Enhancement of Technical Cooperation and Capacity-Building in the Field of Human Rights

A/HRC/RES/54/28View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 10Technical assistance and capacity-building, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

15 versions · 2011–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/60/30

2025A/HRC/RES/60/30Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rightsLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/HRC/RES/57/32Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rightsCompare with previous version
2023A/HRC/RES/54/28Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rightsCompare with previous version
2022A/HRC/RES/51/34Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rightsCompare with previous version
2021A/HRC/RES/48/24Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field 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?

5 topics

Capacity Building Databases Human Rights Recommendations Technical Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

19 operative paragraphs

Emphasizes that the general debate under agenda item 10 is an essential platform for members and observers of the Human Rights Council to openly share their visions and views, and concrete experiences, challenges, progress and achievements, as well as information on assistance needed, with regard to promoting more effective technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, and that such technical cooperation should remain an inclusive exercise that engages and involves all national stakeholders, including government agencies, national human rights institutions, national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, the private sector, civil society, including women’s organizations, and rights holders;

Reiterates that technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights continue to be based on consultations with and with the consent of the States concerned, and should take into account their requests, needs and priorities, as well as their national context, and the fact that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, and are aimed at making a concrete impact at all levels on the ground;

Underscores the need to strengthen international, regional and bilateral cooperation and dialogue in support of the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights, with a view to generating sustainable outcomes, and encourages regional human rights bodies to share experiences and exchange good practices in the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights, including those relating to the empowerment of all women and girls, while engaging with relevant players, including national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and rights holders;

Reaffirms the ongoing need for enhanced voluntary contributions to the relevant United Nations funds to support technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights, encourages States to continue to make contributions to these funds as well as to the technical assistance and capacity-building programme of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that the Office of the High Commissioner is in a position to respond to the requests for assistance identified in its annual appeals, and encourages the funds and the Office to continue to enhance the efficiency and transparency of their activities;

Affirms that the universal periodic review process is a channel to initiate constructive and inclusive dialogue on human rights and explore avenues for technical cooperation with States under review, and that their accepted universal periodic review recommendations, pledges and commitments could serve as a platform to develop and strengthen technical cooperation and to increase partnerships among States, relevant United Nations agencies and stakeholders, including civil society, in order to support the implementation of international human rights obligations by States;

Welcomes the contributions made by States towards the process of follow-up on and implementation of universal periodic review recommendations in States under review, and encourages all States to contribute to the follow-up on and implementation of such recommendations by States under review by, inter alia, showcasing best practices, sharing experiences and expertise and offering technical assistance on the basis of requests and the consent of the States concerned;

Encourages States also to consider offering technical assistance and to share best practices and experience in the areas that they can, contributing to the implementation of their own universal periodic review recommendations that were accepted by States under review on the basis of requests and the consent of the States concerned;

Welcomes the efforts made by the Office of the High Commissioner and other relevant United Nations agencies to promote and support the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations by States, and calls for the Office and other relevant United Nations agencies to continue to provide timely and quality support for States’ requests in their efforts to implement recommendations accepted in the context of the universal periodic review and to prepare their national reports for the review, and encourages greater coordination in this regard;

Recognizes that existing national human rights institutions and civil society can play an important role in supporting the implementation of accepted universal periodic review recommendations and the preparation of national universal periodic review reports, and hence encourages States and relevant United Nations agencies to provide technical assistance and capacity-building for and to collaborate with these actors in those processes;

Encourages States in need of technical assistance to consider requesting it from the Office of the High Commissioner and other relevant United Nations agencies in the implementation of their human rights obligations, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments, including recommendations accepted in the context of the universal periodic review, and strongly encourages the Office and respective United Nations agencies to respond favourably to such requests and to provide information, in a transparent and timely manner, on the technical support available for and provided to States;

Stresses the importance of enhancing coordination between the Office of the High Commissioner and other United Nations agencies in their technical cooperation and capacity-building efforts, and encourages the sharing of information and best practices on a regular basis between the Office, other relevant United Nations agencies and the States concerned on technical assistance and capacity-building efforts undertaken at the national level;

Encourages the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, in their interaction with States, to continue to share information and knowledge relating to best practices and the possibility of providing technical assistance and capacity-building in the promotion, protection and fulfilment of human rights, including, where applicable and within their respective mandates, those pertaining to the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations;

Welcomes the holding of the intersessional meeting and the enhanced interactive dialogue on technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 51/34 of 7 October 2022, at which participants underlined the importance of this mission of the Council, reflected on achievements made and obstacles faced, and stressed the need to provide sufficient funding to carry out the Council’s work, and also discussed the way forward to improve technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, including by enhancing the sharing of experiences and best practices and promoting the implementation of all human rights;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to establish and maintain, through additional dedicated capacity, an online repository of technical cooperation and capacity-building activities in the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations, with voluntary submissions made by States, as well as relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, international and regional organizations, regional human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations, upon the consent of the States concerned, and to update the Human Rights Council, from its fifty-sixth session under the annual report on technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, on the information gathered there on a yearly basis, calling upon those stakeholders with good practices in the above-mentioned areas to provide technical assistance to the States concerned on the basis of their requests and consent as a form of peer support;

Recognizes that the above-mentioned repository could contribute to greater efficiency and visibility of existing and potential technical cooperation and capacity-building activities and existing resources from which the States concerned could benefit, and the need to build synergies with other relevant databases, including, among others, a virtual knowledge hub for national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up;

Acknowledges the potential benefit of expanding the above-mentioned repository to include a match-making function to enhance coordination of technical cooperation and capacity-building efforts in the implementation of accepted universal periodic review recommendations;

Decides, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of Human Rights Council resolution 18/18 of 29 September 2011, that the theme of the annual thematic panel discussion under agenda item 10, to be held at its fifty-sixth session, will be “Enhancing technical cooperation and capacity-building in the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations”;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-sixth session, to serve as a basis for the panel discussion, on enhancing coordination among States, the Office and other relevant stakeholders to support States’ efforts to implement universal periodic review recommendations through technical cooperation;

Calls upon States to implement their human rights obligations, and also calls upon States, international human rights bodies and mechanisms, relevant international organizations, national human rights institutions, national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up and civil society to make use of the ideas and issues raised in the panel discussion to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness and policy coherence of technical cooperation and capacity-building efforts and to build multi-stakeholder partnerships, in the follow-up to and implementation of universal periodic review recommendations, especially in the light of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and in contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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