A/HRC/30/20
involvement of all levels of government from the outset helps to ensure their continued
engagement through to the implementation phase. The creation of (inter-)ministerial or
inter-institutional bodies with a clearly designated lead ministry, which also include NHRIs
and civil society, can enhance the capacity for timely action. Ensuring the involvement of
the same bodies or processes for consultation and coordination with regard to prevention of
human rights, as for implementation of recommendations from human rights mechanisms,
can contribute to effectiveness, coherence and consistency.
39.
Planning, monitoring and accountability related to the human rights commitments
contained in the new post-2015 Agenda will also be key. States have reaffirmed in the final
draft of the sustainable development goals that the new post-2015 Agenda would be guided
by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including full respect
for international law; and grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
international human rights treaties and other international instruments such as the
Declaration on the Right to Development.78 Achieving the effective implementation of the
Agenda will depend on the creation of a strong “follow-up and review” framework to
ensure that commitments are met.79
IV. Role of international and regional stakeholders in prevention
40.
International and regional stakeholders can assist States in identifying and proposing
remedial action in relation to gaps or weaknesses in protection, laws, policies and practices,
including through the Universal Periodic Review.
A.
International and regional human rights mechanisms
41.
International and regional human rights mechanisms 80 complement and assist
national processes for prevention of human rights violations, through external insight and
expertise with regard to the situation, laws, policies and practices, drawing on their
knowledge of practices and challenges faced by other States. They also encourage
interaction and engagement between the State and other stakeholders on human rights
issues, and serve to inform the content of rights as their recommendations are often public.
The Human Rights Council has recalled its role in the prevention of human rights violations
through cooperation and dialogue, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 60/251
(A/HRC/RES/24/16, preamble). While the international system brings a global perspective
and universality to human rights protection, regional mechanisms may have a “greater
capacity for early detection, and could draw on experience from comparable situations in
78
79
80
14
Final draft of the Post-2015 outcome document dated 8 July 2015, para 10. See also for example,
draft goal 16 (“Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access
to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels”) which would
inter alia seek to strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation,
for building capacity at all levels, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime; and promote
and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development.
“Integrating Human Rights into the Post-2015 Development Agenda - Follow-up and Review:
Ensuring Accountability for the SDGs” (OHCHR, May 2015).
These include United Nations mechanisms, and those established, for example, by the European
Union, Council of Europe, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, African Union, and
Organization of American States. See K. Martin-Chenut and S. Turgis in E. Decaux and S. Touzé, La
Prévention des Violations des Droits de l’Homme (footnote 3 above); Linos-Alexandre Sicilianos,
The Prevention of Human Rights Violations, Parts I and II (Athens, The Hague, New York, Martinus
Nijhoff, 2001).
Select target paragraph3
Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents