HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL CONCLUDES THIRTY-FIFTH SESSION AFTER ADOPTING 35 RESOLUTIONS, A DECISION AND A PRESIDENTIAL STATEMENT
The Human Rights Council concluded its thirty-fifth regular session this afternoon after adopting 36 texts on a wide range of issues and a Presidential Statement on Côte d’Ivoire. The Council also filled four vacancies of Special Procedures mandate holders, and adopted its report for the session.
The Council decided to dispatch a team of international experts to the Kasaï region in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the necessary technical assistance to the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo regarding its investigations into the allegations of human rights violations and abuses in the Kasaï region.
The Council expressed deep concern at the plight of four and a half million people living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in Syria and demanded all parties to work urgently towards the comprehensive implementation of the Geneva communiqué, including through the establishment of an inclusive transitional governing body with full executive powers. The Council invited all Member States to support actively the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in Syria.
The Council decided to appoint, for a period of three years, a Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members. It extended the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education; the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity; the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities; the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights; as well as the mandate of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises.
On Eritrea, the Council extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur for a period of one year and decided to hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in Eritrea at its thirty-seventh session in March 2018; while in a separate text the Council extended for one year the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus.
In a Presidential Statement, the Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance to the Government of Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen the capacities of the National Commission for Human Rights with a view to the end of the mandate of the Independent Expert and the closure of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire in June 2017; and in another resolution it invited the High Commissioner to continue to present orally to the Human Rights Council the findings of each of the reports of his Office on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, until the forty-first session of the Council.
Two resolutions were adopted in relation to the Global Compact for safe, orderly and regular migration: the first requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights to participate in the preparatory process and provide human rights-based input throughout the global compact, while in the second text, the Council decided to organize an intersessional panel discussion, prior to the commencement of phase II of the intergovernmental process leading to the Global Compact on safe, orderly and regular migration on the theme “Human rights, climate change, migrants and persons displaced across international borders” to feed into the stocktaking meeting of the preparatory process.
In order to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, the Council will convene, at its thirty-eighth session in June 2018, a panel discussion on the human rights of internally displaced persons.
By virtue of adopted texts, the Council decided to convene, at its March 2018 session, a high-level panel discussion to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. It further decided to organize, before its thirty-eighth session in September 2018, a one-day intersessional seminar on the role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons; and to discuss the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Peace at a workshop to be organized between its thirty-seventh session in March and thirty-eighth session in June 2018. The Council requested the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to consider the elaboration of a draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of human rights of people of African descent during its sixteenth session.
In separate texts, the Council requested the High Commissioner for Human Rights and his Office to create a web portal to bring together and collate information relating to child, early and forced marriage, including in humanitarian settings; to review promising practices, strategies and initiatives to engage men and boys in promoting and achieving gender equality and to challenge gender stereotypes and the negative social norms, attitudes and behaviours that underlie and perpetuate violence against women and girls; to prepare a report on the contributions of the right to health framework to the effective implementation and achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals; to conduct a detailed study on young people and the contribution of empowered youth to the realization of human rights in society; and to organize, before the September 2018 session, an intersessional expert workshop to exchange best practices on how the United Nations system supports States in preventing and fighting against corruption, with a focus on human rights.
The Council requested the Advisory Committee to prepare a study that could help States to implement the 2030 Agenda through integrating human rights into national policies, to be based on the compilation of good practices and lessons learned in mainstreaming human rights into national policies, to be prepared by the High Commissioner; urged States, in a text on the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights, to continue to support the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Technical Cooperation in the Field of Human Rights; called upon all States to guarantee the independence of judges and lawyers and the objectivity and impartiality of prosecutors, and also urged to ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism were not discriminatory and did not resort to profiling based on stereotypes founded on ethnic, racial or religious grounds.
With regards to the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, the Council called upon States to repeal all laws that exclusively or disproportionately criminalize actions or behaviours of women and girls, and laws that discriminate against them, and in another text, it urged all States to strengthen and intensify their efforts to take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps to fully realize the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl.
The text on human rights in cities and other human settlements encouraged the relevant special procedures mandate holders to submit proposals that could support States in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, while the resolution on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights called upon all countries to spare no effort in promoting sustainable development, in particular while implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The Council determined that the focus of the 2018 Social Forum in Geneva would be on the possibilities of using sport and the Olympic ideal to promote human rights for all, and requested the High Commissioner to conduct a study on how to promote and enhance synergies between the parliaments and the work of the Human Rights Council and its Universal Periodic Review.
The Council appointed four Special Procedures mandate holders, as follows: Obiora Okafor of Nigeria as the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, Fernand de Varennes Canada as the Special Rapporteur on minority issues, Felipe Gonzales Morales of Chile as the Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants, and Fionnuala Ni Aolain of Ireland as the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism.
The Council adopted its report of the thirty-fifth session ad referendum.
In concluding remarks, Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli, President of the Human Rights Council, said that, with a view to finding a solution to the number of Council meetings, a joint task force had been established, comprised of representatives from the Bureau of the Council and representatives of the United Nations Office at Geneva and the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, to find a solution to allow the Council to finish its work for 2017 and identify sustainable solutions for the future. Referring to a number of allegations of acts of intimidation that had been brought to his attention during the session, the President rejected all such acts by Governments and non-State actors against individuals and groups who sought to cooperate with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of the human rights.
Documentation, statements, resolutions and reports relating to this and all Human Rights Council sessions are available on its webpage. Detailed, speaker-by-speaker coverage of every public meeting, in English and in French, can be found on the website of the United Nations Office at Geneva.
The thirty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council was held in Geneva from 6 to 23 June 2017. The thirty-sixth session will be held in Room XX of the Palais des Nations in Geneva from 11 to 29 September 2017.
Summary of the Programme of Work
The thirty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council was opened by Ambassador Joaquin Alexander Maza Martelli of El Salvador, President of the Council, on 6 June. The Council heard an address by Tabaré Vázquez, President of Uruguay and an oral update by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, on the situation of human rights worldwide and on the activities of his office. In his address, the High Commissioner expressed concern about the brazen absence of shame being paraded by a growing number of politicians world-wide. When “thug-like” leaders rode to power, democratically or otherwise, and openly defied not only their own laws and constitutions, but also their obligations under international law, where was their shame? The universal rights to freedom, equality and dignity had been held to be true across cultures and civilizations because of their intrinsic value, and because they made it possible to keep the peace. The present moment pointed to a tremendous opportunity to build on the Secretary-General's commitment to prevention, and on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was powered by a drive to end discrimination on any grounds.
In the first week of the session, the Council held a clustered interactive dialogue with the Independent Expert on the protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and with the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and heard an address by Nikki Haley, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations. It also held a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health and with the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity, as well as a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association and the Special Rapporteur on the right to education. The Council held a general debate on the oral update of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on 7 June, which was followed by a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on internally displaced persons and the Special Rapporteurs on extreme poverty. The following day, a panel discussion on enhancing capacity-building in public health took place, after which the Council held a clustered interactive dialogue with the Working Group on transnational corporations and human rights and the Special Rapporteur on migrants, and an individual interactive dialogue with the Working Group on discrimination against women. On the final day of the first week, the Council started its individual interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and then held a panel discussion on unaccompanied migrant children and adolescents and human rights.
In its second week, the Council held a clustered interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers and the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, and an interactive discussion with the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression. In the context of its annual full-day discussion on the human rights of women on Tuesday 13 June, the Council addressed two themes: engaging men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against women and girls, and health and gender equality in the context the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. During the week, the Council held a general debate on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, and on thematic reports by the High Commissioner, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Secretary-General, presented by Kate Gilmore, Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights on 13 June. Under its agenda item 4: human rights situations requiring the Council’s attention, which was opened on Wednesday 14 June, the Council discussed the situation in Syria with the Commission of Inquiry, as well as the human rights situations in Belarus, Eritrea, Burundi and Myanmar with the respective mandate-holders. The Council heard an oral update on the progress in the cooperation between Eritrea and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and held a general debate on human rights situations that require the Council’s attention. Following the presentation of the Report of the Forum on Business and Human Rights on its fifth session on Friday 15 June, the Council held a general debate on human rights bodies and mechanisms.
At the beginning of the third and final week of the session, the Council held three general debates: on the Universal Periodic Review; on the human rights situation in Palestine and other occupied Arab territories after hearing the presentation of the report by the High Commissioner for Human Rights on ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem; and on the follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. In the context of the agenda item 9: racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related forms of intolerance, follow-up and implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, the Council held an interactive discussion with the Special Rapporteur, heard the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action presenting its report, and held a general debate. The Council then opened the last item on its agenda: technical assistance and capacity-building, and discussed Côte d’Ivoire with the Independent Expert; heard an oral update by High Commissioner Zeid on the situation of human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, his update on the situation of human rights in Ukraine, and an update on cooperation and assistance to Georgia. The annual thematic discussion on technical cooperation in the promotion and protection of human rights on Wednesday 21 June explored the challenges and the way forward in technical cooperation and capacity building in the Human Rights Council. General debate on technical assistance and capacity-building took place on Wednesday 21 June.
On 22 and 23 June, the Council adopted 36 resolutions on a wide range of issues, as well as a Presidential Statement on Côte d’Ivoire.
Resolutions
Action on Resolution under Agenda Item 2 on the Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Draft resolution L.38, (A/HRC/35/L.38) on the situation of human rights in Ethiopia was withdrawn.
Action on Texts under Agenda Item 3 on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.1) on the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to convene, at its thirty-seventh session, a high-level panel discussion to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, with a particular focus on the implementation of the provisions thereof, including the benefits of enhanced international cooperation in that regard; and requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session and to the General Assembly.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.2) on the right to education: follow-up to Human Rights Council resolution 8/4, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education for a period of three years; and requests all States to continue to cooperate with the Special Rapporteur with a view to facilitating her tasks in the discharge of her mandate, and to respond favourably to her requests for information and visits.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.3) on human rights and solidarity, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 15 against and no abstentions, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Independent Expert on human rights and international solidarity for a period of three years; and requests the Independent Expert to continue to participate in relevant international forums and major events with a view to promoting the importance of international solidarity in the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially those goals relating to economic, social and climate issues.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.4) on the promotion of the right to peace, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 11 against and four abstentions, the Council decides to convene, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in the period between the thirty-seventh and the thirty-eighth sessions of the Human Rights Council, a half-day intersessional workshop on the right to peace, to discuss the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Peace; and requests the High Commissioner to submit a report on the workshop, in the form of a summary, to the Council at its thirty-ninth session.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.6) on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, for a period of three years; and underlines the importance that the Special Rapporteur continue to participate in relevant international forums and events on migration with a view to combating trafficking and upholding the human rights of victims of trafficking in persons, especially women and children.
In a decision (A/HRC/35/L.7) on the panel discussion on the human rights of internally displaced persons in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to convene, at its thirty-eighth session, a panel discussion on the human rights of internally displaced persons in commemoration of the twentieth anniversary of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement, with a particular focus on their application and on achievements, best practices and challenges in this regard, as well as on recommendations to meet these challenges, and further decides that the discussion shall be fully accessible to persons with disabilities.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.8) on the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of persons with disabilities for a further period of three years, with the mandate to, inter alia, identify, exchange and promote good practices relating to the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities and their participation as equal members of society, and to make concrete recommendations on how to better promote and protect the human rights of persons with disabilities, including on eliminating discrimination, violence and social exclusion.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.11) on Business and human rights: Mandate of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, adopted without a vote, the Council welcomes that the central theme of the 2017 Forum on Business and Human Rights is “Realizing access to Remedy”; and decides to extend the mandate of the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises as set out in Human Rights Council resolution 17/4 for a period of three years.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.12) on the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, three against and 12 abstentions, the Council requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to seek to enhance dialogue with representatives from non-traditional donor countries with a view to broadening the donor base and to replenishing the resources available to the funds [for technical cooperation in the field of human rights].
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.14) on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to appoint, for a period of three years, a Special Rapporteur on the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members, with the mandate to, inter alia, follow up and report on progress made and measures taken by States for the effective implementation of the principles and guidelines for the elimination of discrimination against persons affected by leprosy and their family members.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.15) on accelerating efforts to eliminate violence against women: engaging men and boys in preventing and responding to violence against all women and girls, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights… to prepare a report before the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council to review promising practices and lessons learned, existing strategies and United Nations and other initiatives to engage men and boys in promoting and achieving gender equality, in particular efforts to challenge gender stereotypes and the negative social norms, attitudes and behaviours that underlie and perpetuate violence against women and girls.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.18/Rev.1) on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon the international community to continue to assist developing countries in promoting the full realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, including through access to medicines, in particular essential medicines and vaccines; and requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report which presents contributions of the right to health framework to the effective implementation and achievement of the health-related Sustainable Development Goals, identifying best practices, challenges and obstacles thereto, and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.19) on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers for a period of three years, on the same terms as provided by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 26/7 of 26 June 2014; and urges all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in the performance of his or her tasks.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.20) on the independence and impartiality of the judiciary, jurors and assessors, and the independence of lawyers, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council calls upon all States to guarantee the independence of judges and lawyers and the objectivity and impartiality of prosecutors, as well as their ability to perform their functions accordingly, including by taking effective legislative, law enforcement and other appropriate measures that will enable them to carry out their professional functions without interference, harassment, threats or intimidation of any kind.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.21) on the protection of the family: role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of human rights of older persons, adopted by a vote of 30 in favour, 12 against and five abstentions as orally revised, the Council decides to convene, with the support of the High Commissioner, before the thirty-eighth session of the Human Rights Council, a one-day intersessional seminar on the impact of the implementation by States of their obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights law with regard to the protection of the family on the role of the family in supporting the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons, and to discuss challenges and best practices in this regard.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.22) on youth and human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the High Commissioner to conduct a detailed study on the implementation of human rights with regard to young people, identification of cases of discrimination against young people in the exercise of their human rights, and best practices on the full and effective enjoyment of human rights by young people, highlighting the contribution of empowered youth to the realization of human rights in society, to be submitted to the Council prior to its thirty-ninth session.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.25) on the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, adopted without a vote, the Council demands that all States ensure that the practice of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions is brought to an end and that they take effective action to combat and eliminate the phenomenon in all its forms; and decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for three years.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.26) on child, early and forced marriage in humanitarian settings, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to create a web portal to bring together and collate information relating to child, early and forced marriage, including in humanitarian settings; and requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide a written report with input from all relevant stakeholders on child, early and forced marriage with a focus on humanitarian settings to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session, and an oral update in this regard to the Council at its thirty-eighth session.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.27) on the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, adopted without a vote, the Council urges States to ensure that measures taken to counter terrorism and violent extremism conducive to terrorism are not discriminatory, and not to resort to profiling based on stereotypes founded on ethnic, racial or religious grounds or any other ground of discrimination prohibited by international law; and to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur in the performance of the tasks and duties mandated.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.28) on the protection of the human rights of migrants: the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit, as co-Chair of the Global Migration Group Working Group on Migration, Human Rights and Gender, principles and practical guidance on the protection of the human rights of migrants in vulnerable situations, and to report thereon to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session; and to submit to the Human Rights Council before its thirty-sixth session a report on the compendium of principles, good practices and policies on safe, orderly and regular migration in line with international human rights law.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.29) on the elimination of discrimination against women and girls, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council calls upon States to, inter alia, repeal all laws that exclusively or disproportionately criminalize actions or behaviours of women and girls, and laws that discriminate against them, based on any grounds, including any custom, tradition or cultural or religious consideration contrary to the obligation to eliminate discrimination against women and girls; and to ensure access to justice and accountability mechanisms and remedies for the effective implementation and enforcement of laws aimed at preventing and eliminating discrimination against women and girls, taking into account the multiple, intersecting and aggravating forms of discrimination.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.30/Rev.1) on human rights in cities and other human settlements, adopted without a vote, the Council urges States to promote a safe, healthy, inclusive and secure environment in cities and human settlements; encourages the relevant special procedures mandate holders, in fulfilling their respective mandates, to submit proposals that could support States in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and Sustainable Development Goal 11 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and underscores the importance of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly to be convened by the President of the General Assembly during the seventy-first session of the Assembly to discuss the effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.31) on extreme poverty and human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council decides to extend, for a period of three years, the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, as set out in Human Rights Council resolution 8/11; and calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur in his task, to supply all necessary information requested by the mandate holder, and to respond favourably to the requests of the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries to enable him to fulfil his mandate effectively.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.32) on human rights and climate change, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize an intersessional panel discussion prior to the commencement of phase II of the intergovernmental process leading to the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration, with the theme “Human rights, climate change, migrants and persons displaced across international borders”…, and to submit a summary report of the panel discussion to the appropriate mechanisms sufficiently in advance to ensure that it feeds into the stocktaking meeting of the preparatory process leading to the adoption of the global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration and to the work of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, and particularly to the ongoing work of the Task Force on Displacement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.33/Rev.1) on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, adopted by a vote of 30 in favour, 13 against and three abstentions as orally revised, the Council requests the Advisory Committee to conduct a study on the ways in which development contributes to the enjoyment of all human rights by all, in particular on best experiences and practices, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council before its forty-first session.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.34) on the negative impact of corruption on the enjoyment of human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council urges States that have not yet done so to consider ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption; and requests the Office of the High Commissioner to organize, before the thirty-ninth session of the Human Rights Council, in coordination with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, an intersessional, half-day open-ended expert workshop, with the objective of exchanging best practices on how the United Nations system supports States in preventing and fighting against corruption.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.35) on realizing the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, adopted without a vote, the Council urges all States to inter alia, strengthen and intensify their efforts to take deliberate, concrete and targeted steps to fully realize the equal enjoyment of the right to education by every girl, and to eliminate legal, administrative, financial, structural, social and cultural barriers that hinder girls’ equal enjoyment of the right to education; and to strengthen and intensify their efforts to prevent and eliminate all forms of school-related violence against girls and to hold those responsible for those acts accountable.
Action on Resolutions under the Agenda Item 4 on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council’s Attention
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.9) on the human rights situation in the Syrian Arab Republic, adopted by a vote of 27 in favour, eight against and twelve abstentions, the Council expresses its profound concern at the findings of the Commission of Inquiry in its report, including those suggesting that the offensive against Aleppo involved serious violations and abuses of international human rights law and violations of international humanitarian law by all parties to the conflict, which, according to the Commission, in many cases amounted to war crimes, in particular by the Syrian authorities and their allies; expresses deep concern at the plight of the roughly four and a half million Syrians living in besieged and hard-to-reach areas in the Syrian Arab Republic, whose needs are particularly acute and who require full, immediate and safe humanitarian access. The Council invites Member States to support actively the International, Impartial and Independent Mechanism to Assist in the Investigation and Prosecution of Persons Responsible for the Most Serious Crimes under International Law Committed in the Syrian Arab Republic and provide adequate financial means for its establishment and functioning; and demands that all parties work urgently towards the comprehensive implementation of the Geneva communiqué, including through the establishment of an inclusive transitional governing body with full executive powers, which shall be formed on the basis of mutual consent while ensuring the continuity of governmental institutions.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.13/Rev.1) on the situation of human rights in Eritrea, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Eritrea for a period of one year, and requests the mandate holder to submit and present a written report to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session, and to address and engage in an interactive dialogue with the General Assembly at its seventy-second session; and also decides to hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in Eritrea at its thirty-seventh session, with the participation of the Special Rapporteur, the Office of the High Commissioner, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. The Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to enhance engagement in improving the situation of human rights in Eritrea, and to present an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-seventh session on progress made.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.16) on the situation of human rights in Belarus, adopted by a vote of 18 in favour, eight against and 21 abstained, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus for a period of one year, and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit a report on the situation of human rights in Belarus to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session; and urges the Government of Belarus to fully cooperate with the Special Rapporteur, including by providing him access to visit the country in order to assist the Government in fulfilling its international human rights obligations.
Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item 5 on the Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.5) on the Social Forum, adopted without a vote, the Council decides that the Social Forum will meet for three working days in 2018 and should focus on the possibilities of using sport and the Olympic ideal to promote human rights for all and to strengthen universal respect for them; requests the President of the Human Rights Council to appoint… the Chair-Rapporteur for the 2018 Social Forum; and requests the High Commissioner to facilitate participation in the 2018 Social Forum… of no fewer than 10 experts, including representatives of civil society and grass-roots organizations in developing countries.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.24) on the contribution of parliaments to the work of the Human Rights Council and its universal periodic review, adopted without a vote, the Council and requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a study… on how to promote and enhance synergies between the parliaments and the work of the Human Rights Council and its universal periodic review, and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session.
Action on Resolution under Agenda Item 9 on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.17/Rev.1) on the consideration of the elaboration of a draft declaration on the promotion and full respect of human rights of people of African descent, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the Intergovernmental Working Group on the Effective Implementation of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action to include in the programme of work for its sixteenth session a one-day meeting to consider the elaboration of a draft United Nations declaration on the promotion and full respect of human rights of people of African descent; and requests the Intergovernmental Working Group, through its Chair-Rapporteur, to report on the above-mentioned discussion, including any recommendations stemming therefrom, to the Human Rights Council at its fortieth session.
Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item 10 on Technical Assistance and Capacity-Building
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.10) on the cooperation with and assistance to Ukraine in the field of human rights, adopted by a vote of 22 in favour, six against and nineteen abstentions, the Council recognizing also the continuing need for ongoing reporting, including on the most serious human rights problems within Ukraine and their root causes, invites the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to present orally to the States members of the Human Rights Council and observers the findings of each of the reports of the Office of the High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Ukraine as part of the interactive dialogues, and through the modalities of the Council, in accordance with its resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, until the forty-first session of the Council.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.23) on national policies and human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the Advisory Committee to prepare a study that could help States to implement the 2030 Agenda through integrating human rights into national policies, based on the compilation prepared by the High Commissioner, and to present it within its regular reporting cycle to the Council at its forty-fifth session, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In a resolution (A/HRC/35/L.36) on technical assistance to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and accountability concerning the events in Kasai, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to dispatch a team of international experts, including experts from the region, to determine the facts and circumstances concerning alleged human rights violations and abuses, and violations of international humanitarian law in the Kasai regions; to present an oral update, and invite the team to participate in an enhanced Interactive Dialogue at the 37th session; and requests the High Commissioner to present a comprehensive report with the team’s findings, and to invite the team to participate in an Interactive Dialogue at the 38th session.
In a Presidential Statement (A/HRC/35/L.50) on the situation on human rights in Côte d’Ivoire, adopted without a vote, the Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the technical assistance to Côte d’Ivoire to strengthen the capacities of the National Commission for Human Rights with a view to the end of the mandate of the Independent Expert and the closure of the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire in June 2017. (unofficial translation from French)
For use of the information media; not an official record
HRC17/112E