RES/20/15 Promotion of the right to peace

GE.12- 16163

Human Rights Council Twentieth session

Agenda item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council 

20/15.

Promotion of the right to peace

The Human Rights Council,

Recalling all previous resolutions on the promotion of the right of peoples to peace adopted by the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and the Human Rights Council, in particular Council resolutions 14/3 of 17 June 2010 and 17/16 of 17 June 2011, in which the Council requested the Advisory Committee, in consultation with Member States, civil society, academia and all relevant stakeholders, to prepare a draft declaration on the right of peoples to peace,

Recalling also General Assembly resolution 39/11 of 12 November 1984 entitled “Declaration of the Right of Peoples to Peace” and the United Nations Millennium

Declaration,

Determined to foster strict respect for the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,

Welcoming the important work being carried out by civil society organizations for the promotion of the right to peace and their contribution to the development of this issue,

Taking note of the draft declaration prepared by the Advisory Committee contained in its study1 submitted to the Human Rights Council,

Bearing in mind the progressive development of this issue,

1. Decides to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group with the mandate of progressively negotiating a draft United Nations declaration on the right to peace, on the basis of the draft submitted by the Advisory Committee, and without prejudging relevant past, present and future views and proposals;

 Reissued for technical reasons on 24 August 2012.  The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its twentieth session (A/HRC/20/2), chap. I. 1 A/HRC/20/31.

United Nations A/HRC/RES/20/15

General Assembly Distr.: General 17 July 2012 Original: English

2. Also decides that the working group shall hold its first session for four working days in 2013, before the twenty-second session of the Human Rights Council;

3. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to provide the working group with the assistance necessary for it to fulfil its mandate;

4. Requests the President of the Human Rights Council to invite the Chairperson of the Advisory Committee drafting group on the draft declaration to participate in the first session of the working group;

5. Invites States, civil society and all relevant stakeholders to contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group;

6. Requests the working group to submit a report on progress made to the Human Rights Council for consideration at its twenty-third session.

32nd meeting

5 July 2012

[Adopted by a recorded vote of 34 to 1, with 12 abstentions. The voting was as follows:

In favour:

Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Cuba, Djibouti, Ecuador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, Uganda, Uruguay

Against:

United States of America

Abstaining:

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Hungary, India, Italy, Norway, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Spain, Switzerland]