RES/35/32 National policies and human rights

GE.17-11596(E)



Human Rights Council Thirty-fifth session

6–23 June 2017

Agenda item 10

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 23 June 2017

35/32. National policies and human rights

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a common standard

of achievement for all peoples and all nations,

Recalling all relevant international human rights treaties, including the International

Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights,

Recalling also its resolutions 23/19 of 23 June 2013, 27/26 of 26 September 2014

and 30/24 of 2 October 2015, on national policies and human rights,

Recalling further that States emphasized in the Vienna Declaration and Programme

of Action and the 2005 World Summit Outcome1 that they bear the responsibility, in

conformity with the Charter, to develop and encourage respect for human rights and

fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind such as race, colour, sex,

language, disability, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property,

birth or other status,

Bearing in mind that States should integrate their obligations and commitments

under international human rights law into their national legislation in order to ensure that

State action at the national level is effectively directed towards the promotion and

protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Noting that State action aimed at the promotion, protection and full realization of

human rights and fundamental freedoms at the national level is most effective when fully

integrated into national policies based on a human rights perspective,

1 General Assembly resolution 60/1.

Reaffirming that all human rights are inalienable, universal, indivisible,

interdependent and interrelated and that, therefore, national policies aimed at their

promotion and protection will also have a mutually reinforcing effect on their realization,

Recognizing that each State has the right to choose the framework that is best suited

to its particular needs at the national level,

Reaffirming the importance of international cooperation to support States in the

process of integrating their obligations and commitments under international human rights

law into national legislation, and drawing up and carrying out national policies aimed at the

full realization of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Recognizing the important and constructive role that national human rights

institutions and civil society can play in the process of drawing up and assessing the impact

of national policies aimed at the promotion, protection and full realization of human rights

and fundamental freedoms,

Bearing in mind that the technical cooperation offered by the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, upon the request of and in close

cooperation with States, with the aim of integrating human rights into national policies and

programmes can be a useful vehicle to support States’ compliance with their human rights

obligations and their follow-up to recommendations made by United Nations human rights

mechanisms,

Affirming that the inclusive participation, as appropriate, of all sectors of society in

the development, design, formulation and implementation of and follow-up to policies and

programmes affecting the population is critical for the success of such processes,

Recognizing that public policies planned and formulated through participatory,

transparent and accessible approaches are a key factor in promoting respect for and

safeguarding the realization of human rights,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, entitled

“Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, in which the

Assembly adopted a comprehensive, far-reaching and people-centred set of universal and

transformative Sustainable Development Goals and targets, the commitment to working

tirelessly for the full implementation of the Agenda by 2030, the recognition in the Agenda

that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the

greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, the

commitment in the Agenda to achieving sustainable development in its three dimensions —

economic, social and environmental — in a balanced and integrated manner, building upon

the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals and seeking to address their

unfinished business, and aiming to contribute to the full implementation of the Agenda by

2030,

Recognizing that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, of unprecedented

scope and significance, is accepted by all countries and is applicable to all, taking into

account different national realities, capacities and levels of development and respecting

national policies and priorities; moreover, that its 17 goals and 169 targets are universal and

involve the entire world, developed and developing countries alike, and are aimed at

ensuring that no one is left behind,

Noting that the 2030 Agenda is guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter

of the United Nations, including full respect for international law, and is grounded in the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties, that it is

informed by other instruments, such as the Declaration on the Right to Development, and

that it is to be implemented in a manner that is consistent with the rights and obligations of

States under international law,

1. Welcomes the expert workshop to discuss effective, inclusive and

participatory mechanisms and methodologies to mainstream human rights in the

formulation and implementation of public policies, held on 5 September 2016, and takes

note with appreciation of the summary report of the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights on the expert workshop;2

2. Emphasizes that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development offers entry

points for inclusive and participatory implementation of plans and national policies, while

mainstreaming human rights towards a more balanced and integrated plan of action for

achieving sustainable development that reflects the indivisibility and interdependence of all

human rights;

3. Encourages States to give due consideration to information, observations and

recommendations from human rights mechanisms, including the universal periodic review,

when implementing and monitoring progress on the 2030 Agenda;

4. Encourages regional and international human rights systems to provide

technical assistance and capacity-building to States, upon request, in order to enable them

to fulfil their human rights obligations and related commitments through the said processes;

5. Acknowledges the efforts made by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights in both technical assistance and capacity-building, upon

request and in close cooperation with States, to align laws, policies, institutions and

practices with their human rights obligations and commitments, to implement universal

periodic review recommendations supported by the States concerned and to follow up on

recommendations made by other United Nations human rights mechanisms;

6. Encourages the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance further the

efforts aimed at supporting these measures in order that national policies, programmes and

strategies, by including human rights obligations in their formulation and execution, have a

positive impact on the effective implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

7. Recommends that States integrate into their national policies a human rights

perspective aimed at the promotion, protection and full realization of human rights and

fundamental freedoms, and take into consideration the views of civil society in the process;

8. Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a compilation of

good practices, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations in mainstreaming human

rights as enshrined in international human rights law, into national policies, in order to

contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, in consultation with

States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental

organizations, treaty bodies, special procedures, regional human rights

mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, academia and

other relevant stakeholders, including through informal regional consultations, and to

submit it to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session;

9. Requests the Advisory Committee to contribute during the consultation

process, including by the participation of its members in the informal consultations, and to

prepare a study that could help States to implement the 2030 Agenda by integrating human

rights into national policies on the basis of the compilation prepared by the High

Commissioner, and to present it within its regular reporting cycle to the Human Rights

Council at its forty-fifth session, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the adoption of

the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

2 A/HRC/34/33.

10. Encourages States to support the Office of the High Commissioner and the

members of the Advisory Committee in this endeavour, taking into account the importance

of sharing good practices across regions and of international cooperation;

11. Invites the Office of the High Commissioner and relevant United Nations

bodies, agencies, funds and programmes and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate with

States in providing technical assistance, upon request, to the States concerned, with the

purpose of assisting them in integrating human rights into national policies and

programmes so that national policies aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development

Goals contribute to the enjoyment of human rights;

12. Decides to remain seized of this issue.

37th meeting

23 June 2017

[Adopted without a vote.]