Regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 32/127 of 16 December 1977 and all its subsequent resolutions concerning regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular resolutions 43/140 and 43/152 of 8 December 1988,

Recalling that, in its resolution 43/152, the General Assembly invited the Secretary-General to submit to the Assembly at its forty-fifth session a report on the state of regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights and to include therein the results of action taken in pursuance of that resolution,

Recalling Commission on Human Rights resolution 1989/72 of 8 March 1989 and taking note of Commission resolution 1990/58 of 7 March 1990 concerning advisory services in the field of human rights,

Recalling also Commission on Human Rights resolution 1989/50 of 7 March 1989 and taking note of Commission resolution 1990/71 of 7 March 1990 concerning regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Asian-Pacific region,

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General,

Noting with satisfaction the progress achieved so far in the promotion and protection of human rights at the regional level under the auspices of the United Nations, the specialized agencies and the regional intergovernmental organizations,

Reaffirming that regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights may make a major contribution to the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms and that the exchange of information and experience in this field among the regions, within the United Nations system, may be improved,

Bearing in mind that regional instruments should complement the universally accepted human rights standards and that the persons chairing the human rights treaty bodies of the United Nations noted during their third meeting, held at Geneva from 1 to 5 October 1990, that certain inconsistencies between provisions of international instruments and those of regional instruments might raise difficulties with regard to their implementation,

1.         Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;

2.         Notes with interest that various contacts between regional bodies and commissions and the United Nations have continued to be pursued and strengthened through advisory services and technical assistance activities, particularly those relating to the organization of regional and subregional training courses in the field of human rights;

3.         Welcomes in that respect the close co-operation given by the Centre for Human Rights of the Secretariat in the organization of the training courses or workshops that, as mentioned in the report of the Secretary-General, took place at Banjul, Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Castel Gandolfo, Kiev, Manila, Moscow, Quito and San Remo;

4.         Welcomes also the assistance provided by the Centre for Human Rights in the establishment of the African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights Studies at Banjul, as well as the co-operation of the Centre with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the International Institute of Human Rights at Strasbourg and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights at San Jose, and the technical assistance provided by the Centre to the Arab Institute for Human Rights at Tunis;

5.         Requests the Secretary-General to continue encouraging these developments;

6.         Notes with interest in this regard the announcement by the Secretary-General in the proposed medium-term plan for the period 1992-1997 that efforts would be made to strengthen exchanges between the United Nations and regional intergovernmental bodies dealing with human rights issues and that it might be expected that during the medium-term plan period more national, regional and subregional workshops and training courses would be organized for administrators of justice and government officials engaged in the implementation of international conventions on human rights, and that more countries in all regions of the world would develop forms of co-operation and assistance with the Centre for Human Rights, in keeping with their specific needs;

7.         Invites States in areas where regional arrangements in the field of human rights do not yet exist to consider agreements with a view to the establishment within their respective regions of suitable regional machinery for the promotion and protection of human rights;

8.         Endorses the appeal made to all Governments in Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1989/72 and 1990/58, to consider making use of the possibility offered by the United Nations of organizing, under the programme of advisory services in the field of human rights, information and/or training courses at the national level for appropriate government personnel on the application of international human rights standards and the experience of relevant international organs;

9.         Requests the Commission on Human Rights to continue to pay special attention to the most appropriate ways of assisting, at their request, countries of the different regions under the programme of advisory services and to make, where necessary, the relevant recommendations;

10.       Invites the Secretary-General to submit to the Commission on Human Rights at its forty-eighth session and to the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session a report on the state of regional arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights and to include therein the results of action taken in pursuance of the present resolution;

11.       Decides to consider this question further at its forty-seventh session.