A/HRC/39/31 I. Introduction 1. Pursuant to its resolution 35/4, on 14 June 2018 the Human Rights Council convened in Geneva, with the support of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, a half-day intersessional workshop on the right to peace to discuss the implementation of the Declaration on the Right to Peace. Following an opening statement by the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Human Rights, the intersessional workshop was organized in the form of three panel discussions, focusing, respectively, on articles 2, 3 and 4 of the Declaration, followed by concluding remarks from the moderator for the three panel discussions, Jennifer Philpot-Nissen of the World Council of Churches. 2. More than 60 representatives from Member States, specialized United Nations agencies, special procedures of the Council and civil society participated in the discussions. The present report provides a summary of the discussions at the intersessional workshop and the recommendations made by the participants. II. Opening statement 3. In her opening remarks, the Deputy High Commissioner recalled that the first article of the Declaration on the Right to Peace proclaimed that everyone had the right to enjoy peace such that all human rights were promoted and protected and development was fully realized. In his address to the Council at its thirty-fourth session, the Secretary-General had identified prevention of conflict and its drivers as the priority for everything the United Nations did in support of Member States, and had observed that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights constituted the best prevention tool for that task, as the rights set out in it not only identified many of the root causes of conflict but provided real world solutions through real change on the ground. 1 4. Respect for international human rights law provided the necessary building blocks to build and sustain peaceful societies and allow them to flourish. Over the past 70 years, those human rights had been renewed and elaborated in international human rights treaties and declarations, including the Declaration on the Right to Peace. As noted in the preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, if man was not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, human rights should be protected by the rule of law. The Deputy High Commissioner asserted that people who did not face discrimination in access to employment, education, food, health care and housing, and who could speak, complain and vote freely to remove tyrants, would rarely take up arms. 5. The multilateral system offered important tools and mechanisms for cooperating on conflict prevention and peace. Nevertheless, stronger cooperation between the Human Rights Council, the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission was possible, needed and crucial in order to better inform and guide United Nations decision-making and engagement towards sustainable peace. The findings of treaty bodies and the special procedures and recommendations from the universal periodic review were also key tools, which required follow-up. Furthermore, integration of human rights expertise in peacekeeping and special political missions should not be eroded but rather strengthened and enhanced. 6. The Deputy High Commissioner noted that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development provided invaluable opportunities to prevent crises, insecurity, violence and conflict and to build sustainable peace. As part of that rights-encompassing agenda, the Sustainable Development Goals sought to address the root causes of insecurity through a focus on reducing inequalities and eliminating pervasive discrimination in order to ensure more peaceful and inclusive societies. She recommended paying specific attention to the 1 2 See www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/speeches/2017-02-27/secretary-generals-human-rights-councilremarks.