A/HRC/17/39 rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law”. The General Assembly has affirmed the right of all peoples to resist colonial or alien domination.33 36. The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations recognizes the importance of peace to human rights, as well as the realization that “the subjection of peoples to alien subjugation, domination and exploitation constitutes a major obstacle to the promotion of international peace and security”. At the same time, the Declaration also recognized that every State “has the duty to refrain from any forcible action which deprives peoples … of their right to self-determination” and that peoples subjected to such violence have a right to take “actions against, and resistance to, such forcible action in pursuit of the exercise of their right to self-determination” and to “seek and to receive support as determined by the General Assembly”.34 37. The right to resist and oppose oppression is essential to achieving and maintaining a just peace. Proposed standards 1. All peoples and individuals have the right to resist and oppose oppressive colonial or alien domination that constitutes a flagrant violation of their human rights, including the right of peoples to self-determination, in accordance with international law. 2. All individuals have the right to oppose war crimes, genocide, aggression, apartheid and crimes against humanity, violations of other universally recognized human rights, any propaganda in favour of war or incitement to violence and violations of the human right to peace, as defined in the present declaration.35 E. Peacekeeping 38. Peacekeeping operations relate to the protection of human rights at least in two ways. First, they focus on the physical protection of civilians in post-conflict environments, which is a key component of human security. The second way relates to alleged violations by peacekeepers and/or associated personnel and their immunity under operational command of the United Nations. Local populations should have appropriate avenues for making complaints and receiving a response.36 Proposed standard States and the United Nations shall include the comprehensive and effective protection of civilians as a priority objective into mandates of peacekeeping operations. Peacekeeping missions and peacekeepers shall comply fully with United Nations rules and procedures regarding professional conduct, including the lifting of immunity in cases of criminal misconduct committed off-duty, to allow local population recourse to legal 33 34 35 36 10 See General Assembly resolution 37/35. General Assembly resolution 2625 (XXV), annex. See Santiago Declaration, art. 6, para. 2. See also Asian Charter, para. 3.4. See resources on webpage “Protection from sexual exploitation by UN and related personnel”, with available from www.un.org/en/pseataskforce/tools_manage.shtml. See also Marten Zwanenburg, Accountability of Peace Support Operations, Leiden, Boston 2005, and Keith J. Allred, “Human Trafficking and Peacekeepers”, in Cornelius Friesendorf (ed.), “Strategies against Human Trafficking. the Role of the Security Sector”, Vienna and Geneva, 2010, pp. 299-328.

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents