Original article can be found on OHCHR website: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=26355&LangID=E
7 October 2020 - The Human Rights Council this morning adopted six resolutions dealing with promoting and protecting the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations ; promoting, protecting and respecting women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights in humanitarian situations ; realizing the rights of the child through a healthy environment ; the contribution of the Human Rights Council to the Prevention of Human Rights Violations ; enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity building in the field of human rights ; and technical cooperation and capacity building for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines.
The webcast of the Human Rights Council meetings can be found here. All meeting summaries can be found here. Documents and reports related to the Human Rights Council’s forty-fifth regular session can be found here.
The Council will resume its work at 3 p.m., to take action on two remaining draft resolutions, elect members of the Advisory Committee, appoint Special Procedure mandate holders, and close its regular forty-fifth session.
Action on Resolutions under the Agenda Item on Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.24/Rev1) on promoting and protecting the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations on the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council calls upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to, in accordance with her mandate, systematically include, as applicable, the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations which have been identified by the United Nations Security Council in the women and peace and security agenda in country-specific related work and relevant thematic reports, and encourages her to hold consultations with women human rights defenders, women’s organizations and women peacebuilders. The Council encourages all States to pay due attention to the recommendations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and other treaty bodies relating to the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations, and encourages all relevant entities of the United Nations system to continue to assist States parties, upon the request of those States, in abiding by their international human rights obligations relating to women and girls’ rights at all times, including in armed conflict and post-conflict situations. The Council also requests the High Commissioner to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its forty-eighth session, an analytical report, based on States and other stakeholders’ contributions to be followed by an interactive dialogue, on the current state of play of mainstreaming of the human rights of women and girls in conflict and post-conflict situations in the work of the Human Rights Council, namely in relevant resolutions, as well as and in its mechanisms, with a view to making recommendations, as applicable, to States, Human Rights Council mechanisms and relevant stakeholders.
Spain introduced the resolution.
Speaking in general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote were Peru, Germany on behalf of European Union, Mexico, Denmark, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, India and Pakistan.
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.46/Rev.1) on promoting, protecting and respecting women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights in humanitarian situations, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to the Human Rights Council at its forty-ninth session an analytical report on a comprehensive approach to promoting, protecting and respecting women’s and girls’ full enjoyment of human rights in humanitarian situations, including good practices, challenges and lessons learned at the national, regional and international levels, with input from all relevant stakeholders, including States Members of the United Nations, United Nations bodies, agencies, funds and programmes, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Council, national human rights institutions and civil society organizations and women and girls in humanitarian situations.
Fiji introduced the resolution.
Speaking in general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote were Pakistan on behalf of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Afghanistan, Denmark, Germany on behalf of European Union, Mexico, Uruguay, and Brazil.
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.48/Rev.1) on the rights of the child : realizing the rights of the child through a healthy environment, adopted without a vote, the Council urges States to take effective measures to ensure that all children in vulnerable situations can exercise their rights on an equal basis with other children, and that the effects of environmental harm do not affect them disproportionately, including by strengthening the collection of disaggregated data, by requiring that childhood exposure monitoring and children’s rights impact assessment procedures take fully into account the impact of proposed policies, programmes and projects on those in the most vulnerable situations, including their gender dimensions, and by providing children at particular risk and their parents, or primary caregivers and legal guardians, with assistance in accessing effective remedies. The Council calls upon States to consider ratifying the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocols thereto, and calls also for renewed efforts towards its full implementation by all parties. The Council further calls upon States to develop ambitious mitigation measures to minimize the future negative impacts of climate change on children to the greatest extent possible by holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and by pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, to develop adaptation plans and to make finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development, in accordance with the commitments undertaken by each State under the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to consider their respective obligations regarding the rights of the child and intergenerational equity in their climate change adaptation and mitigation and environmental strategies. The Council decides to continue its consideration of the question of the rights of the child in accordance with its programme of work and its resolutions 7/29 of 28 March 2008 and 19/37 of 23 March 2012, and to focus its next annual full-day meeting on the theme “the rights of the child and the Sustainable Development Goals”, and requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make the discussion fully accessible to persons with disabilities, to prepare a summary report on the annual day discussion and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its forty-eighth session.
Prior to adopting the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected two amendments.
Germany on behalf of the European Union introduced the resolution.
The Russian Federation introduced amendments.
Speaking in comments on the amendments, general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote were Germany on behalf of the European Union, Bahamas, Mexico, Ukraine, India, Uruguay, Argentina and Australia.
Speaking in general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote under the agenda item on the promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development were Namibia and Nepal.
Action on Resolution under Agenda Item Five on Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.32) on the contribution of the Human Rights Council to the prevention of human rights violations, adopted by a vote of 32 in favour, 3 against and 11 abstentions as orally revised, the Council requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report analysing the current system-wide delivery and financing, including existing gaps, of technical assistance and capacity-building that support the implementation by States of their international human rights obligations and commitments and provided upon the request, in consultation with and with the consent of the State concerned, and to formulate recommendations in order to improve and scale-up the system-wide delivery and financing of technical assistance and capacity-building in the field of human rights with a view to building national resilience, and to submit that report to the Human Rights Council for its consideration at its forty-ninth session. The Council further requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to strengthen the capability of the Office to identify, verify, manage and analyse data and early warning signs emanating from all sources, including from States, human rights mechanisms, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, United Nations country teams and the Office’s field presences, and to address them in accordance with her mandate. The Council decides to invite the Chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, commencing in 2021, to brief, on an annual basis, the Human Rights Council, during one of its regular sessions under agenda item 3, on the work of the Commission, including in relation to country situations that are on the Council’s agenda.
The results of the vote were as follows:
In favour (32) : Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Chile, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Fiji, Germany, Italy, Japan, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Nepal, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Togo, Ukraine and Uruguay.
Against (3) : Bahrain, Cameroon, Venezuela.
Abstentions (11) : Bangladesh, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Somalia and Sudan.
Sierra Leone and Switzerland introduced the resolution.
Speaking in comments on the amendments, general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote were Germany on behalf of European Union, Cameroon, Japan, Australia, Uruguay, India, Venezuela, Pakistan, the Philippines, Denmark and Sudan.
Speaking in general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote under the agenda item on the human rights bodies and mechanisms was Eritrea on behalf of a group of countries.
Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item 10 on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.26) on the enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon States to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including Sustainable Development Goal 4, in accordance with human rights law and standards, in order to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. The Council decides, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4 of its resolution 18/18 of 29 September 2011, that the theme of the annual thematic panel discussion under agenda item 10, to be held during its forty-seventh session, will be “Technical cooperation to advance the right to education and ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all”. The Council also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, to be submitted to the Human Rights Council at its forty-seventh session, to serve as a basis for the panel discussion, on the activities and plans of the Office and relevant United Nations country teams and agencies and regional organizations to support States’ efforts to promote and protect the right to education, including those aimed at alleviating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the enjoyment of the right to education, ensuring the continuity of education for all, and addressing educational inequalities, with particular attention given to girls and to children in the most vulnerable and disadvantaged situations. The Council calls upon States, international human rights bodies and mechanisms, relevant international organizations, national human rights institutions and civil society to share best practices and 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 build multi-stakeholder partnerships in the promotion and protection of the right to education.
Thailand on behalf of a group of States introduced the resolution.
In a resolution (A/HRC/45/L.38) on technical cooperation and capacity-building for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Philippines, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council requests the High Commissioner and the Office of the High Commissioner, with a view to improving further the situation of human rights in the Philippines, to provide support for the country in its continued fulfilment of its international human rights obligations and commitments, taking into account the proposed United Nations joint programme on human rights to provide technical assistance and capacity-building for, inter alia, domestic investigative and accountability measures, data gathering on alleged police violations, civic space and engagement with civil society and the Commission on Human Rights, national mechanism for reporting and follow-up, counter-terrorism legislation, and human rights-based approaches to drug control. The Council urges Member States, relevant United Nations agencies and other stakeholders to encourage and support technical cooperation between the Government of the Philippines and the Office of the High Commissioner with a view to improving the situation of human rights in the country in response to the Government’s requests for technical assistance and capacity-building.
Iceland and the Philippines introduced the resolution.
Speaking in comments on the amendments, general comments, explanation of vote before the vote, and explanation of vote after the vote were Japan, Mexico and Germany on behalf of the European Union.
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