The Role of Good Governance in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

A/HRC/RES/45/9View 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 2020.

What other versions does this mandate have?

8 versions · 2008–2024

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/57/5

2024A/HRC/RES/57/5The role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/51/5The role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rightsCompare with previous version
2020A/HRC/RES/45/9The role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rightsCompare with previous version
2018A/HRC/RES/37/6The role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rightsCompare with previous version
2016A/HRC/RES/31/14The role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human 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

Communication Technology Covid-19 Governance Human Rights Internet Public Administration

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the convening on 14 June 2019 of a half-day intersessional seminar on the role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rights, and on sharing best practices in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 16 in this regard;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the above-mentioned seminar;

Recognizes that international human rights law provides a set of standards to guide governing processes and to assess performance outcomes, and in this regard stresses that good governance is necessary for establishing and maintaining an environment conducive to the promotion and protection of human rights;

Notes with concern that the current pandemic lockdowns may limit freedom of movement and access to basic public services and, among other things, affect jobs, livelihoods and family life;

Also notes with concern that many forms of the digital divide remain between and within countries and between men and women, boys and girls, older and younger persons and persons with disabilities, and recognizing the need to close them;

Acknowledges that many countries all over the world need support in terms of expanding infrastructure, technological cooperation and capacity-building, including human and institutional capacity-building, to ensure the accessibility, affordability and availability of the Internet in order to bridge the digital divide and offer a digital dividend to all people and to meet the Sustainable Development Goal targets;

Urges States to ensure the right of every person to have access, on equal terms, to public services in his or her country by using new communications technology and global interconnectedness, technological innovation and organizational solutions to respond in the best possible way to the needs of people confronted with the risks of the pandemic;

Also urges States to progressively take steps to expand Internet access in order to provide public services accessible to all, especially the poor and those at most risk of social exclusion, thus rectifying imbalances in access to information and the communications technology currently available, and ensuring their participation in public life;

Encourages States to address any weaknesses in the way public services are being delivered, including in the areas of health, education, justice and other areas, and to increase accessibility to them, including through new communications technology, thus mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the enjoyment of all human rights;

Welcomes the commitments made by all States in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to good governance in the promotion and protection of human rights, including by using strengthened means of technology and embracing their implementation;

Underlines that the primary responsibility lies with States at the national level, including through their constitutional provisions and other enabling legislation, consistent with their international obligations, to ensure that professional public services uphold the highest standards of efficiency, competence and integrity and are predicated on good governance principles, including impartiality, the rule of law, transparency, accountability, participation, inclusivity and combating corruption, and stresses the importance of human rights training and education in this regard;

Invites the Secretary-General to ensure the upholding of the integrity of the United Nations system in its service to humanity, and improved coordination between United Nations agencies, programmes and funds, with a view to ensuring that the United Nations system continues to improve the quality of its work at all levels, including in support of objectives and priorities at the national level;

Encourages the relevant mechanisms of the Human Rights Council to continue to consider, within their respective mandates, the issue of the role of good governance in the promotion and protection of human rights;

Encourages States to consider developing and implementing appropriate tools or mechanisms to review, measure and assess progress in good governance, including but not limited to the Sustainable Development Goals;

Requests the High Commissioner:

To organize, at the fiftieth session of the Human Rights Council, a panel discussion on good governance in the promotion and protection of human rights during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, with a view to discuss the most efficient ways of using new technologies to overcome challenges and to ensure the full realization of human rights and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals;

To liaise with States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council and regional human rights mechanisms, as well as with representatives of civil society, including non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions, with a view to ensuring their contribution to the above-mentioned panel discussion;

To prepare a report on the panel discussion in the form of a summary, and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

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