Cooperation Between the United Nations and the International Organization of La Francophonie

A/RES/71/289No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 126jCooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie, published in 2017.

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14 versions · 1999–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/79/331

2025A/RES/79/331Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la FrancophonieLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/331Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la FrancophonieCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/75/307Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la FrancophonieCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/290Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la FrancophonieCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/289Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la FrancophonieCompare with previous version

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What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Cooperation Between Organizations Francophonie French Language Regional Cooperation

What does this mandate say?

57 operative paragraphs

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General,5 and welcomes the strengthened and fruitful cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie;

Notes with satisfaction, in accordance with the Antananarivo Declaration adopted by the Heads of State and Government of countries using French as a common language at the sixteenth Summit of la Francophonie, the active participation of the International Organization of la Francophonie in the work of the United Nations, among whose purposes, as set forth in its Charter, are to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and respect for the principle of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States, to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of those common ends;

Also notes with satisfaction the continued strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie in the area of human rights and in the promotion of gender equality, and commends the initiatives taken by the International Organization of la Francophonie in the areas of crisis and conflict prevention, management and resolution, the promotion of peace, support for democracy and the rule of law, full respect for human rights and good governance, the fight against impunity and the promotion of international criminal justice, in accordance with the commitments set forth in its Bamako Declaration of 3 November 2000 on the practices of democracy, rights and freedoms in the francophone world, and reaffirmed at the Ministerial Conference of la Francophonie on Conflict Prevention and Human Security, held on 13 and 14 May 2006 in Saint Boniface, Canada;

Welcomes the involvement of the International Organization of la Francophonie in high-level consultations on the Sahel and its genuine contribution, in cooperation with, among others, the United Nations, to crisis resolution and recovery and to peacebuilding in Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Lebanon and Mali;

Also welcomes the strengthened cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the International Organization of la Francophonie, including to provide support for French-speaking countries in the context of the universal periodic review and other human rights mechanisms, and further welcomes the renewal of the cooperation agreement between the two organizations for the period 2016–2017 and of the programmes implemented since the renewal of the agreement, in the three identified areas of cooperation, namely, the promotion of diversity and the fight against all forms of discrimination, support for the United Nations human rights mechanisms, and protection of the rights of migrants;

Expresses its deep concern about the continued violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, including in countries in crisis or emerging from crisis, and particularly against women and children, as well as refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants, and welcomes the implementation of the cooperation agreement between the International Organization of la Francophonie and the International Committee of the Red Cross signed in May 2014;

Welcomes the development of cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie, with the participation of other regional and subregional organizations, as well as non-governmental organizations, in the fields of early warning and crisis and conflict prevention, encourages the pursuit of this initiative with a view to formulating practical recommendations to facilitate the establishment of relevant operational mechanisms, where necessary, and invites the relevant stakeholders to redouble their efforts to reduce risks and latent vulnerabilities, including by considering the development of risk management and resilience strategies;

Recognizes, as part of the cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie, the interest in intensifying efforts to move from early warning to rapid response and the need to promote the full participation of women and youth in conflict prevention, management and resolution mechanisms through their involvement in negotiation and peace agreement processes;

Welcomes the impetus given to the participation of States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie in peacekeeping operations, while recalling that it is up to the United Nations to preserve multilingualism and the Secretariat to integrate multilingualism in the activities of these operations, and draws attention to the strengthened cooperation between the International Organization of la Francophonie, on the one hand, and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support of the Secretariat, on the other, with a view to increasing the number of French-speaking personnel, including women, involved in United Nations peacekeeping operations;

Notes that a large number of civilian and military peacekeeping personnel are deployed by the United Nations in francophone countries, and in this regard encourages the continuation of efforts by the States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie and by the Organization itself, taking into account the authority of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to increase the supply of French-speaking civilian and military contingents on missions to francophone countries and to build their capacities, including access by French-speaking personnel to leadership positions in peacekeeping operations in francophone countries;

Welcomes the implementation of the Francophone Expertise and Training Network for Peace Operations, created in January 2014 in the presence of high-level representatives of the United Nations Secretariat, and the fruitful cooperation that it has established with the Secretariat, particularly with the Police Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, to strengthen the francophone presence in peacekeeping operations and to promote the use of the French language in peacekeeping operations deployed in a francophone environment through the dissemination of the En avant! learning method and the organization of training courses by the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support;

Also welcomes the creation in October 2016 of the Boutros-Ghali peacekeeping Observatory, which will constitute in particular a framework for exchanges between French-speaking experts and personalities from personnel-contributing countries and strives to support French-speaking States in their efforts to better prepare for their participation in peacekeeping operations, particularly those deployed in a francophone environment;

Further welcomes the contributions of francophone countries and of the International Organization of la Francophonie to the consultations of the High-level Independent Panel on Peace Operations, created by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to make an assessment of peacekeeping operations, and notes their expectations for greater recognition, where appropriate, of the language dimension for the proper implementation of mandates;

Welcomes the participation of the International Organization of la Francophonie in the work of the Peacebuilding Commission on Burundi, the Central African Republic, Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, and strongly encourages the International Organization of la Francophonie and the Peacebuilding Commission to continue to cooperate actively;

Also welcomes the involvement of the International Organization of la Francophonie in promoting international criminal justice, as well as the signing of a partnership agreement between the International Organization of la Francophonie and the International Criminal Court, which illustrates the role played by the International Organization of la Francophonie in protecting human rights, restoring the rule of law and combating impunity;

Further welcomes the importance given by the States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie to cooperating in the area of international criminal justice and facilitating the development of judicial cooperation procedures between States, which is essential in prosecuting perpetrators of the most serious crimes;

Welcomes the efforts of the International Organization of la Francophonie to establish democratic governance of security systems, to define a francophone position with regard to justice, truth and reconciliation in order to support French-speaking States in crisis and in transition, and to promote the diversity of legal systems;

Also welcomes the cooperation between the International Organization of la Francophonie and the United Nations to prevent and combat terrorism, particularly with the Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate;

Further welcomes the adoption at the sixteenth Summit of la Francophonie of the declaration of Heads of State and Government using French as a common language, in which they welcomed General Assembly resolution 70/291 of 1 July 2016 on the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy Review, and welcomes the adoption by Heads of State and Government using French as a common language of a resolution on preventing radicalization and violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism;

Welcomes the action taken by the International Organization of la Francophonie and its member States and Governments aimed at promoting the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals;

Also welcomes the action taken by the International Organization of la Francophonie in promoting education and training, including the integration of digital issues in those areas;

Notes with satisfaction the development of collaboration between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie in electoral monitoring and assistance, and encourages the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations in that area;

Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for including the International Organization of la Francophonie in the periodic meetings he holds with heads of regional organizations, and invites him to continue to do so, taking into account the role played by the International Organization of la Francophonie in conflict prevention and support for democracy and the rule of law, gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and sustainable development, and in that regard encourages cooperation in the field between the United Nations, the International Organization of la Francophonie and regional organizations aimed at promoting the peaceful settlement of disputes, including through mediation;

Invites the Secretary-General to continue to involve the International Organization of la Francophonie in the efforts to promote multilingualism, a core value of the United Nations, bearing in mind the objective of eliminating disparities between the use of English and the use of other official languages within the Organization, including the activities linked to public relations and information, documentation, language services and conferences services, human resources management and staff training, as well as the activities affected by those disparities in field offices and peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations;

Reaffirms the need to respect the equality of the two working languages of the Secretariat, also reaffirms the use of additional working languages in specific duty stations as mandated, and in this regard requests the Secretary-General to ensure that vacancy announcements specify the need for either of the working languages of the Secretariat unless the functions of the post require a specific working language;

Considers that the interaction of the United Nations with the local population in the field is essential and that language skills constitute an important element of the selection and training processes, and therefore affirms that a good command of the official language or languages spoken in the country of residence should be taken into account as an important asset during those processes;

Notes the commitment of States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie to improve global governance so as to promote a balanced multilateral system which assures permanent and equitable representation of Africa in decision-making bodies;

Also notes the firm commitment by the member States and Governments of the International Organization of la Francophonie to international peace and security, democracy, human rights, the rule of law, linguistic and cultural diversity, good governance, sustainable development and bridging the digital gap, as reaffirmed at the sixteenth Summit of la Francophonie, and the commitment of the States members of the International Organization of la Francophonie to take specific actions in the following areas, as set out in the Antananarivo Declaration and the resolutions adopted at the Summit:

Prevention of radicalization and violent extremism which can be conducive to terrorism;

Combating the recruitment, exploitation and use of children in armed conflicts;

Promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls;

Ending child, early and forced marriages;

Water as an instrument of cooperation, prevention, sustainable peace and human development;

Access to clean and sustainable energy for all in Africa;

Promotion of decentralization and local development;

Promotion of education and professional and technical training;

Implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change;3

Promotion of sustainable ocean-based economies;

Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030;

Effective implementation of the New Urban Agenda of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III);

Ensuring road safety;

Promotion of investments in the health sector;

Promotion of intercultural dialogue as a factor for achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals;

Promotion of the use of the French language and linguistic diversity;

Invites the specialized agencies, funds and programmes of the United Nations system, as well as the regional commissions, including the Economic Commission for Africa, to strengthen the cooperation with the Secretary-General of la Francophonie by identifying new synergies in favour of sustainable development, in particular in the areas of poverty eradication, economic growth, energy, the environment and the fight against climate change, culture, education, training and the development of new information technologies, in particular with a view to achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals, to the benefit of all, including children, young people and women;

Welcomes the renewal of the agreement between the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) and the International Organization of la Francophonie, on 6 June 2014, as well as their cooperation, in particular in such areas as women’s participation in political decision-making and in economic, social and cultural life, advocacy for the equality of women and men, the integration of gender equality into sustainable development and combating violence against women and girls, and invites the two institutions to strengthen their cooperation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;

Also welcomes the decision of the Heads of State and Government using French as a common language at the sixteenth Summit of la Francophonie to create within the International Organization of la Francophonie a permanent entity for the promotion of gender equality and the rights and empowerment of women and girls;

Further welcomes the Framework Agreement signed on 7 December 2015 between the International Organization of la Francophonie and the United Nations Development Programme, and their cooperation, particularly in the fields of peace and democracy, sustainable development, climate change, economic development, South-South cooperation and support for civil society, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, giving priority to job creation and entrepreneurship, as well as inclusive, sustainable and resilient development;

Welcomes the will expressed by the International Organization of la Francophonie to contribute to the success of the negotiations leading to the conclusion in 2018 of a global compact on refugees and a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, in line with the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants, and to the outcome of the high-level United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development, to be held in New York from 5 to 9 June 2017;

Also welcomes the cooperation between the World Intellectual Property Organization and the International Organization of la Francophonie to implement the memorandum of understanding signed in Geneva on 12 May 2014 between the two organizations aimed at intensifying their technical cooperation efforts for the benefit of their members;

Expresses its gratitude to the International Organization of la Francophonie for the steps it has taken in recent years to promote cultural and linguistic diversity and dialogue between cultures and civilizations, and encourages the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie to cooperate more closely to ensure full respect for provisions on multilingualism;

Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of la Francophonie for their sustained efforts to strengthen cooperation and coordination between the two organizations, thereby serving their mutual interests in the political, economic, social, cultural and environmental fields;

Welcomes the involvement of the countries that use French as a common language, particularly through the International Organization of la Francophonie, in the preparation for, conduct of and follow-up to international conferences organized under the auspices of the United Nations, as witnessed at the Third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan, from 14 to 18 March 2015, the eleventh session of the United Nations Forum on Forests, held in New York from 4 to 15 May 2015, the Third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa from 13 to 16 July 2015, the United Nations summit for the adoption of the post-2015 development agenda, held in New York from 25 to 27 September 2015, the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Paris from 30 November to 11 December 2015, the first World Humanitarian Summit, held in Istanbul, Turkey, on 23 and 24 May 2016, the Comprehensive High-level Midterm Review of the Implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011–2020, held in Antalya, Turkey, from 27 to 29 May 2016, the high-level plenary meeting on addressing large movements of refugees and migrants, held in New York on 19 September 2016, the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), held in Quito from 17 to 20 October 2016, and the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Marrakech, Morocco, from 7 to 18 November 2016;

Also welcomes the high-level meetings held periodically between the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Secretary-General of la Francophonie, and requests the Secretary-General of the United Nations, acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General of la Francophonie, to encourage the holding of periodic meetings between their representatives as well as with the Group of Francophone Ambassadors at United Nations Headquarters in order to promote the exchange of information, coordination of activities and identification of new areas of cooperation through the use of the French language as a vector for development;

Invites the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take the steps necessary, in collaboration with the Secretary-General of la Francophonie, to continue to promote cooperation between the two organizations;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its seventy-third session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-third session, under the item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations”, the sub-item entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the International Organization of la Francophonie”.

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