A/HRC/41/21 I. Introduction and methodology 1. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 35/32, in which the Council requested the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a compilation of good practices, challenges, lessons learned and recommendations in mainstreaming human rights as enshrined in international human rights law, into national policies, in order to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, and to submit the report to the Human Rights Council at its forty-first session. 2. The enjoyment of human rights is critical to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is explicitly grounded in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and international human rights treaties and is informed by other instruments such as the Declaration on the Right to Development. 1 The Sustainable Development Goals “seek to realize the human rights of all” 2 and are universally applicable to all people in all countries, both developed and developing. Importantly, the 2030 Agenda is to be implemented in a manner consistent with international law and with its commitment to “leave no one behind”. The 2030 Agenda puts the principles of equality and non-discrimination at its heart – with a commitment to leave no one behind and to reach those furthest behind first. It reaffirms the responsibility of all States “to respect, protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction of any kind as to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, disability or other status”.3 It includes two dedicated goals on combating discrimination and inequalities (Goal 5 on achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls and Goal 10 on reducing inequalities within and among countries) and gives special attention to an expansive list of marginalized groups. 3. In that spirit, since 2015, OHCHR has worked to support Member States in implementing that vision, including by providing technical assistance on the human rightsbased implementation of the 2030 Agenda, often in close partnerships with other United Nations agencies. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), for example, launched the rule of law and human rights 2030 Agenda accelerator initiative in 2018 to provide programmatic support for the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in crisis-affected countries.4 Together with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women), OHCHR co-led a process to strengthen the United Nations development system’s focus on rising inequalities and discrimination, in the context of support for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and the commitment to leave no one behind – an approach that was adopted by all United Nations entities and is reflected in the United Nations System Shared Framework for Action on leaving no one behind, published by the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination in 2017. Furthermore, OHCHR helped integrate human rights into the new United Nations Development Assistance Framework guidance package and the United Nations Development Group’s Guidelines to Support Country Reporting on the Sustainable Development Goals. 4. OHCHR has also strengthened United Nations support for implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the country level, including by developing communities of practice and helping to identify and leverage the synergies between the implementation and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of and follow-up to human rights recommendations. 1 2 3 4 2 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, para. 10. See https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/ post2015/transformingourworld. Ibid., preamble. Ibid., para. 19. A/HRC/40/34, para. 22.