A/HRC/44/47 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 23 March 2020 English Original: Spanish Human Rights Council Forty-fourth session 15 June–3 July 2020 Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Independence of judges and lawyers Report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Summary The Secretariat has the honour to transmit to the Human Rights Council the report of the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, pursuant to Council resolution 35/11. In the report, the Special Rapporteur sets out to supplement his previous reports on the impact of corruption on the independence and impartiality of members of the judiciary by analysing the specific influence of corruption on public prosecution services and on the effective enjoyment of human rights. Prosecutors, as guarantors of the justice system, have a responsibility to ensure respect for the rule of law based on the obligation to respect, protect and uphold established human rights. Therefore, irrespective of the organizational model adopted by prosecution services, combating corruption must be among the top priorities of every such service in the world. In this regard, the United Nations Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors and the United Nations Convention against Corruption serve as the fundamental reference frameworks on which prosecution services should base their efforts to combat corruption and address its impact on human rights. In the report, the Special Rapporteur presents the current state of affairs and describes the role of public prosecution services in the fight against corruption. He goes on to emphasize the importance of effective international cooperation in achieving the set objectives. The report also highlights a number of good practices and ongoing challenges for prosecution services in respect of cooperation and the fight against corruption. Lastly, in the light of relevant international standards and the contributions of States and professional and civil society organizations, the Special Rapporteur makes a number of normative, institutional and operational recommendations that will provide the necessary tools to tackle the issue of corruption. GE.20-04343 (E) 300420 300420 