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Info Service on UN Sustainable Development (Oct25/01) Penang, 9 Oct (Kanaga Raja) — The United Nations Human Rights Council has stressed the importance of respecting, protecting and fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities, including within and among States, as envisaged in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This came in a resolution (A/HRC/60/L.27/Rev.1) adopted without a vote at the 60th regular session of the Council, which concluded in Geneva on 8 October. According to media reports, the resolution, which was adopted without a vote on 6 October, was submitted by China and supported by nearly 70 countries, including Bolivia, Cameroon, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. In its resolution, the UN Human Rights Council recognized that the full, equal and effective enjoyment and realization of economic, social and cultural rights, exercised without discrimination of any kind, contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 10, on reducing inequality within and among countries, and ensuring that no one is left behind. It also recognized that inequalities and discrimination affect the enjoyment and realization of economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, and are inconsistent with the principle enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. The Council noted with concern the impact of persistent challenges to the realization of all human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and the growing inequalities, particularly in the context of global crises and resource constraints, on States’ implementation of their human rights obligations, as well as of their voluntary pledges and commitments in some areas, in particular those related to economic, social and cultural rights, which could affect progress on addressing inequalities, including gender inequality, systemic discrimination and the needs of persons in vulnerable situations, including persons affected by armed conflict. It reaffirmed that the existence of widespread extreme poverty inhibits the full, equal and effective enjoyment of human rights, that its immediate alleviation and eventual eradication must remain a high priority for the international community and that efforts towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 1 should be strengthened, including through urgent and immediate measures on addressing homelessness. It recognized that the establishment of nationally defined social protection floors is a key path to facilitating the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and that social protection floors, when used as a baseline, have the potential to reduce poverty and inequality, including gender inequality, by promoting basic income security, decent work, equal pay for work of equal value and universal access to healthcare and basic services. It stressed that a reformed international financial architecture could help to advance the rights and vital interests of people by supporting the realization of economic, social and cultural rights, and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals and targets, in particular target 10.6, on ensuring enhanced representation and voice for developing countries in decision-making in global international economic and financial institutions in order to deliver more effective, credible, accountable and legitimate institutions. The Council recalled that the Office of the High Commissioner is mandated, inter alia, to promote and protect the effective enjoyment by all of economic, social and cultural rights, and to provide advisory services and technical and financial assistance, at the request of the State concerned and, where appropriate, regional human rights organizations, with a view to supporting actions and programmes in the field of human rights. It was gravely concerned that the Office of the High Commissioner faces significant and worsening gaps in terms of capacity and resources for its operations at the country and regional levels, and at headquarters, including in order to support States to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights, as well as to combat inequalities and discrimination. It recognized that the Office of the High Commissioner, including its field offices, needs more financial and human resources provided by the regular budget to bridge the substantial resource gap so as to carry out its mandated activities to promote and protect the effective enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights and to address inequalities. The Council recalled that the High Commissioner shall be guided by the recognition that all human rights – civil, political, economic, cultural and social – are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that, while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Against this backdrop, the Human Rights Council stressed the importance of respecting, protecting and fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities, including within and among States, as envisaged in the Sustainable Development Goals. It emphasized that States, in fulfilling economic, social and cultural rights, should provide adequate investments, in accordance with the national legislation of each State and its international human rights obligations, in public health systems, education, social protection, decent work, housing, food, water and sanitation systems, including to respond effectively to global challenges. It also emphasized that States need to enhance their ongoing efforts in order to create conditions conducive to the enjoyment and realization of economic, social and cultural rights, including by mobilizing resources towards the full, equal and effective enjoyment of these rights by persons in marginalized or vulnerable situations. It recalled that every State has a responsibility to promote the economic, social and cultural development of its people and to that end has the discretion and responsibility to choose its means and goals of development consistent with its obligations under international human rights law. The Council encouraged States that have not yet signed and ratified or acceded to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to consider doing so, and encouraged all States to implement relevant Human Rights Council resolutions on economic, social and cultural rights. It encouraged the identification of the root causes of discrimination, in particular in the context of multiple and aggravated forms of discrimination, and the adoption of measures necessary to combat discrimination and inequalities, inter alia, poverty alleviation, homelessness elimination, human rights education and social protection. It stressed that it is essential to scale up international cooperation to support developing and least developed countries and persons in marginalized and vulnerable situations, who are disproportionately bearing the impacts of global crises and resource constraints, to ensure that global efforts are based on unity, solidarity, multilateral cooperation and the principle of leaving no one behind. The Council encouraged international financial institutions to continue to support States, in particular developing countries, and, when doing so, to take into consideration the prioritization of social spending and the enhancement of States’ fiscal space, while engaging collaboratively in terms of international assistance and cooperation, all of which contribute to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights. It encouraged the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights Council, the United Nations development system, international financial institutions, regional organizations and other stakeholders, as appropriate and within their respective mandates, to take into consideration the needs of States, especially developing and least developed countries, to fulfil their responsibilities to better promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights, address inequalities and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It called upon the Office of the High Commissioner, in accordance with its mandate, to strengthen its work and set its priorities on economic, social and cultural rights, taking into consideration relevant resolutions and decisions of the Human Rights Council, with due regard to achieving international cooperation in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights. The Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner to enhance its work, within its mandate, in the field of economic, social and cultural rights, in order to effectively assist all countries in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights and addressing inequalities, including through technical assistance and the development of practical tools and support. It also requested the Office of the High Commissioner to continue to ensure that its headquarters are equipped with adequate and proportionate posts and capacity, with due regard to gender balance and equitable geographical representation, and that its regional offices are provided with sufficient resources, so as to enable the effective fulfilment of its mandate in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. It decided to convene a panel discussion, with gender balance and equitable geographical representation, on progress, challenges and opportunities in promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities, including the impact of the funding and liquidity constraints on the work of the Office of the High Commissioner to promote and protect economic, social and cultural rights in accordance with its mandate, at the sixty-third session of the Human Rights Council, and to invite States, relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, international and regional organizations, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders to share achievements, challenges and best practices and to identify ways in which the Office can best contribute to the efforts of States to respect, promote and fulfil economic, social and cultural rights, in accordance with its mandate, including the possibility of enhancing the capacity of the Office to better provide advisory services and technical assistance. It requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a substantive report on the panel discussion and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-sixth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue. The Council also requested the High Commissioner to enhance and broaden the work carried out on studies and analysis about economic, social and cultural rights, with a view to identifying legal, policy and other measures, while taking into account the diversity of legal systems, cultural contexts and approaches, in order to consolidate promising practices and provide technical support and capacity-building through the knowledge hub for economic, social and cultural rights. +
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