A/HRC/19/74
specialized agencies (Arts. 57 ff.). Lastly, the Charter includes a specific reference to
consultation with ―non-governmental organizations‖ on matters within the competence of
the Economic and Social Council (Art. 71).
10.
These provisions clearly show that the field of international cooperation is much
broader than that of human rights, stricto sensu, and, at the same time, that this broad vision
of ―economic and social cooperation‖ clearly encompasses human rights. Hence, there is a
need for an ongoing dialectic between solving ―international problems of an economic,
social, cultural, or humanitarian character‖ and strengthening human rights, but also
between political cooperation and the ―progressive development of international law‖,
including the codification of international human rights law. Similarly, the link between
culture, education and human rights must be emphasized. This multifaceted form of
cooperation reinforces and includes the human rights dimension, which is an element, not
to say a condition, of that cooperation.
11.
When human rights are set against the wider backdrop of international cooperation,
the number of actors involved multiplies. In the first instance, the Charter is addressed to
both Member States and the United Nations system itself, while highlighting the complex
relationship between the United Nations and States, given that States have the obligation to
work in cooperation with the United Nations on both a bilateral and multilateral basis. It
can therefore be concluded that Member States also have a duty to cooperate through ―joint
and separate‖ action taken in the framework of their relations and institutions. In addition,
this opportunity for multilateral cooperation is open to specialized agencies and regional
organizations, although it is too soon to speak of the term ―multi-multilateralism‖, and
account must also be taken of non-State actors, including civil society organizations,
NGOs, foundations, the business world, companies and trade unions. International
cooperation now takes place not just at the ―supra-State‖ and ―inter-State‖ levels or at the
infra-State level, with the recent trend towards decentralization of cooperation and greater
involvement of regions and local authorities, but also at the ―transnational‖ level.
B.
International cooperation in general documents of the General
Assembly
12.
The General Assembly, in its resolution 2625 (XXV) of 24 October 1970, adopted,
in the context of promoting peaceful coexistence, the ―Declaration on Principles of
International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations‖ (hereafter referred to as the ―1970
Declaration‖). Seven basic principles are set out, including the principle of refraining from
the threat or use of force, the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes, the principle
relating to ―duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, in
accordance with the Charter‖, the principle of equal rights and self-determination of
peoples, the principle of the sovereign equality of States and the principle that States are to
fulfil ―in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the Charter‖. The
fourth principle set out in the Declaration concerns the duty of States to cooperate with one
another in accordance with the Charter.
13.
This ―duty‖ is described in the text of the Declaration as follows: ―States have the
duty to co-operate with one another, irrespective of the differences in their political,
economic and social systems, in the various spheres of international relations, in order to
maintain international peace and security and to promote international economic stability
and progress, the general welfare of nations and international co-operation free from
discrimination based on such differences.‖ To this end, inter alia: ―(b) States shall cooperate in the promotion of universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all, and in the elimination of all forms of racial discrimination
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