United Nations General Assembly A/HRC/RES/33/15 Distr.: General 7 October 2016 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-third session Agenda item 8 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 29 September 2016 33/15. National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights The Human Rights Council, Recalling all relevant resolutions of the Human Rights Council, the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, including most recently Council resolution 27/18 of 24 September 2014 and General Assembly resolution 70/163 of 17 December 2015, Reaffirming the importance of establishing and strengthening independent, pluralistic national human rights institutions1 in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles), Reaffirming also the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights on 25 June 1993, which reaffirmed the important and constructive role played by national human rights institutions, in particular in their advisory capacity to the competent authorities and their role in preventing and remedying human rights violations, in the dissemination of human rights information, and education in human rights, Reaffirming further the important role that such national human rights institutions play, and will continue to play, in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, strengthening participation, in particular of civil society organizations, promoting the rule of law, developing and enhancing public awareness of those rights and fundamental freedoms, and contributing to the prevention of human rights violations and abuses, 1 National human rights institutions are the national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights referred to in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). GE.16-17376(E) 