RES/17/16 Promotion of the right of peoples to peace

GE.A/HRC/17/39. 1-14869

Human Rights Council Seventeenth session Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development

17/16 Promotion of the right of peoples to peace

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling all previous resolutions on the promotion of the right of peoples to peace adopted by the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 39/11 of 12 November 1984 entitled “Declaration of the Right of Peoples to Peace” and the United Nations Millennium Declaration,

Determined to foster strict respect for the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 53/243 of 13 September 1999, as well as Assembly resolution 53/25 of 10 November 1998, in which the Assembly proclaimed the period 2001–2010 as the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World,

Bearing in mind that one of the purposes of the United Nations is to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character, and to promote and encourage respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction of race, sex, language or religion,

Underlining, in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, its full and active support for the Organization and the enhancement of its role and effectiveness in strengthening international peace, security and justice and in promoting the solution of international problems and the development of friendly relations and cooperation among States,

Reaffirming the obligation of all States to settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace, security, human rights and justice are not endangered,

United Nations A/HRC/RES/17/16

General Assembly Distr.: General 15 July 2011 Original: English

Emphasizing its objective of promoting better relations among all States and contributing to creating conditions in which their people can live in true and lasting peace, free from any threat to or attack against their security,

Reaffirming the obligation of all States to refrain, in their international relations, from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State, or from acting in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,

Reaffirming also its commitment to peace, security and justice, respect for human rights and the continuing development of friendly relations and cooperation among States,

Rejecting the use of violence in the pursuit of political aims, and stressing that only peaceful political solutions can assure a stable and democratic future for all peoples around the world,

Reaffirming the importance of ensuring respect for the purposes and principles of the Charter and international law, including sovereignty, territorial integrity and the political independence of States,

Reaffirming also that all peoples have the right to self-determination, by virtue of which they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development,

Reaffirming further the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,

Recognizing that peace and security, development and human rights are mutually interlinked and reinforcing,

Recalling the Declaration on the Right to Development, which states that all States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security and, to that end, should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures are used for comprehensive development, in particular that of developing countries,

Affirming that human rights include social, economic and cultural rights and the right to peace, a healthy environment and development, and that development is, in fact, the realization of these rights,

Underlining the fact that the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a denial of fundamental rights, is contrary to the Charter and an impediment to the promotion of world peace and cooperation,

Recalling that everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights can be fully realized,

Convinced of the aim of creating conditions of stability and well-being, which are necessary for peaceful and friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of the equal rights and self-determination of peoples,

Convinced also that life without war is the primary international prerequisite for the material well-being, development and progress of countries and for the full implementation of the rights and fundamental human freedoms proclaimed by the United Nations,

Convinced further that international cooperation in the field of human rights contributes to the creation of an international environment of peace and stability,

Welcoming the important work being carried out by civil society organizations for the promotion of the right of peoples to peace and the codification of that right,

1. Reaffirms that the peoples of our planet have a sacred right to peace;

2. Also reaffirms that the preservation of the right of peoples to peace and the promotion of its implementation constitute a fundamental obligation of all States;

3. Stresses the importance of peace for the promotion and protection of all human rights for all;

4. Also stresses that the deep fault line that divides human society between the rich and the poor and the ever-increasing gap between the developed world and the developing world pose a major threat to global prosperity, peace, human rights, security and stability;

5. Further stresses that peace and security, development and human rights are the pillars of the United Nations system and the foundations for collective security and well-being;

6. Emphasizes that ensuring the exercise of the right of peoples to peace and its promotion demands that the policies of States be directed towards the elimination of the threat of war, particularly nuclear war, the renunciation of the use or threat of use of force in international relations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means on the basis of the Charter of the United Nations;

7. Affirms that all States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security and an international system based on respect for the principles enshrined in the Charter and the promotion of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development and the right of peoples to self-determination;

8. Urges all States to respect and to put into practice the principles and purposes of the Charter in their relations with all other States, irrespective of their political, economic or social systems or of their size, geographical location or level of economic development;

9. Reaffirms the duty of all States, in accordance with the principles of the Charter, to use peaceful means to settle any dispute to which they are parties and the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, and encourages States to settle their disputes as early as possible as an important contribution to the promotion and protection of all human rights of everyone and all peoples;

10. Underlines the vital importance of education for peace as a tool to foster the realization of the right of peoples to peace, and encourages States, United Nations specialized agencies and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to contribute actively to this endeavour;

11. Calls upon States and relevant United Nations bodies to promote the effective implementation of the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace;

12. Invites States and relevant United Nations human rights mechanisms and procedures to continue to pay attention to the importance of mutual cooperation, understanding and dialogue in ensuring the promotion and protection of all human rights;

13. Recalls the holding of the workshop on the right of peoples to peace in Geneva on 15 and 16 December 2009, with the participation of experts from all regions of the world;

14. Takes note of the progress report of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee on the right of peoples to peace,1 which includes more than 40 possible standards for inclusion in the draft declaration on the right of peoples to peace;

15. Supports the need to further promote the realization of the right of peoples to peace and, in that regard, requests the Advisory Committee, in consultation with Member States, civil society, academia and all relevant stakeholders, to present a draft declaration on the right of peoples to peace and to report on progress thereon to the Council at its twentieth session;

16. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to retransmit the questionnaire prepared by the Advisory Committee in the context of its mandate on the issue of the right of peoples to peace, seeking the views and comments of Member States, civil society, academia and all relevant stakeholders;

17. Decides to continue to consider the issue in 2012 under the same agenda item.

34th meeting 17 June 2011

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 32 to 14, with no abstentions. The voting was as follows: In favour: Angola, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Gabon, Ghana, Guatemala, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay, Zambia Against: Belgium, France, Hungary, Japan, Norway, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America]