MIDDAY - Human Rights Council Adopts Four Resolutions on the Right to Development, Human Rights and Indigenous Peoples, the Human Rights Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young People, and the Human Right to a Safe, Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment

The Human Rights Council in its midday meeting adopted four resolutions on the right to development, human rights and indigenous peoples, the human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people, and the human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment.

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-eighth regular session can be found here.

The Council will resume its work at 3:15 p.m. to continue to take action on draft resolutions and decisions.

Action on Resolutions 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

In a resolution (A/HRC/48/L.18) on the Right to development, adopted by a vote of 29 in favour, 13 against and 5 abstentions, the Council requests the High Commissioner to continue to submit to the Human Rights Council an annual report on the activities of the Office of the High Commissioner, including on inter-agency coordination within the United Nations system that has direct relevance to the realization of the right to development, and to provide an analysis, taking into account existing challenges to the realization of the right to development, and to make recommendations on how to overcome them and concrete proposals for supporting the Working Group on the Right to Development in fulfilling its mandate. The Council further urges the Office of the High Commissioner, in the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Development, to ensure balanced, efficient and visible allocation of both financial and human resources to the existing mechanisms within the Office, including the Expert Mechanism of the Right to Development and the Special Rapporteur on the right to development.

The results of the vote were as follows:

<In favour (29): Argentina, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Fiji, Gabon, India, Indonesia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Namibia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Russian Federation, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Against (13): Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Korea, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

Abstentions (5): Armenia, Brazil, Marshall Islands, Mexico and Uruguay.

In a resolution (A/HRC/48/L.22) on Human rights and indigenous peoples, adopted without a vote, the Council decides that the theme of the annual half-day panel discussion on the rights of indigenous peoples, to be held during the fifty-first session of the Human Rights Council, will be the impact of social and economic recovery plans in the COVID-19 context on indigenous peoples, with a special focus on food security, and requests the Office of the High Commissioner to encourage and facilitate the participation of indigenous women and to make the discussion fully accessible to persons with disabilities, and to prepare a summary report on the discussion and to submit it to the Council prior to its fifty-third session.

In a resolution ( A/HRC/48/L.26/Rev.1) on Human rights implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people , adopted without a vote, the Council requests the High Commissioner, in consultation with and taking into account the views of States and relevant stakeholders, including relevant United Nations agencies, the treaty bodies, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council, national human rights institutions, civil society and representatives of youth organizations, to conduct a detailed study on ways to mitigate the impact of the global pandemic on human rights with regard to young people, including the identification of cases of discrimination against young people in the exercise of their human rights, in particular young women and girls, and highlighting the contribution of young people to the realization of human rights in society during the pandemic, to be submitted to the Council for consideration at its fifty-first session.

In a resolution (A/HRC/48/L.23/Rev.1) on the Human right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment , adopted by a vote of 43 in favour, none against and 4 abstentions (as orally revised), the Council recognizes the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment and encourages States to adopt policies for the enjoyment of the right to a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment as appropriate, including with respect to biodiversity and ecosystems, and invites the General Assembly to consider the matter.

Before the resolution was adopted, the Council voted on and rejected amendments L.33-42.

In favour (43): Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eritrea, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Libya, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

Against (0):

Abstentions (4): China, India, Japan and Russian Federation.

HRC21.148E