

91. Seventy years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted,

the foundations of the United Nations are being tested and multilateralism is under

attack. Progress in any of the three pillars, human rights, peace and security and

development, requires sustained leadership and well-coordinated, well-designed

partnerships to further support human rights. Reaffirming universal norms and

standards on the one hand and seeking tangible results and solutions on the other is

the way forward.

92. In these tough times for human rights, the ultimate objective of OHCHR,

together with its partners across the United Nations system, is to effect positive change

and to make a real difference on the ground for people. Its mandate to support the

United Nations human rights mechanisms, mainstream human rights in the other

pillars of the United Nations (development, peace, security and humanitarian), and

advance the core human rights principles of non-discrimination, accountability and

participation offer the framework to make such a difference.

93. OHCHR needs to use its entire tool box of interventions to effect positive

change. It must engage Governments and other key actors in society through

constructive dialogue, diplomacy, advisory services, technical cooperation and

mediation. Human rights advocacy is an essential tool to be carefully calibrated

alongside the many other avenues that are available.

6 OHCHR, “Indigenous Fellowship Programme 1997–2017: 20 Years, 20 Stories” (2017).

7 See www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/FaithForRights.aspx.

94. Where shortcomings in human rights are the result of gaps in resources,

capacities and institutions, the Office needs to offer help through technical

cooperation, development assistance, mediation and human rights diplomacy – if the

political support of leaders is there, positive momentum can be generated to build

more resilient societies.

95. Where gaps in human rights protection result from weak political will, the

voice of the victims and the vulnerable must be amplified to demand accountability

under the rule of law. The High Commissioner is committed to being the voice of the

voiceless.

96. The issue of a dangerously shrinking civil society space is one of the priorities

for action of OHCHR. Beyond the rhetorical yet crucial assertion of the values of free

association, expression, assembly and movement, concrete practical steps can be taken

to expand civic space, including by building strategic partnerships within the United

Nations system, with other international and regional organizations and with Member

States. Building civil society constituencies across traditional groups, for example, by

facilitating space for human rights defenders to cooperate with women’s rights groups

and environmental activists can serve to open up democratic space for activism

worldwide.

97. The human rights agenda is the prevention agenda. The special procedures of

the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies, the commissions of inquiry and fact-

finding missions provide essential information for decision makers in the United

Nations and beyond. The universal periodic review has provided in several ways the

kind of narrative for political support by Member States for human rights action

under United Nations auspices that needs to be applied far more broadly. The

universal periodic review recognizes that all Member States have human rights

challenges, that all States can make improvements and that the United Nations system

has responsibilities to support States in that regard. The United Nations human rights

system is a force for prevention. When it is backed by the political will of key actors,

effective, sustained human rights work prevents, mitigates and helps to resolve

conflict. The World Bank and the United Nations have recently co-authored a report

on prevention that includes a focus on human rights, which should be built on and

additional opportunities created.

98. Another opportunity to address one of today’s critical global challenges is the

Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was adopted on 10

December 2018 in Marrakech and endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Member

States at the General Assembly. It is a balanced human rights document that

recognizes the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status, and sets out

achievable objectives to reduce the vulnerability of many of the world’s 258 million

migrants and minimize the human rights violations which so often characterize their

movements. Together with the Global Compact on Refugees, also endorsed by an

overwhelming majority of Member States at the General Assembly on 17 December

2018, the two Compacts offer hope for better and more effective governance of

migration.

99. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals provide an essential

roadmap for action. The High Commissioner is committed to playing her part in

advancing their implementation. The entire 2030 Agenda, which is rooted in the right

to development and all other rights, can only be fully achieved and sustained with a

focus on human rights, by seeking out and fixing the root causes of insecurity;

reducing inequalities; ensuring stable, transparent and inclusive institutions; and

eliminating pervasive discrimination to fulfil the commitment of “leaving no one

behind”.

100. A stronger emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights and the right to

development in the research, analysis, monitoring, reporting, advocacy and capacity-

building work of OHCHR will support States in implementing a number of the

Sustainable Development Goals. OHCHR is already doing significant work in these

areas, especially in research and methodology (producing reports, guidelines and

standard operating procedures), it now needs to move further towards

operationalizing that work. The growing challenge is how to translate international

norms and standards into tools acceptable to policy and decision makers, which will

help them better understand how they and their people will benefit from protecting

and promoting human rights.

101. In view of the existential threat of climate change, with the capacity to

profoundly undermine human rights, the High Commissioner sees a critical need for

OHCHR to engage more substantively and proactively around Sustainable

Development Goal 13 and in protecting the right to a healthy environment.

Environmental harms deepen inequalities, disproportionately affecting those who

have the least. The Human Rights Council has made it eminently clear that addressing

those challenges is the responsibility of everyone and a fundamental issue of human

rights. The denial of that responsibility has inflicted countless preventable

environmental catastrophes on human beings.

102. Overall, in support of the human rights-based commitment to “leave no one

behind” in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, OHCHR will ensure that

its programmes consistently bring people in from the outside, providing opportunities

for those with the least who have been rendered invisible. For the Sustainable

Development Goals to serve the purpose for which they were designed, people who

have been marginalized and discriminated against must be included in their

implementation right across every goal to ensure that indeed no rights holder is left

behind. More specifically, OHCHR will spotlight the human rights concerns of women,

young people and persons with disabilities.

103. The High Commissioner is deeply committed to achieving gender equality and

has pledged to implement a new programme that will strongly reinforce the

integration of gender into the substantive work of the OHCHR field presences. In

working with people deprived of their liberty, the issues that are important to women

detainees as well as men need to be explored. Work on the right to freedom of

peaceful assembly needs to include issues encountered by women protestors, including,

if relevant, why women do not feel free to protest. Human rights monitoring in

conflict situations needs to grasp the social and economic impact of violations on

women, including on their health and welfare. It is critically important that all human

rights responses to humanitarian crises integrate the prevention of maternal mortality.

Internally, as international gender champion, the High Commissioner has pledged to

achieve gender parity and to ensure that OHCHR implements the Secretary-

General’s gender equality strategy as best as it can.

104. The world is equally facing a crisis of youth unemployment and trade deficits

that demonstrate the biases of the global elites against youth and against certain

economies. Marginalizing youth from work opportunities and the poorest nations

from the greatest benefits of economic development is a recipe for failure in

development and peace and security. Amid the extraordinarily complex task of

protecting the global economy, the High Commissioner believes that the world must

do more to introduce human rights into the analysis and management of regional and

global economies and decision-making thereon, and into macro-development

financing.

105. Women, young people and persons with disabilities, while distinctively affected

by economic instability and insecurity, marginalization and exclusion, are also agents

of change. They are part of what the High Commissioner envisions as a global

constituency for human rights. Beyond ensuring transparent and constructive

engagement with all stakeholders, she wants to further extend partnerships, to reach

out to new audiences, and open a dialogue that can inspire and mobilize people to

defend and promote human rights.

106. Within the United Nations system, the High Commissioner is fully committed to

enhancing strategic partnerships across the Organization. For instance, with the

United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women on

protecting women human rights defenders; with the International Labour

Organization on promoting social protection floors which seek to ensure that all have

access to basic services, including a fair and inclusive globalization; and with the

World Health Organization providing technical support on rights-based approaches

to health and research on priority issues relating to health and human rights.

107. In terms of public-private partnerships, the question is how to harness private

sector investment as part of delivering the transformational 2030 Agenda and at the

same time ensure that human rights are not undermined in the process. Human rights

are rightly recognized as integral to sustainable development and financing. The

Sustainable Development Goals and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda have cemented

that new thinking into international commitments. That global consensus must now be

fully incorporated into investment laws and policies. The recent report on human

rights due diligence, produced by the Working Group on the issue of human rights

and transnational corporations and other business enterprises shows this new reality

clearly. Attracting high-quality long-term investment should be the strategy of any

Government to ensure policy coherence, long-term returns and progress towards

desired development and well-being.

108. Business, because of its transnational nature, has a unique ability to work

across boundaries for human rights and therefore to reverse the tide of many of these

challenges. Companies not only have a need to act and a clear benefit from doing so:

they have a framework, in the form of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human

Rights. They also have a timetable, in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable

Development. Responsible businesses, supported by the rule of law and clear and

effectively enforced regulatory frameworks, can generate decent jobs, build equal

opportunities, drive essential investment, technologies and innovation, and contribute

to domestic revenues available for development. That is mutualism in action – a

symbiotic relationship where both sides benefit.

109. New technologies are transforming the world and the work to promote and

protect human rights. OHCHR is seeking both to harness digital technology to

advance human rights and to respond to the ever-evolving threats posed to human

rights by technology. Artificial intelligence and big data raise difficult questions of

discrimination, privacy and the right to work. Social media platforms have been used

to promote hate speech, stoke violence and skew democratic processes. Those who

stand up for human rights around the globe find themselves victims of technology-

assisted surveillance and cyberharassment, with women facing particularly pervasive

and vicious online attacks. Human rights are an essential foundation for tackling the

myriad questions posed by new technologies. OHCHR has an important role working

with Governments, the private sector, and civil society to better understand and

address the human rights impact of new technologies and to make the most of

opportunities presented by technology for the advancement of rights.

110. There are so many positive stories and developments from which to draw hope

and inspiration, opportunities to take advantage of and partnerships to be forged.

Those stories need to be told better to ensure that the narrative is one of hope and

inspiration in the Organization and in multilateralism more generally – inspiring

everyone to stand together and to assist each other in building progress on protecting

the human rights that sustain development and peace.

111. OHCHR continues to be a global voice for equality and non-discrimination,

and all human rights for all. It must be equipped and assisted to respond to both

conflict and crisis situations, and emerging global, regional and national challenges,

including with respect to ensuring human rights in the digital space, defending civic

space, civil society and human rights defenders, and achieving the 2030 Sustainable

Development Agenda. The High Commissioner hopes that Member States and other

stakeholders will extend to OHCHR all possible assistance and support to enable it to

carry out its mandate effectively in support of Governments and rights holders

worldwide.