MORNING - Human Rights Council Adopts Seven Resolutions – Extends Mandates on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Myanmar and Iran

The Human Rights Council this morning adopted seven resolutions, in which it, among other things, extended the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran, for one year each.

The Council also adopted resolutions on the contribution of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in conflict and post-conflict situations; inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; the rights of the child and family reunification; and the role of States in countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights.

In a resolution on the contribution of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in conflict and post-conflict situations, to the enjoyment and realization of human rights, the Council encouraged States to avail themselves of technical assistance in follow-up to the present and previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the protection, individually and collectively, of human rights defenders.

In a resolution on addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Council requested the High Commissioner to convene a three-day workshop before the fifty-second session of the Human Rights Council, open to the participation of States, relevant treaty bodies and mandate holders, academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, to discuss practical ways to further enhance and strengthen work of the Council and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in promoting and protecting economic, social, and cultural rights.

In a resolution on the rights of the child: realizing the rights of the child and family reunification, the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize its annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child in 2023 on the theme, “Rights of the child and the digital environment”, and requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on the rights of the child and inclusive social protection.

In a resolution on the role of States in countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights, the Council decided to convene, at its fiftieth session, a high-level panel discussion on countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights and on ensuring a human rights-based response.

In a resolution on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Council decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for a period of one year.

In a resolution on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the Council decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar for a further period of one year, and requested the Special Rapporteur to present an oral progress report to the Council at its fiftieth and fifty-first sessions.

In a resolution on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Council decided to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran for a further period of one year, and requested the Special Rapporteur to submit a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session.

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-ninth regular session can be found here.

The Council will reconvene this afternoon at 12:45 p.m. to continue to take action on 11 remaining draft resolutions before concluding its forty-ninth regular session.

Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item Three on the Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.9) on Recognizing the contribution of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in conflict and post-conflict situations, to the enjoyment and realization of human rights , adopted by a vote of 39 in favour, 0 against and 8 abstentions as orally revised, the Council stresses the positive, important and legitimate role of human rights defenders, including women human rights defenders, in promoting and protecting human rights, strengthening understanding, tolerance and peace, and contributing to conflict prevention and resolution and post-conflict reconstruction, and urges States to create and support a safe, enabling, accessible and inclusive environment online and offline for their participation in all relevant activities. The Council condemns all acts of intimidation and reprisal, both online and offline, by State and non-State actors against individuals, groups and organs of society, including against human rights defenders and their legal representatives, associates and family members, who seek to cooperate, are cooperating or have cooperated with subregional, regional and international bodies, including the United Nations. The Council encourages States to avail themselves of technical assistance in follow-up to the present and previous resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council on the protection, individually and collectively, of human rights defenders; and encourages the Office of the High Commissioner, in consultation with the Special Rapporteur and other special procedures of the Human Rights Council, to continue to compile and share information on best practices and challenges for the development of a more coherent approach to support the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders by the United Nations.

The results of the vote are as follows:

In favour (39): Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Germany, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kazakhstan, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Montenegro, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Somalia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.

Against (0)

Abstentions (8): China, Eritrea, Qatar, Russian Federation, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.28) on Promoting and protecting economic, social and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, adopted by a vote of 31 in favour, 14 against and 2 abstentions as orally revised, the Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 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 in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Council further requests the High Commissioner to convene a three-day workshop before the fifty-second session of the Human Rights Council, open to the participation of States, relevant treaty bodies and mandate holders, academia, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, to discuss practical ways to further enhance and strengthen work of the Council and the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights in promoting and protecting economic, social, and cultural rights within the context of addressing inequalities in recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, including through focused advocacy on easing economic burdens, vaccine equity, removal of structural impediments and development of technical assistance programmes aimed at enhancing the capacity building of States, especially developing and least-developed States. The Council requests the President of the Human Rights Council to appoint, in consultation with regional groups, an expert to chair and facilitate the workshop.

The results of the vote are as follows:

In favour (31): Argentina, Armenia, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cameroon, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Libya, , Malawi, Malaysia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Paraguay, Qatar, Russian Federation, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, and Venezuela.

Against (14): Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Marshall Islands, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and United States of America.

Abstentions (2): Mexico, and Ukraine.

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.29) on the Rights of the child: realizing the rights of the child and family reunification, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council welcomes the work of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the rights of the child, and takes note with appreciation of her report on the rights of the child and family reunification. The Council further reaffirms that children shall not be separated from their parents against their will except when competent authorities subject to judicial review determine that such separation is necessary for the best interests of the child. Under the rubric of migration and international protection, the Council calls upon States to use alternatives to the detention of migrant children, including by promoting the use of non-custodial solutions, implemented by competent child protection actors engaging with the child and, where applicable, his or her family. When it comes to children allegedly associated with armed forces and armed groups, including those designated as terrorists by the United Nations, the Council urges States to ensure that children associated, or allegedly associated, with armed groups or terrorist groups are treated primarily as victims, with the best interests of the child as a primary consideration, to consider non-judicial measures as alternatives to prosecution, as well as alternatives to detention for those accused of crimes. The Council requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize its annual full-day meeting on the rights of the child in 2023 on the theme, “Rights of the child and the digital environment”, requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on the rights of the child and inclusive social protection.

Prior to adopting the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected amendments L.43, L.46 and L.47.

In a resolution ( A/HRC/49/L.31/Rev.1) on the Role of States in countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights , adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council decides to convene, at its fiftieth session, a high-level panel discussion on countering the negative impact of disinformation on the enjoyment and realization of human rights and on ensuring a human rights-based response, open to the participation of States, members of civil society and the private sector, United Nations experts and other stakeholders, to identify the challenges and to share best practices and lessons learned, and to make the panel discussion fully accessible to persons with disabilities. The Council further requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a summary report on the above-mentioned panel discussion and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session.

Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item Four on Human Rights Situations that Require the Council’s Attention

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.4) on the Situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council condemns in the strongest terms the long-standing and ongoing systematic, widespread and gross human rights violations in the State. The Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea for a period of one year. The Council further urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to extend an invitation to the Office of the High Commissioner to visit the country.

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.12) on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar, adopted without a vote as orally revised, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar for a further period of one year, requests the Special Rapporteur to present an oral progress report to the Council at its fiftieth and fifty-first sessions and to submit a written report to the Third Committee of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session and to the Council at its fifty-second session. It further requests the Special Rapporteur to continue to monitor the situation of human rights in Myanmar and make recommendations on additional steps necessary to address the ongoing crisis. In addition, it requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor and assess the overall situation of human rights in Myanmar; to provide an oral update to the fifty-first session of the Council, a written update at its fifty-third session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue, and a comprehensive report at its fifty-fourth session, also to be followed by an interactive dialogue. The Council further reiterated the need to establish a country office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Myanmar.

In a resolution (A/HRC/49/L.7) on theSituation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, adopted by a vote of 19 in favour, 12 against and 16 abstentions as orally revised, the Council decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran for a further period of one year, and requests the Special Rapporteur to submit a report on the implementation of the mandate to the Human Rights Council at its fifty-second session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session. It calls upon the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur, to permit access to visit the country and to provide all information necessary to allow the fulfilment of the mandate.

The results of the vote are as follows:

In favour (19): Argentina, Finland, France, Germany, Honduras, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Montenegro, Netherlands, Paraguay, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States

Against (12): Armenia, Bolivia, China, Cuba, Eritrea, India, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, Venezuela

Abstentions (16): Benin, Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Libya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates

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not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

HRC22.058E