Human rights in the administration of justice.

1992/31.
Human rights in the administration of justice

The Commission on Human Rights, Guide by the principles embodied in articles 3, 5, 9, 10 and 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the relevant provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Guided also by the relevant principles embodied in the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Reaffirming the opportunity offered to States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, if they so wish, to become parties to its Optional Protocols, Welcoming the important work of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in the field of human rights in the administration of justice, in particular regarding the independence of judges and lawyers, the right to a fair trial, habeas corpus, human rights and states of emergency, the human rights of juveniles in detention, the privatization of prisons and the question of impunity of perpetrators of violations of human rights, Emphasizing the importance of coordinating the activities of the new Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice and the human rights programme in this field, Guided by General Assembly resolution 46/120 of 17 December 1991, Recalling its resolution 1991/34 of 5 March 1991,

1. Reaffirms the importance of the full and effective implementation of all United Nations standards on human rights in the administration of justice;

2. Reiterates once again its call to all Member States to spare no effort in providing for effective legislative and other mechanisms and procedures, as well as adequate resources to ensure more effective implementation of these standards, taking into account the recommendations of the General Assembly in its resolution 43/153 of 8 December 1988 for the development of national strategies for this purpose;

3. Recognizes the important role that non-governmental organizations, including professional associations of lawyers and judges, can play in promoting human rights in the administration of justice;

4. Again calls upon its subsidiary bodies, including its special rapporteurs and working groups, to give special attention to questions relating to the effective protection of human rights in the administration of justice, in particular with regard to unacknowledged detention of persons, and to provide, wherever appropriate, specific recommendations in this regard, including proposals for possible concrete measures under advisory services programmes;

5. Stresses the desirability of providing States, at their request, with continued assistance in the field of the administration of justice, in particular under United Nations programmes of advisory services and technical assistance;

6. Requests the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to continue its practice of creating a sessional working group on detention to formulate concrete proposals regarding human rights in the administration of justice;

7. Also requests the Sub-Commission to formulate concrete proposals to the Secretary-General regarding the utility and the format of his reports pursuant to Sub-Commission resolution 7 (XXVII) of 20 August 1974 on the question of the human rights of persons subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment;

8. Invites the new Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, at its first session, to be held at Vienna from 21 to 30 April 1992, to explore ways and means of cooperating with the human rights programme in the field of the administration of justice, with special emphasis on the effective implementation of norms and standards;

9. Decides to consider the question at its forty-ninth session under the agenda item entitled "Question of the human rights of all persons subjected to any form of detention or imprisonment".

47th meeting
28 February 1992
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. X.]