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The Rule of Law at the National and International Levels

A/RES/66/102No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 83The rule of law at the national and international levels, published in 2012.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 2006–2025
This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/167
  • 2025A/RES/80/167The rule of law at the national and international levelsLatestCompare with previous version
  • 2024A/RES/79/126The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
  • 2023A/RES/78/112The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
  • 2022A/RES/77/110The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version
  • 2021A/RES/76/117The rule of law at the national and international levelsCompare with previous version

iVersions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics
Capacity BuildingCoordination Within UN SystemInternational CourtsInternational Law CodificationPartnershipRule of Law

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report of the Secretary-General submitted under this mandate, 2012.

  • 2012A/67/290Strengthening and coordinating United Nations rule of law activities report of the Secretary-General

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

What does this mandate say?

24 operative paragraphs
1
Takes note of the annual report of the Secretary-General on strengthening and coordinating United Nations rule of law activities;
2
Reaffirms the role of the General Assembly in encouraging the progressive development of international law and its codification, and reaffirms further that States shall abide by all their obligations under international law;
3
Reaffirms also the imperative of upholding and promoting the rule of law at the international level in accordance with the principles of the Charter;
4
Welcomes the dialogue initiated by the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit with Member States on the topic ‘‘Promoting the rule of law at the international level’’, and calls for the continuation of this dialogue with a view to fostering the rule of law at the international level;
5
Stresses the importance of adherence to the rule of law at the national level and the need to strengthen support to Member States, upon their request, in the domestic implementation of their respective international obligations through enhanced technical assistance and capacity-building, based on greater coordination and coherence within the United Nations system and among donors, and reiterates its call for greater evaluation of the effectiveness of such activities, including possible measures to improve the effectiveness of those capacity-building activities;
6
Calls, in this context, for dialogue to be enhanced among all stakeholders with a view to placing national perspectives at the centre of rule of law assistance in order to strengthen national ownership;
7
Calls upon the United Nations system to systematically address, as appropriate, aspects of the rule of law in relevant activities, including the participation of women in rule of law-related activities, recognizing the importance of the rule of law to virtually all areas of United Nations engagement;
8
Expresses full support for the overall coordination and coherence role of the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group within the United Nations system within existing mandates, supported by the Rule of Law Unit in the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, under the leadership of the Deputy Secretary-General;
9
Requests the Secretary-General to submit, in a timely manner, his next annual report on United Nations rule of law activities, in accordance with paragraph 5 of its resolution 63/128 of 11 December 2008;
10
Recognizes the importance of restoring confidence in the rule of law as a key element of transitional justice;
11
Encourages the Secretary-General and the United Nations system to accord high priority to rule of law activities;
12
Invites the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the International Law Commission to continue to comment, in their respective reports to the General Assembly, on their current roles in promoting the rule of law;
13
Invites the Rule of Law Coordination and Resource Group and the Rule of Law Unit to continue to interact with Member States on a regular basis, in particular in informal briefings;
14
Stresses the need to provide the Rule of Law Unit with the necessary funding and staff in order to enable it to carry out its tasks in an effective and sustainable manner, and urges the Secretary-General and Member States to continue to support the functioning of the Unit;
15
Recalls its decision to convene a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the topic “The rule of law at the national and international levels” during the high-level segment of its sixty-seventh session, and decides that the organizational arrangements for the high-level meeting should be as follows:
a
The high-level meeting will be held as a one-day plenary on Monday, 24 September 2012;
b
The President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the President of the International Court of Justice, the President of the Security Council, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, the Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Chair of the International Law Commission, Member States and observers, as well as a limited number of representatives of non-governmental organizations active in the field of the rule of law, will be invited to speak at the plenary;
c
The President of the General Assembly shall draw up a list of representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council who will participate in the high-level meeting;
d
The President of the General Assembly shall draw up a list of representatives of civil society organizations, including non-governmental organizations active in the field of the rule of law and, taking into account the principle of equitable geographical representation, submit the list to Member States for consideration on a no-objection basis, for participation in the high-level meeting;
16
Decides that the high-level meeting will result in a concise outcome document, and requests the President of the General Assembly to produce a draft text, in consultation with Member States, and to convene inclusive informal consultations at an appropriate date in order to enable sufficient consideration and agreement by Member States prior to the meeting;
17
Requests the President of the General Assembly, in consultation with Member States, to finalize the organizational arrangements of the meetings, including the list of speakers for the plenary, taking into account the length of the high-level meeting, the level of representation, equitable geographical representation and the need to ensure that all listed speakers will have the opportunity to speak;
18
Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report for the consideration of Member States in preparation for the high-level meeting, no later than March 2012;
19
Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-seventh session the item entitled “The rule of law at the national and international levels”;
20
Invites Member States as well as the Secretary-General to suggest possible sub-topics for future Sixth Committee debates for inclusion in the forthcoming annual report, with a view to assisting the Sixth Committee in choosing future sub-topics.

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

Table of contents

No headings found in this document.