A/HRC/RES/31/2 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 20 April 2016 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-first session Agenda item 3 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 23 March 2016 31/2. Integrity of the judicial system The Human Rights Council, Guided by articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 2, 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 16 and 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and bearing in mind the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Recalling the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, Recalling also other important documents on the issue of the integrity of the judiciary endorsed by various forums of the United Nations, in particular the Basic Principles on the Independence of the Judiciary, the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the Guidelines on the Role of Prosecutors, the Declaration of Basic Principles of Justice for Victims of Crime and Abuse of Power, the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Basic Principles for the Treatment of Prisoners, the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, and the Bangalore Principles of Judicial Conduct, Recalling further its resolutions 19/31 of 23 March 2012 and 25/4 of 27 March 2014, and the previous relevant resolutions of the Commission on Human Rights, Stressing that most of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment are not territorially limited and cannot be read as restricting or limiting States’ obligations to respect the rights of all persons, anywhere in the world, to be free from torture and ill-treatment, Convinced that the integrity of the judicial system, together with its independence and impartiality, is an essential prerequisite for the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, for upholding the rule of law and democracy and ensuring that there is no discrimination in the administration of justice, Noting with concern that the lack of and discrimination in access to justice can cause grave violations of the human rights of those deprived of such access, GE.16-06413(E) 