Regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region

The Commission on Human Rights,

Recalling its resolution 1998/44 of 17 April 1998,

Recognizing that regional cooperation can play an important role in promoting universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Recognizing also the valuable contribution that independent national institutions and non-governmental organizations can make in the field of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region,

Reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated, that the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, and that, while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and

fundamental freedoms,

Welcoming the convening of the Seventh Workshop on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asian and Pacific Region, held in New Delhi from 16 to 18 February 1999,

1. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN.4/1999/94) and the progress achieved in the implementation of Commission resolution 1998/44;

2. Endorses the conclusions of the seventh workshop and its decisions regarding the next steps to be taken to facilitate the process of regional cooperation in the Asian and Pacific region;

3. Reaffirms that developing and strengthening national capacities for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with national conditions provides the strongest foundation for effective and enduring regional cooperation in the field of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region;

4. Supports the call of the seventh workshop for the mainstreaming and effective coordination of technical cooperation activities in all areas of human rights as an essential element for promotional approaches that build capacity and ensure effective solutions;

5. Recognizes the importance of an inclusive, step-by-step, practical and building-blocks approach towards enhancing regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human rights in accordance with the pace and priorities to be set by the Governments of the Asian and Pacific region by consensus;

6. Also recognizes that the continuing process of regional cooperation and its practical results are essential to discussions on possible regional arrangements;

7. Welcomes the in-depth discussions held during the seventh workshop on the effective realization of the right to development and of economic, social and cultural rights;

8. Also welcomes the discussions held during the seventh workshop on the three other areas under the framework of regional cooperation:national plans of action for the protection of human rights and strengthening of national capacities;human rights education and national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights;

9. Commends the contribution of the Government of India, as the host of the seventh workshop, to the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian and Pacific region;

10. Welcomes the establishment of independent national institutions in countries of the Asian and Pacific region and their important contribution to the process of regional cooperation, inter alia, through the work of the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions;

11. Notes the contribution of independent national institutions and representatives of non-governmental organizations to the seventh workshop;

12. Welcomes the decision of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to allocate funding for the implementation of the regional projects foreseen within the framework of regional cooperation for the Asian and Pacific region adopted at the sixth workshop held in Tehran;

13. Calls upon the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to develop and implement the project proposals made at the seventh workshop in the four areas identified under the regional framework;

14. Welcomes the indication by the Governments of Thailand, Japan and the Republic of Korea that they would each host a regional inter-sessional workshop on one of the four areas agreed upon in Tehran;

15. Encourages all Governments in the Asian and Pacific region to consider making use of the facilities offered by the United Nations, under the programme of advisory and technical cooperation in the field of human rights, to further strengthen national human rights capacities, and in this regard calls upon the High Commissioner to give adequate attention to the programme;

16. Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission at its fifty-sixth session a report containing the conclusions of the Eighth Workshop on Regional Arrangements for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asian and Pacific Region and information on the progress achieved in the implementation of the present resolution;

17. Decides to continue its consideration of the question at its fifty-sixth session under the same agenda item.

58th meeting
28 April 1999

[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XVIII.]

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