A/HRC/21/45
comments will enrich the reports of the Independent Expert; he will also rely on
recommendations resulting from the universal periodic review and on the work of special
procedures, in particular the reports of the Independent Expert on human rights and
international solidarity; the Independent Expert on the effects of foreign debt and other
related international financial obligations of States on the full enjoyment of all human
rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights; the Independent Expert on the issue
of human rights obligations related to the enjoyment of a safe, clean, healthy and
sustainable environment; the Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of the
right to freedom of opinion and expression, on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly
and of association, on the independence of judges and lawyers, on the promotion of truth,
justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence, on the right to education, in the field
of cultural rights, on the rights of indigenous peoples, on extreme poverty and human
rights, on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related
intolerance, on the right to food, on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest
attainable standard of physical and mental health, on the human right to safe drinking water
and sanitation, on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of
living, and on the human rights of internally displaced persons; the Working Group on the
issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises; and the
Forum on Business and Human Rights.
29.
The mandate holder will follow the work of the 26-member United Nations highlevel panel on post-Millennium Development Goals, established in 2012, and seek
synergies with the Special Adviser on Post-2015 Development Planning. Attention will be
paid to the programmes established by several United Nations agencies with objectives
relating to those of this mandate. In the field of labour law, the ILO promotes social justice
through standard setting and monitoring; its motto ―si vis pacem cole justitiam‖ (if you
desire peace, cultivate justice) could well be the motto of the present mandate and report.
This motto is also written on a document buried at the foundation of the old ILO building in
Geneva, today the headquarters of the World Trade Organization (WTO). WTO has the
opportunity to promote a more equitable international order by mainstreaming human rights
principles into its policies and programmes, including the Doha Development Agenda,
pursuant to its commitment to achieve the agreed objective of rebalancing trade rules so
that developing countries can benefit from enhanced equitable commerce. The Independent
Expert will consider how WTO may promote equity in the global trade regime with fairness
for all, especially for poor and vulnerable countries. He will study the relevant reports of
the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development and evaluate criticism by think tanks, academics and civil society.12 The
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) advances
international understanding through culture and is committed to the promotion of world
peace, as expressed in the preamble of its Constitution: ―Since wars begin in the minds of
men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed‖. In this spirit
the Director-General of UNESCO proclaimed in 1997 the Declaration on the Human Right
to Peace. Of continued relevance are the UNESCO programme on a Culture of Peace and
the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace (General Assembly
resolution 53/243). On 12 November 1997 the General Conference of UNESCO adopted
the Declaration on the Responsibilities of the Present Generations towards Future
Generations (see www.unesco.org/cpp/uk/declarations/ generations.pdf).
30.
The Independent Expert will seek synergies with civil society and intergovernmental
initiatives, including those of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, of the Alliance of
12
12
Naomi Klein, The Shock Doctrine (2007).
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