Equal Participation in Political and Public Affairs

A/HRC/RES/33/22No 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 2016.

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 Equal Opportunity Guidelines Political Participation

What does this mandate say?

28 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, such as discrimination, including multiple and intersecting forms of 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;

Welcomes the expert workshop on existing guidance on the implementation of the right to participate in public affairs, and on challenges, gaps, opportunities, new developments, trends and innovations with respect to full, effective and equal participation in political and public affairs, organized by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and held on 18 May 2016, and the summary report thereon, and the efforts and initiatives at all levels aimed at facilitating, in law and in practice, full and effective 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 obligations and commitments and working to implement accepted universal periodic review recommendations 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 to 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 accessible 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, and sharing examples of good practices in the use and wide accessibility of information and communications technology tools for the enhancement of equal participation in political and public affairs;

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 (the Paris Principles);

Calls upon States to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goals 5 and 16, with the participation of all stakeholders;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare concise and action-oriented draft guidelines as a set of orientations for States on the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs, as set out in article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and as further elaborated on in other relevant provisions under international human rights law, and to present the draft guidelines to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-ninth session in order to allow the Council to take a decision on the way forward;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to facilitate open, transparent and inclusive elaboration of the draft guidelines through consultations with States and with the participation of relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, intergovernmental organizations, the Human Rights Committee and other treaty bodies, special procedures, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, academia and other relevant stakeholders, including through informal consultations with States and other stakeholders at the regional level;

Invites the Office of the High Commissioner to consider examining in the draft guidelines, inter alia:

Basic principles underpinning the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs;

The effective implementation of all dimensions of the right to participate in public affairs for all rights holders, without discrimination or distinction of any kind, including at the national level, in all phases of the electoral process, between elections, outside the political process in the conduct of public affairs, and in access to public service, and on the participation of citizens, individually and in association with others, at the supranational level, including within international organizations;

Cooperation and assistance aimed at the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs, including through electoral assistance and observation;

Model standards advancing the effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs based on examples of best practices;

Emerging and new forms of participation, in particular through new information and communications technology and social media;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to provide an oral update to the Human Rights Council at its thirty-sixth session, seeking the views of States on the content and the preparation of the draft guidelines, including proposals on how effective implementation of the right to participate in public affairs could be promoted further through the United Nations system;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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