A/HRC/40/3 94. Where shortcomings in human rights are the result of gaps in resources, capacities and institutions, the Office needs to offer help through technical cooperation, development assistance, mediation and human rights diplomacy – if the political support of leaders is there, positive momentum can be generated to build more resilient societies. 95. Where gaps in human rights protection result from weak political will, the voice of the victims and the vulnerable must be amplified to demand accountability under the rule of law. The High Commissioner is committed to being the voice of the voiceless. 96. The issue of a dangerously shrinking civil society space is one of the priorities for action of OHCHR. Beyond the rhetorical yet crucial assertion of the values of free association, expression, assembly and movement, concrete practical steps can be taken to expand civic space, including by building strategic partnerships within the United Nations system, with other international and regional organizations and with Member States. Building civil society constituencies across traditional groups, for example, by facilitating space for human rights defenders to cooperate with women’s rights groups and environmental activists can serve to open up democratic space for activism worldwide. 97. The human rights agenda is the prevention agenda. The special procedures of the Human Rights Council, the treaty bodies, the commissions of inquiry and factfinding missions provide essential information for decision makers in the United Nations and beyond. The universal periodic review has provided in several ways the kind of narrative for political support by Member States for human rights action under United Nations auspices that needs to be applied far more broadly. The universal periodic review recognizes that all Member States have human rights challenges, that all States can make improvements and that the United Nations system has responsibilities to support States in that regard. The United Nations human rights system is a force for prevention. When it is backed by the political will of key actors, effective, sustained human rights work prevents, mitigates and helps to resolve conflict. The World Bank and the United Nations have recently co-authored a report on prevention that includes a focus on human rights, which should be built on and additional opportunities created. 98. Another opportunity to address one of today’s critical global challenges is the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, which was adopted on 10 December 2018 in Marrakech and endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Member States at the General Assembly. It is a balanced human rights document that recognizes the human rights of all migrants, regardless of their status, and sets out achievable objectives to reduce the vulnerability of many of the world’s 258 million migrants and minimize the human rights violations which so often characterize their movements. Together with the Global Compact on Refugees, also endorsed by an overwhelming majority of Member States at the General Assembly on 17 December 2018, the two Compacts offer hope for better and more effective governance of migration. 99. The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals provide an essential roadmap for action. The High Commissioner is committed to playing her part in advancing their implementation. The entire 2030 Agenda, which is rooted in the right to development and all other rights, can only be fully achieved and sustained with a focus on human rights, by seeking out and fixing the root causes of insecurity; reducing inequalities; ensuring stable, transparent and inclusive institutions; and eliminating pervasive discrimination to fulfil the commitment of “leaving no one behind”. 100. A stronger emphasis on economic, social and cultural rights and the right to development in the research, analysis, monitoring, reporting, advocacy and capacitybuilding work of OHCHR will support States in implementing a number of the Sustainable Development Goals. OHCHR is already doing significant work in these areas, especially in research and methodology (producing reports, guidelines and 14

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents