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

A/HRC/RES/57/32View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 10Technical assistance and capacity-building, published in 2024.

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?

4 topics

Capacity Building Human Rights Human Rights Institutions Technical Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

16 operative paragraphs

Emphasizes that the general debate held under agenda item 10 is an essential platform for members and observers of the Human Rights Council to openly and safely 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 all 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;

Recognizes that technical cooperation and capacity-building have been crucial in supporting the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles and of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, advancing the knowledge and capacities of national institutions on human rights obligations and aligning national laws and policies to international human rights standards;

Underscores the need to strengthen international, regional and bilateral cooperation and dialogue in support of the promotion and protection 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 and protection 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;

Welcomes the technical assistance and capacity-building provided by the Office of the High Commissioner through United Nations resident coordinators and United Nations national and regional representations, in consultation with and with the consent of the States concerned, in particular with regard to supporting the establishment or the strengthening of national human rights institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles and national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, depending on their national contexts, and encourages them to continue to do so;

Encourages States in need of technical assistance in the strengthening of national structures which play a role in promoting and safeguarding human rights and in the implementation of their human rights obligations, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments, including the recommendations accepted in the context of the universal periodic review, to consider requesting such assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner and other relevant United Nations agencies, 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;

Encourages States to continue to promote initiatives aimed at sharing experiences, lessons learned and best practices in providing human rights technical cooperation and capacity-building support through bilateral cooperation, including bilateral human rights dialogues and North-South, South-South and triangular cooperation, to assist States in implementing their human rights obligations, as well as voluntary pledges and commitments;

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 respect, protection and fulfilment of human rights within their respective mandates;

Welcomes the panel discussion held by the Human Rights Council at its fifty-sixth session, pursuant to Council resolution 54/28 of 12 October 2023, on the theme “Enhancing technical cooperation and capacity-building in the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations”, at which participants underlined the importance of technical cooperation and capacity-building in supporting States in the implementation of universal periodic review recommendations, recognized the potential of South-South and triangular cooperation, reflected on achievements made and obstacles faced, and stressed the need to provide sufficient funding to deliver the required technical assistance and capacity-building activities;

Reiterates its request to 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 – which has been postponed due to the current liquidity crisis affecting the United Nations Secretariat – 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-ninth session, in the annual report of the Office 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 the need to build synergies between the above-mentioned repository and other relevant databases, including, among others, a virtual knowledge hub for national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, and the potential benefit of its expansion 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-ninth session, will be “The role of technical cooperation and capacity-building in strengthening national structures which play a role in promoting and safeguarding human rights, particularly national human rights institutions and national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up”, and to make it fully accessible to persons with disabilities;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the role of technical cooperation and capacity-building among States, the Office and other relevant stakeholders, including national human rights institutions, to support States’ efforts to strengthen national structures which play a role in promoting and safeguarding human rights, particularly national human rights institutions and national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up, including the complementarity of the two latter entities, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-ninth session, to serve as a basis for the above-mentioned panel discussion;

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 strengthening national structures which play a complementary role in promoting and safeguarding human rights, 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 as a contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

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