A/HRC/14/34
the use of lethal force in the process of policing public assemblies (A/HRC/11/2). The
Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment has recently addressed the use of the death penalty from the point of view of
the norm prohibiting torture, together with the treatment of drug users in the criminal
justice system (A/HRC/10/44), in particular the possibility that the denial of medical
treatment in situations of detention may constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or
punishment (para. 71). A more complete study on the phenomena of torture, cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment in the world, including an assessment of conditions
of detention, has been submitted by the Special Rapporteur to the Council in 2010.30
24.
In 2010 the Representative of the Secretary-General on the human rights of
internally displaced persons submitted to the Council a revised Framework on Durable
Solutions for Internally Displaced Persons.31 The Framework aims to provide clarity on the
concept of a durable solution for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and provides general
guidance on how it can be achieved. Inter alia, the Framework recognizes effective
remedies for violations linked to displacement, including access to justice and, where
appropriate, reparations, as one of the key conditions determining whether a durable
solution has been reached.
D.
Developments in the United Nations system
25.
Across the United Nations system, a number of developments since 2007 have a
direct bearing on human rights protection in the administration of justice. The Rule of Law
Coordination and Resource Group, created in 2007 following a decision of the SecretaryGeneral, aims to increase coherence and minimize fragmentation across rule of law
activities in the United Nations system. To date, the Group has, among other things,
developed four Guidance Notes of the Secretary-General, each with an explicit foundation
in international human rights norms: United Nations Assistance to Constitution-making
Processes; United Nations Approach to Rule of Law Assistance; United Nations Approach
to Transitional Justice; and United Nations Approach to Justice for Children.
26.
The last-mentioned Guidance Note represents a major development for the United
Nations system in respect of juvenile justice, providing the guiding principles and
framework for United Nations work in the area of juvenile justice. In doing so it sets such
activities within the United Nations mandate to promote the realization of human rights.
The guiding principles and framework it adopts are grounded in relevant human rights
norms, in particular the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and in the work of the
Committee on the Rights of the Child and its general comment No. 10. The common United
Nations approach set down in the Guidance Note is being rolled out at country level. Some
of these activities are reported in section C above.
27.
As part of a series of tools to support States in implementing the rule of law and the
development of criminal justice reform, UNODC published a Handbook for Prison
Managers and Policymakers on Women and Imprisonment in 2008. The Handbook draws
to some extent on the international human rights norms relevant to detention and women
and on the general comments of the Human Rights Committee.
28.
The World Health Organization’s European office, as part of its Health in Prison
Project, together with UNODC, has addressed the health needs of women prisoners in a
publication entitled Women’s Health in Prison: Correcting gender inequity in prison
30
31
GE.10-13137
A/HRC/13/39 and A/HRC/13/39/Add.5.
A/HRC/13/21/Add.4.
9
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