A/HRC/22/17
40.
OHCHR and UNDP are leading the post-2015 global thematic consultation on
governance, which includes outreach to States and parliamentarians, civil society
organizations and media in different regions, as well as technical work on measuring
governance and human rights in a new global development agenda. OHCHR is contributing
to other thematic consultations on inequality, health and water. The Special Rapporteur on
the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation led discussions on ways to address
inequalities in the post-2015 development agenda, focusing on access to water and
sanitation. The results of these efforts will serve as input for the work of the High-level
Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda and the open working
group on sustainable development goals, as well as intergovernmental discussions on this
matter.
41.
OHCHR supported Member States in integrating human rights into their
development and poverty reduction policies by providing technical advice and conducting
capacity-building activities. OHCHR supported Ecuador in piloting the guide on rightsbased approaches to sectoral policies and further integrating human rights into the
formulation of its national development strategy. In Togo, OHCHR organized a workshop
on budget monitoring and human rights in the context of formulating a new national
development plan.
42.
Further progress was made in integrating human rights into the United Nations
system, particularly through the work of the Human Rights Mainstreaming mechanism of
the United Nations Development Group. OHCHR, by means of the mechanism, will further
intensify system-wide efforts to strengthen the Organization’s capacity and coordinated
responses to support national capacity-building when requested by Member States. Human
rights items have now been added to the agendas of both the Chief Executives Board and
the High-Level Committee on Programmes.
43.
In 2012, OHCHR continued to develop resource materials and practitioners’ tools,
and to conduct workshops on the use of indicators to assist national and international
human rights stakeholders in assessing progress in human rights implementation. The
Office published Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation.
At the request of and in collaboration with national stakeholders, OHCHR organized
workshops on human rights indicators in Togo and the Philippines, and continued to
provide technical support to, inter alia, Brazil, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Ecuador,
Kenya, Mexico, Nepal, Paraguay, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland. OHCHR also conducted a series of workshops on the relevance of
indicators as tools for fostering the assessment and implementation of recommendations
from United Nations human rights mechanisms.
2.
Economic, social and cultural rights
44.
The year under review was challenging for the enjoyment of economic, social and
cultural rights. In particular, the austerity programmes introduced by several countries in
response to the financial crisis had serious implications for the recognition and enjoyment
of these rights. In recognition of this, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights addressed a letter to States to remind them of their obligations to use the maximum
available resources to fulfil these rights, even in times of crisis.
45.
OHCHR promoted the judicial protection of economic, social and cultural rights and
the signature and ratification of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Costa Rica, Mali, the
Republic of Moldova, Senegal, Slovenia and Uruguay. Its advocacy contributed to
ratification by Bolivia (Plurinational State of) and signing by Burkina Faso.
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