A/HRC/31/37 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 29 January 2016 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-first session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Protection of the family: contribution of the family to the realization of the right to an adequate standard of living for its members, particularly through its role in poverty eradication and achieving sustainable development Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 29/22, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on the impact of the implementation by States of their international obligations with regard to the protection of the family and on the contribution of families in realizing the right to an adequate standard of living for their members for presentation to the Council at its thirty-first session. The report is divided into five sections. Section I contains a brief introduction, while the evolution of the current international consensus regarding the role of the family in sustainable development, including poverty reduction policies is described in section II. An overview of the international human rights standards pertaining to family life and the elements of a human rights-based approach to family policies are given in section III, while concrete examples of measures taken by States in implementing their international obligations regarding the protection of the family are provided in section IV. Conclusions and recommendations are put forward in section V of the report. GE.16-01276(E) *1601276*