A/HRC/43/65
A.
Thematic reports
5.
As illustrated by the list of themes addressed by special procedure mandate holders in
their reports in 2019 (see annex), a variety of issues have been examined, and States and other
stakeholders have been provided with advice on promoting and protecting human rights at
the national, regional and international levels. In producing their reports, mandate holders
have addressed specific recommendations not only to States and other actors but also to the
United Nations, as their reports also relate to various aspects of the work of the United
Nations.
6.
Several reports related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
They included the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right to education, which focused
on the implementation of the right to education and of Goal 4 in the context of the growth of
private actors in education (A/HRC/41/37); the report of the Special Rapporteur on the right
to food, which addressed the right to food in the context of the Goals (A/74/164); and the
reports of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of
association, which focused on civil society participation in the implementation of the Goals
(A/74/349) and on practical recommendations for the participation of civil society in the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (A/HRC/41/41/Add.2).
The Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia focused on the
implementation of the Goals in Cambodia and specifically assessed those at risk of being left
behind (A/HRC/42/60 and A/HRC/42/60/Add.1).
7.
Access to justice was repeatedly addressed by different mandate holders. The Special
Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living,
and on the right to non-discrimination in this context looked into access to justice for the
right to housing (A/HRC/40/61), while the Independent Expert on the enjoyment of human
rights by persons with albinism addressed the right to access to justice for persons with
albinism (A/HRC/40/62). The Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples looked
more generally at the question of indigenous peoples and justice (A/HRC/42/37), while the
Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders addressed, inter alia, access to
justice, in his report on impunity (A/74/159).
8.
The gender perspective and women’s human rights featured prominently, with, for
example, a report on the gender dimensions of the Guiding Principles on Business and
Human Rights by the Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational
corporations and other business enterprises (A/HRC/41/43). Moreover, the Special
Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders addressed the situation of women
human rights defenders (A/HRC/40/60), while the Working Group on the use of mercenaries
as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to
self-determination focused on the gendered human rights impacts of private military and
security companies (A/74/244). The Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment addressed the relevance of the prohibition of torture
and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to the context of domestic
violence (A/74/148).
9.
Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and
consequences focused on a human rights-based approach to mistreatment and violence
against women in reproductive health services, with a focus on childbirth and obstetric
violence (A/74/137). The Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
addressed women’s deprivation of liberty (A/HRC/41/33). Lastly, the Special Rapporteur on
the human rights of migrants produced two studies, one on the impact of migration on migrant
women and girls (A/HRC/41/38) and another on good practices and initiatives on genderresponsive migration legislation and policies (A/74/191).
10.
There was also a focus on prevention, with the report of the Special Rapporteur on the
right to education who focused on the right to education and the prevention of atrocity crimes
and mass or grave human rights violations (A/74/243). In this context, the Special Rapporteur
on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence examined
practical experiences of domestic reparation programmes (A/HRC/42/45) and addressed the
question of apologies for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international
humanitarian law (A/74/147).
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