Equal Participation in Political and Public Affairs

A/HRC/RES/30/9No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2015.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2014–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/57/17

2024A/HRC/RES/57/17Equal participation in political and public affairsLatestCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/48/2Equal participation in political and public affairsCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/39/11Equal participation in political and public affairsCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/33/22Equal participation in political and public affairsCompare with previous version
2015A/HRC/RES/30/9Equal participation in political and public affairsCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Civil and Political Rights Conferences Equal Opportunity Political Participation

What does this mandate say?

23 operative paragraphs

Expresses concern that, despite progress made towards the full implementation of the right to participate in public affairs worldwide, many people continue to face obstacles, including discrimination, in the enjoyment of their right to participate in the public affairs of their countries as well as in the enjoyment of other human rights that enable it;

Recognizes that women, persons belonging to marginalized groups or minorities, and persons in vulnerable situations are among those who are most affected by discrimination in participation in political and public affairs;

Reaffirms the obligation of States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that every citizen has an effective right and opportunity to equal participation in public affairs;

Notes the emergence of new forms of participation and grass-roots engagement, in particular through new information and communications technology and social media, and the challenges to established forms of political participation in some States;

Notes with interest the study on promotion, protection and implementation of the right to participate in public affairs in the context of existing human rights law prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and welcomes the contributions of States and other stakeholders to the study;

Invites States to consider best practices and experiences with respect to the implementation of the right to participate in public affairs when fulfilling their human rights obligations, and to share their best practices and experiences in this regard at the regional and international levels, including when reporting to the United Nations human rights system, in order to facilitate full, effective and equal participation in political and public affairs;

Urges all States to ensure the full, effective and equal participation of all citizens in political and public affairs, including by, inter alia:

Complying fully with their international human rights law obligations and commitments with regard to participation in political and public affairs, including by reflecting them in their national legislative framework;

Considering signing and ratifying or acceding to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and other core international human rights treaties;

Taking all necessary measures to eliminate laws, regulations and practices that discriminate, directly or indirectly, against citizens in their right to participate in public affairs on the grounds of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status, or on the basis of disability;

Taking proactive measures to eliminate all barriers in law and in practice that prevent or hinder citizens, in particular women, persons belonging to marginalized groups or minorities, persons with disabilities and persons in vulnerable situations, from participating fully and effectively in political and public affairs, including, inter alia, reviewing and repealing measures that unreasonably restrict the right to participate in public affairs, and considering adopting, on the basis of reliable data on participation, temporary special measures, including legislative acts, aimed at increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in all aspects of political and public life;

Taking appropriate measures to encourage publicly and promote the importance of participation of all citizens in political and public affairs, in particular women, persons belonging to marginalized groups or to minorities, and persons in vulnerable situations, including by engaging them in designing, evaluating and reviewing policies and legislation on participation in political and public affairs;

Developing and disseminating information and educational materials on the political process and relevant international human rights law provisions to facilitate equal participation in political and public affairs;

Taking steps to promote and protect the voting rights of all those entitled to vote without any discrimination, including facilitation of voter registration and participation and the provision of electoral information and voting papers in a range of accessible formats and languages, as appropriate;

Exploring new forms of participation and opportunities brought about by new information and communications technology and social media as a means to improve and widen, online and offline, the exercise of the right to participate in public affairs, and other rights directly supporting and enabling it;

Ensuring the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and freedom of association, education and development, and facilitating equal and effective access to information, media and communications technology in order to enable pluralistic debates fostering inclusive and effective participation in political and public affairs;

Creating a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society organizations, which together with other actors play a key role in the effective promotion and protection of all human rights;

Providing full and effective access to justice and redress mechanisms to those citizens whose right to participate in public affairs has been violated, including by developing effective, independent and pluralistic national human rights institutions, in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles);

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner:

To organize, prior to the thirty-second session of the Human Rights Council, an expert workshop to discuss the existing guidance on the implementation of the right to participate in public affairs with the aim of identifying possible gaps and making recommendations in this regard, as well as new developments, trends and innovations with respect to full, effective and equal participation in political and public affairs;

To invite States, relevant United Nations bodies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, treaty bodies, special procedures, regional human rights mechanisms, civil society organizations, academia, national human rights institutions and other relevant stakeholders to participate actively in the workshop;

To prepare a summary report on the above-mentioned workshop, including any recommendations stemming therefrom, and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-third session;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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