Human Rights Council Adopts Five Resolutions, Including on the Implementation of Resolution 31/36 and on the Human Rights of Rohingya Muslims and Other Minorities in Myanmar

MORNING 14 July 2023

The Human Rights Council this morning adopted five resolutions on the implementation of resolution 31/36, on the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, on preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls in criminal justice detention, on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, and on new and emerging digital technologies and human rights.

By a vote of 31 in favour, 3 against and 13 abstentions, the Council adopted resolution (A/HRC/53/L.24/Rev.1) on the implementation of Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES31/36, recalling that the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Council requested the Secretary-General to allocate the necessary financial and human resources to ensure that the mandate requested in Council resolution 31/36, was fully implemented.

Concerning the situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, the Council calls upon Myanmar to ensure the protection of the human rights of all persons in Myanmar. The Council encourages the international community to continue to assist Bangladesh in the provision of humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims and other minorities until their return to Myanmar, and to assist Myanmar in the provision of humanitarian assistance to all affected persons of all communities displaced internally in Myanmar.

As for accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls in criminal justice detention, the Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Council, at its fifty-ninth session, a report on the situation of human rights of women and girls in criminal justice detention, including information on practices and measures to prevent and address violence against women and girls in the context of criminal justice detention.

Concerning the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, the Council adopted by a vote of 30 in favour, 12 against and 5 abstentions (as orally revised) a resolution in which it requested the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a compilation of best practices in the contribution of development to the promotion and protection of all human rights in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to submit the document to the Council at its fifty-sixth session.

On new and emerging digital technologies and human rights, the Council requested the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, in consultation with States, mapping the work and recommendations of the Council, the Office of the High Commissioner, the treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Council in the field of human rights and new and emerging digital technologies, as well as identifying gaps and challenges and making recommendations on how to address them.

The Council will resume its work at 3 p.m. on Friday, 14 July, to take action on a remaining draft resolution before concluding its fifty-third regular session.

Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item Two: Annual Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and Reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General

By a vote of 31 in favour, 3 against and 13 abstentions, the Council adopted resolution (A/HRC/53/L.24/Rev.1) on the Implementation of Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES31/36, recalling that the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in the activities detailed in paragraph 96 of the report of the independent international fact-finding mission to investigate the implications of the Israeli settlements on the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the Palestinian people throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem. The Council requests the Secretary-General to allocate the necessary financial and human resources and expertise to enhance the capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that the mandate requested in Council resolution 31/36 is fully implemented, and requests the High Commissioner to ensure that the yearly updates of the database include addition and removal of companies and to present the database on an annual basis to the Council starting from its fifty-seventh session; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

The results of the vote were as follows:

In favour (31): Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

Against (3): Czechia, United Kingdom and United States.

Abstentions (13): Benin, Cameroun, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Lithuania, Malawi, Montenegro, Nepal, Paraguay, Romania and Ukraine.

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.30/Rev.1) on the Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar, adopted without a vote, the Council calls upon Myanmar to end immediately all violence and all violations of international law in the country; to ensure the protection of the human rights of all persons in Myanmar; to take all measures necessary to provide justice to victims and to ensure full accountability; to cooperate fully with and to grant full, unrestricted and unmonitored access to all United Nations mandate holders and human rights mechanisms; to create an environment conducive to the voluntary, safe, dignified and sustainable return of forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims and other minorities of Myanmar; the Council also encourages the international community to continue to assist Bangladesh in the provision of humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced Rohingya Muslims and other minorities until their return to Myanmar, and to assist Myanmar in the provision of humanitarian assistance to all affected persons of all communities displaced internally in Myanmar; requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to present an oral update to the Council at its fifty-eighth session and a report at its fifty-ninth session, each to be followed by an interactive dialogue, and a report to the General Assembly at its seventy-ninth session; calls upon relevant United Nations bodies to continue to make concrete recommendations for action to resolve the humanitarian crisis; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

Action on Resolutions under Agenda Item Three: Promotion and Protection of All Human Rights, Civil, Political, Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the Right to Development

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.5/Rev.1) on Accelerating efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls: preventing and responding to all forms of violence against women and girls in criminal justice detention, adopted without a vote (as orally revised), the Council calls upon States to take immediate and effective action to prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in criminal justice detention and to take immediate and effective action to respond to all forms of violence against women and girls in detention and to support and protect all victims and survivors; requests the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Council, at its fifty-ninth session, an accessible report in plain language and easy to read formats, on the situation of human rights of women and girls in criminal justice detention, including information on practices and measures to prevent and address violence against women and girls in the context of criminal justice detention; and decides to continue its consideration of the issue of the elimination of all forms of violence against women and girls as a matter of high priority, in conformity with its programme of work, at its fifty-ninth session.

Prior to the adoption of the resolution, the Council took action on three amendments to the text

L.33 was rejected by a vote of 11 in favour, 21 against, and 13 abstentions

L.40 was rejected by a vote of 13 in favour, 22 against, and 11 abstentions

L.43 was rejected by a vote of 16 in favour, 22 against, and 8 abstentions

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.26) on the Contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights, adopted by a vote of 30 in favour, 12 against and 5 abstentions (as orally revised), the Council calls upon all States to promote sustainable development to enable better enjoyment of human rights, to achieve gender equality and to promote equality of opportunity for development; calls upon Member States and the United Nations system to continue to mobilize resources to carry out development cooperation and to assist States, particularly developing and the least developed countries, upon their request, in promoting sustainable development; encourages the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to reinforce its initiatives on fighting poverty and addressing inequalities in the context of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and requests the Secretary-General to strengthen the Office’s dedicated capacity to strengthen initiatives on the contribution of development to the enjoyment of all human rights; requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a compilation of best practices in the contribution of development to the promotion and protection of all human rights in the context of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, and to submit the document, including in an accessible and easy-to-read format, to the Council at its fifty-sixth session; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

The results of the vote were as follows:

In favour (30): Algeria, Argentina, Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cameroon, China, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Honduras, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Pakistan, Qatar, Senegal, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Viet Nam.

Against (12): Belgium, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, Romania, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.

Abstentions (5): Chile, Costa Rica, Georgia, India and Paraguay.

In a resolution (A/HRC/53/L.27/Rev.1) on New and emerging digital technologies and human rights, adopted without a vote (as orally revised), the Council requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report, in consultation with States, mapping the work and recommendations of the Council, the Office of the High Commissioner, the treaty bodies and the special procedures of the Council in the field of human rights and new and emerging digital technologies, as well as identifying gaps and challenges and making recommendations on how to address them, while giving due consideration to the United Nations system-wide work on new and emerging digital technologies, and to present the report to the Council at its fifty-sixth session, to be followed by an interactive dialogue; to expand the capacities within the Office of the High Commissioner to advance human rights in the context of new and emerging digital technologies; to continue to work on the practical application of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to the activities of technology companies, to discuss challenges, good practices and lessons learned in applying the Guiding Principles to the activities of technology companies, and to submit a report thereon to the Council at its fifty-ninth session; and decides to remain seized of the matter.

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