Civil Society Space

A/HRC/RES/32/31View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2016.

What other versions does this mandate have?

4 versions · 2014–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/59/10

2025A/HRC/RES/59/10Civil society spaceLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/53/13Civil society spaceCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/32/31Civil society spaceCompare with previous version
2014A/HRC/RES/27/31Civil society space

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

What subjects does this mandate have?

9 topics

Access to Information Civil Society Human Rights Advancement International Organizations Popular Participation Public-Private Partnerships Regional Organizations Report Preparation Right to Security of Person

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

Emphasizes that creating and maintaining a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance and insecurity assists States in fulfilling their existing international human rights obligations and commitments, without which equality, accountability and the rule of law are severely weakened, with implications at the national, regional and international levels;

Takes note of the report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on practical recommendations for the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society, based on good practices and lessons learned;

Reminds States of their obligation to respect and fully protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all individuals, inter alia, the rights to freedom of expression and opinion and to assemble peacefully and associate freely, online as well as offline, including for persons espousing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, and that respect for all such rights, in relation to civil society, contributes to addressing and resolving challenges and issues that are important to society, such as addressing financial and economic crises, responding to public health crises, responding to humanitarian crises, including in the context of armed conflict, promoting the rule of law and accountability, achieving transitional justice goals, protecting the environment, realizing the right to development, empowering persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups, combating racism and racial discrimination, supporting crime prevention, countering corruption, promoting corporate social responsibility and accountability, combating human trafficking, empowering women and youth, promoting the rights of the child, advancing social justice and consumer protection, the realization of all human rights and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Urges States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance and insecurity;

Emphasizes the importance of civil society space for empowering persons belonging to minorities and vulnerable groups, as well as persons espousing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, and in that regard calls upon States to ensure that legislation, policies and practices do not undermine the enjoyment by such persons of their human rights or the activities of civil society in defending their rights;

Also emphasizes the important role of artistic expression and creativity in the development of society and, accordingly, the importance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society in that regard, in line with article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;

Urges States to ensure access to justice, and accountability, and to end impunity for human rights violations and abuses against civil society actors, including by putting in place, and where necessary reviewing and amending, relevant laws, policies, institutions and mechanisms to create and maintain a safe and enabling environment in which civil society can operate free from hindrance, insecurity and reprisals;

Calls upon States to ensure that domestic provisions on funding to civil society actors are in compliance with their international human rights obligations and commitments and are not misused to hinder the work or endanger the safety of civil society actors, and underlines the importance of the ability to solicit, receive and utilize resources for their work;

Urges all non-State actors to respect all human rights and not to undermine the capacity of civil society to operate free from hindrance and insecurity;

Emphasizes the essential role of civil society in subregional, regional and international organizations, including in support of the organizations’ work, and in sharing experience and expertise through effective participation in meetings in accordance with relevant rules and modalities, and in this regard reaffirms the right of everyone, individually and in association with others, to unhindered access to and communication with subregional, regional and international bodies, and their representatives and mechanisms;

Recognizes the valuable contribution of national, subregional, regional and international human rights mechanisms and bodies, including the universal periodic review and the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, the human rights treaty bodies and national human rights institutions, to the promotion and protection of civil society space;

Encourages the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies and relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes to continue to address relevant aspects of civil society space in the framework of their respective mandates;

Urges States to ensure that the issue of the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society is addressed in the context of the universal periodic review, and encourages States in that regard to consult civil society in the preparation of their national reports, to consider including in their national reports information on relevant domestic provisions and steps, to consider making relevant recommendations to States under review, and to assist States in the implementation of relevant recommendations through, inter alia, the sharing of experiences, good practices and expertise and offering technical assistance on the basis of requests and with the consent of the States concerned, and conducting broad consultations with civil society in the follow-up to their review;

Also urges States to create and maintain, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment for civil society, and in this regard encourages States to use good practices such as, inter alia, those compiled in the report of the High Commissioner on practical recommendations for the creation and maintenance of a safe and enabling environment for civil society, based on good practices and lessons learned 2 by, inter alia:

Taking steps to ensure a supportive legal framework and access to justice, including by acknowledging publicly the important and legitimate role of civil society in the promotion of human rights, democracy and the rule of law, including through public statements and public information campaigns, and better addressing business-related human rights abuses through the effective implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Contributing to a public and political environment conducive to civil society work, including by strengthening the rule of law, the administration of justice, social and economic development, access to information, the promotion of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression online and offline, and of peaceful assembly and association, and by participating in public affairs and promoting the real and effective participation of the people in decision-making processes, and taking steps to ensure that all domestic legal provisions with an impact on civil society actors, including counter-terrorism measures, comply with relevant international human rights obligations and commitments, including the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, maintaining accessible domestic procedures for the establishment or registration of organizations and associations, and access to national, regional and international human rights mechanisms;

Providing for access to information, including by adopting clear laws and policies providing for effective disclosure of information held by public authorities and a general right to request and receive information subject to clearly and strictly defined exceptions in accordance with international human rights law;

Providing for the participation of civil society actors, including by enabling them to participate in public debate on decisions that would contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights and the rule of law and on any other relevant decisions, and to provide input on the potential implications of legislation when it is being developed, debated, implemented or reviewed, and exploring new forms of participation and opportunities brought about by information and communications technology and social media;

Providing for a long-term supportive environment for civil society, including through education that is aimed at strengthening respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Invites States to seek technical assistance and advice in this regard, including from the Office of the High Commissioner, relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council and from regional human rights mechanisms;

Invites States and other stakeholders to brief, on a voluntary basis, the Human Rights Council at its thirty-fifth session on measures taken to implement the recommendations contained in the report of the High Commissioner;2

Welcomes the work of the Office of the High Commissioner to promote and protect civil society space, including its work on widening the democratic space, and invites it to continue efforts in this regard;

Requests the High Commissioner to prepare a report compiling information on the procedures and practices in respect of civil society involvement with regional and international organizations, including United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, and the contribution of civil society to their work and challenges and best practices, and in that regard to continue to engage with and seek input from those organizations and entities, as well as the views of States, national human rights institutions, civil society and other stakeholders, and to submit the compilation to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-eighth session;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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