AFTERNOON - Human Rights Council Adopts Three Resolutions on Technical Assistance in Colombia, on Child, Early and Forced Marriage, and on the Human Rights of Migrants

The Human Rights Council this afternoon adopted three resolutions on technical assistance in Colombia, on child, early and forced marriage, and on the human rights of migrants.

Concerning the enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights in Colombia, the Council adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, none against and 19 abstentions a resolution in which it requested the High Commissioner to appoint without delay an international human rights expert tasked with identifying the obstacles to the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement and the consequences for the full enjoyment of human rights under international law, and making recommendations that would help to overcome them.

On child, early and forced marriage: ending and preventing forced marriage, the Council urged States to take comprehensive and human rights-based measures to prevent and eliminate forced marriage, and to address structural and underlying causes and risk factors.  States should also promote and protect the right of all women and girls to education, including in situations of armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies.

As for the human rights of migrants: prevention and accountability for human rights violations in transit, the Council called upon States to ensure that their migration legislation, policies and practices were consistent with international human rights law.  The Office of the High Commissioner was requested to convene a half-day intersessional panel discussion on avenues to address human rights violations and abuses against migrants in transit, with a report on that panel to be presented to the Council at its fifty-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 fifty-third regular session can be found here.

The Council will resume its work at 10 a.m. on Friday, 14 July, to take action on six remaining draft resolutions and to appoint a number of mandate holders before concluding its fifty-third regular session.

Action on Resolution under Agenda Item 10 on Technical Assistance and Capacity Building

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.25/Rev.1) on Enhancement of technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights in Colombia to implement the recommendations of the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence, and Non-Repetition, adopted by a vote of 28 in favour, none against and 19 abstentions, the Council requests, for a renewable period of two years, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to national and local authorities and other relevant actors to assist Colombia with the implementation of the recommendations made by the Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Coexistence and Non-Repetition; requests the High Commissioner to present to the Human Rights Council, at its fifty-sixth and fifty-ninth sessions, a report on the subjects mentioned in the previous paragraph, to be followed by an interactive dialogue; to appoint without delay an international human rights expert tasked with identifying the obstacles to the implementation of the 2016 peace agreement and the consequences for the full enjoyment of human rights under international law, and making recommendations that would help to overcome them; requests the international human rights expert designated by the High Commissioner to submit a report to the Council, before the end of 2023, and to present it to the Council at its fifty-fifth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue; requests the Secretary-General to provide the Office of the High Commissioner with all the resources necessary to provide such technical assistance and implement the present resolution; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

The results of the vote were as follows:

 In favour (28): Argentina, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechia, Eritrea, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Honduras, India, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Mexico, Montenegro, Nepal, Paraguay, Romania, South Africa, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Viet Nam.

Against (0).

Abstentions (19): Algeria, Bangladesh, Cameroon, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Gambia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.

Prior to the adoption of the resolution, the Council voted on an oral amendment, which was rejected by a vote with 20 in favour, 22 against, and 4 abstentions.

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/53/L.3/Rev.1) on Child, early and forced marriage: ending and preventing forced marriage, adopted without a vote, the Council urges States to take comprehensive, multisectoral and human rights-based measures to prevent and eliminate forced marriage, and to address structural and underlying causes and risk factors; to promote and protect the right of all women and girls to education, including in situations of armed conflict and humanitarian emergencies; to ensure access to justice and accountability mechanisms and remedies for the effective implementation and enforcement of laws aimed at preventing and eliminating forced marriage and protecting the rights of those subjected to this harmful practice; to end impunity and to avoid the abuse of power leading to violence against women and girls and the revictimization of victims and survivors of such violence; to ensure access to justice and shelters for protection during the process of annulling a marriage; to ensure the timely registration of births and marriages; and the Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare concise and action oriented guidelines as a set of orientations for States on the effective application of a human rights-based approach to the development and implementation of laws in a comprehensive report to the Council at its fifty-ninth session.

Prior to the adoption of the resolution, the Council voted on and rejected five proposed amendments:

L.31: 15 in favour, 21 against and 10 abstentions

L.32: 10 in favour, 21 against, and 14 abstentions

L.41: 13 in favour, 21 against, and 11 abstentions

L.42: 10 in favour, 22 against, and 14 abstentions

L.45: 11 in favour, 23 against, and 12 abstentions

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.18) on the Human rights of migrants: prevention and accountability for human rights violations in transit, adopted without a vote (as orally revised), the Council calls upon States to ensure that their migration legislation, policies and practices are consistent with international human rights law, and to promote the enjoyment of human rights by all migrants without discrimination of any kind which could result in death, disappearances, violence; to work with national human rights institutions, and other relevant stakeholders to address human rights violations against migrants in transit; to adopt measures to prevent deaths, disappearances, acts of torture, violence and ensure that all human rights violations are subject to independent and transparent investigations and that perpetrators are held accountable; and to adopt concrete measures to adequately train public officials and others who work in those facilities and in border areas; and the Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner maintain its active engagement with the United Nations Network on Migration as a member of its Executive Committee, to ensure efficiency in mainstreaming human rights in migration governance; to continue its work on promoting and protecting the human rights of all migrants; to convene a half-day intersessional panel discussion on avenues to prevent and address human rights violations and abuses against migrants in transit and to ensure the meaningful participation of migrants and their family members; to prepare a summary report on the panel discussion and to submit the report to the Council at its fifty-seventh session and to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

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HRC23.098E