Equal Participation in Political and Public Affairs

A/HRC/RES/48/2View 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 2021.

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?

6 topics

Anti-Discrimination Measures Civil and Political Rights Covid-19 Equal Opportunity Political Participation Public Health

What does this mandate say?

22 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 and girls, 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, including inter alia, violence against women participating in political and public affairs;

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

Urges all States to ensure that every citizen can participate fully, equally and meaningfully in political and public affairs, including by, inter alia:

Complying fully with their international human rights obligations and commitments and working to implement all accepted universal periodic review recommendations with regard to equal 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 relevant 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, online and offline, 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, persons in vulnerable situations and indigenous peoples, from participating fully, equally and meaningfully 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 disaggregated 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 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 materials in 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 ability to exercise the right to participate in public affairs, and other rights directly supporting and enabling it, and recognizing and addressing the digital divide, including for women and girls and persons with disabilities, while mitigating the risks, including tackling online harms;

Ensuring the rights of everyone to freedom of expression, including to seek, receive and impart information, freedoms of peaceful assembly and 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, journalists, media workers or other civil society actors, online and offline, which together with other actors play a key role in the effective promotion, protection and realization 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, as appropriate, 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 all Member States to enhance the political participation of all women, to address violence against women participating in political and public affairs, to accelerate the achievement of gender equality and, in all situations, to promote and protect the full and equal enjoyment by women of all human rights with respect to voting in elections and public referendums and being eligible for election to publicly elected bodies;

Recognizes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on public participation, with many channels for engagement moving online, posing obstacles for those segments of the population who have limited or no Internet access or who face other barriers to digital inclusion, such as the affordability of the Internet, and encourages States to ensure that all stakeholders, including women and girls, persons living in rural communities and persons with disabilities, have access to timely and accurate information and are fully involved in decisions that affect them;

Underscores that an effective response to the pandemic and post-pandemic recovery depends on every person being able to contribute fully to that effort, and encourages States to create effective channels for civil society participation in policy development and decision-making at all levels and to protect the space, online and offline, for journalists, media workers, human rights defenders and experts to speak freely without any reprisals;

Strongly condemns any manipulation of election processes, coercion and tampering with vote counts, particularly when done by States, as well as by other actors, and calls upon all Member States to respect the rule of law and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, including the right of every citizen to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors, thereby fostering conditions in which all citizens, regardless of how they voted, whom they supported or whether their candidates prevailed, have the motivation and incentive, as well as the right and opportunity, to continue to participate directly or through elected representatives in the conduct of public affairs and their Government;

Calls upon Member States to continuously strengthen and develop their electoral institutions and processes;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:

To organize, prior to the fifty-fourth session of the Human Rights Council, a one-day intersessional workshop to discuss challenges, good practices and experiences in implementing the right to participate in public affairs, notably in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the post-pandemic recovery, including the role of participation in securing public health;

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 workshop, including any recommendations stemming therefrom, with a view to ensuring better recovery, and to submit it to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-fourth session.

Paragraph content is machine-extracted from UN documents. For authoritative content, please refer to the official UN document.

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