A/HRC/23/20 19. With regard to treaty bodies, international human rights instruments contained a number of references to international cooperation as an obligation of States parties. In the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for example, article 2, paragraph 1 States parties undertake to engage in international cooperation, a commitment further clarified in article 23. In its general comment No. 3 (1990), the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provided an interpretation of this obligation, stressing the obligation of States “in a position to assist others”, but also that States not in a position to grant the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights were bound by the obligation to seek assistance. 20. Throughout its work, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has developed guidelines to international cooperation in the field of economic, social and cultural rights. According to the Committee, international cooperation and assistance should focus on the core obligations of States parties under the Covenant; address structural obstacles such as poverty, underdevelopment and systemic discrimination; be implemented in the framework of the systematic application of the core principles of equality, nondiscrimination, participation, and accountability; and assist countries in ensuring that austerity measures do not deny or infringe upon economic, social and cultural rights and that retrogressive measures are temporary, proportionate and non-discriminatory. Furthermore, international cooperation should, with a view to promoting economic, social and cultural rights, be consistent with the enjoyment of civil and political rights, and priority should be given to the realization of the rights of disadvantaged, marginalized and vulnerable groups. The importance of the right to development was stressed in that context, and that decisions on official development assistance (ODA), whether at the national level or within the framework of multilateral financial institutions, should respect and uphold the obligations of States parties with regard to economic, social and cultural rights. 21. The entry into force of the Optional Protocol to the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was an important landmark, implementing a key recommendation made at the Vienna Conference, and an important event for all treaty bodies. 22. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had its specificities, but all instruments contain explicit and implicit references to international cooperation. References to international cooperation in the Convention were not numerous, although the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action and Durban +10 were directly focused on international cooperation. 23. As noted above, one question with regard to international cooperation concerned the actors involved. Firstly, States, in view of the importance of the fact that human rights have become a subject of cooperation between States (it should be recalled that, until the beginning of the twentieth century, human rights was considered a domestic issue, a perception that only changed after the advent of the League of Nations and, subsequently, the Second World War). History had shown that lack of cooperation weakened countries that did not cooperate, and that, conversely, cooperation helped countries to develop and grow. There were, however, other actors where clarification was needed, for example, how to describe the role of treaty bodies as actors in international cooperation, which they assume by their functions. National institutions were important partners for treaty bodies, but how to use their potential had given rise to long discussions in the latter. It was noted that the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination had been the first to revise its rules of procedure to open opportunities for A-status national institutions to participate in reviews. 24. The system of multilateral cooperation was constantly growing and evolving; it was therefore important to explore new opportunities for the promotion and protection of human rights. In spite of the difficulty involved in coining a general definition of international 7