RES/18/14 Regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights

GE.A/HRC/15/56. 1-16682

Human Rights Council Eighteenth session

Agenda item 3

Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council*

18/14 Regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 32/127 of 16 December 1977 and

subsequent Assembly resolutions on regional arrangements for the promotion and

protection of human rights, the latest being resolution 63/170 of 18 December 2008,

Recalling also Commission on Human Rights resolution 1993/51 of 9 March 1993

and subsequent Commission resolutions in this regard, and Human Rights Council

resolutions 6/20 of 28 September 2007 and 12/15 of 1 October 2009,

Bearing in mind paragraph 5 (h) of General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15

March 2006, in which the Assembly decided that the Human Rights Council should work

in close cooperation with regional organizations,

Bearing in mind also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by

the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993, which reiterates, inter alia, the

need to consider the possibility of establishing regional and subregional arrangements for

the promotion and protection of human rights where they do not already exist,

Reaffirming the fact that regional arrangements play an important role in promoting

and protecting human rights and should reinforce universal human rights standards, as

contained in international human rights instruments,

1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights on the workshop on enhancing cooperation between

* The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its eighteenth session (A/HRC/18/2), chap. I.

international and regional mechanisms for the promotion and protection of human rights,1

held in Geneva on 3 and 4 May 2010, including its conclusions and recommendations;

2. Welcomes the progress made by Governments in the establishment of

regional and subregional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights

and their achievements in all regions of the world;

3. Expresses its appreciation for the interregional efforts made by the Member

States of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, as manifested by the establishment of

the Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission;

4. Requests the High Commissioner to hold, in 2012, a workshop on regional

arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights to take stock of

developments since the workshop in 2010, including a thematic discussion based on the

concrete and practical experience of regional mechanisms, in order to share information on

best practices, lessons learned and new possible forms of cooperation, with the participation

of relevant experts from international, regional, subregional and interregional human rights

mechanisms, as well as of Member States, observers, national human rights institutions and

non-governmental organizations;

5. Also requests the High Commissioner to present to the Human Rights

Council, at its twenty-second session, a report containing a summary of the discussions held

at the above-mentioned workshop and of the progress towards the implementation of the

present resolution.

36th meeting

29 September 2011

[Adopted without a vote.]