Question of the Realization in All Countries of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

A/HRC/RES/40/12No 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 2019.

What other versions does this mandate have?

12 versions · 2007–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/58/9

2025A/HRC/RES/58/9Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/52/11Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/46/10Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2019A/HRC/RES/40/12Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/37/13Question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rightsCompare 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?

6 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Equality Human Rights Human Rights Indicators Sustainable Development

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2020.

2020A/HRC/43/29Question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all countries the role of new technologies for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights : report of the Secretary-General

Identified automatically from the metadata in each report’s UN Digital Library catalogue record.

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the most recent accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and calls upon all States that have not yet signed and ratified or acceded to the Covenant to consider doing so as a matter of priority, and States parties to consider reviewing their reservations thereto;

Calls upon all States to give full effect to economic, social and cultural rights and to take all appropriate measures to implement the Human Rights Council resolutions on the question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights, the most recent of which is resolution 37/13 of 22 March 2018;

Welcomes the most recent accession to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and encourages all States that have not yet signed and ratified or acceded to the Optional Protocol to consider doing so, and also to consider making declarations under articles 10 and 11 thereof;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the question of the realization of economic, social and cultural rights in all countries, with a special focus on the role of economic, social and cultural rights in empowering people and ensuring inclusiveness and equality, submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 37/13, and of the conclusions contained therein;

Emphasizes that, in General Assembly resolution 70/1, States committed to taking bold and transformative steps that were urgently needed to shift the world onto a sustainable and resilient path, pledged that no one would be left behind and that they would endeavour to reach the furthest behind first, recognized that the dignity of the human person was fundamental, envisaged a world of universal respect for equality and non-discrimination and included the concepts of resilience and sustainability in the Sustainable Development Goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Urges States to adopt or further develop procedures for information-gathering and measurement that may, if analysed in the light of international human rights law principles and standards, serve as national indicators for State decision-making processes, and that are transparent and participatory and allow for accountability;

Notes with appreciation the contributions of international human rights mechanisms, including the international human rights treaty bodies, the Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies, the special procedures and the universal periodic review in promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda in accordance with States’ human rights obligations, and encourages States to give due consideration to information, observations and recommendations from human rights mechanisms when implementing and monitoring the progress of the 2030 Agenda, and to promote the cooperation of all stakeholders towards the full integration of human rights into the said processes;

Underlines the importance of access to justice and an effective remedy for violations of economic, social and cultural rights, and in this regard notes with appreciation the measures taken to facilitate access to complaints procedures and the domestic adjudication of cases, as appropriate, for victims of alleged human rights violations;

Welcomes the steps taken at the national level to implement economic, social and cultural rights, including the enactment of appropriate legislation and adjudication by national courts, and in this regard underlines the need to consider justiciability when determining the best way to give domestic legal effect to the rights in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;

Recognizes that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and their 169 targets are aimed at, inter alia, realizing the human rights of all and achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, and that they are integrated and indivisible and balance the three dimensions of sustainable development, namely the economic, social and environmental, calls upon States to implement the 2030 Agenda consistent with the principles of equality and non-discrimination, and in this regard encourages States to consider appropriate measures to promote de facto equality;

Acknowledges that social protection floors may facilitate the enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to social security, the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health, an adequate standard of living, including adequate food, clothing and housing, education and safe drinking water and sanitation, in accordance with the human rights obligations of States, and in this regard underlines the importance of acting consistently with the principles of non-discrimination, transparency, participation and accountability;

Underlines the importance of developing human rights training and education, which can help to build societies that respect dignity, equality, inclusion, integrity, diversity and the rule of law;

Encourages the use of international human rights standards and the analysis and recommendations of the human rights bodies and mechanisms to identify who is being left behind, marginalized or discriminated against in each country context and the root causes, including multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, as well as the measures necessary to combat discrimination and inequalities;

Calls upon States:

To promote the use of human rights indicators to measure progress in the implementation of laws, policies and actions to address discrimination and inequalities;

To identify patterns of discrimination in law, policies and practices, and to address entrenched structural barriers and unequal power relations that generate and perpetuate inequality over generations;

To strengthen the role and capacity of 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) and of equality bodies, to protect civic space and to contribute to providing support for stakeholders in the identification of appropriate solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals at the national and local levels;

Notes with appreciation the work carried out by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to assist States parties in fulfilling their obligations, including through the elaboration of general comments, the consideration of periodic reports and, for States parties to the Optional Protocol to the Covenant, the examination of individual communications;

Also notes with appreciation the work of other relevant treaty bodies and special procedures in the promotion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights within their respective mandates;

Encourages enhanced cooperation and increased coordination between the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other human rights treaty bodies, United Nations bodies, specialized agencies and programmes and mechanisms of the Human Rights Council whose activities have a bearing on economic, social and cultural rights, in a manner that respects their distinctive mandates and promotes their policies, programmes and projects;

Recognizes and encourages the important contributions of regional organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society, including non-governmental organizations, academic and research institutions, business enterprises and trade unions, to the question of the realization and enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights, including training and information activities;

Welcomes the activities carried out by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the promotion of economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through technical cooperation, the work of its field offices, its relevant reports to United Nations bodies, the development of in-house expertise, including on human rights indicators, and its publications, studies, training and information activities on related issues, including through new information technologies;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to prepare and submit to the Human Rights Council an annual report on the question of the realization in all countries of economic, social and cultural rights under agenda item 3, with a special focus on the role of new technologies for the realization of economic, social and cultural rights;

Decides to remain seized of this issue and to consider taking further action in order to implement the present resolution.

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Who created this mandate?

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What does this mandate say?

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