United Nations World Conference on Human Rights: Vienna Declaration and Action Programme in United States

United Nations World Conference on Human Rights: Vienna Declaration and Action Programme

The World Conference on Human Rights,

Considering that the promotion and protection of human rights is a
matter of priority for the international community, and that the
Conference affords a unique opportunity to carry out a comprehensive
analysis of the international human rights system and of the machinery
for the protection of human rights, in order to enhance and thus promote
a fuller observance of those rights, in a just and balanced manner,

Recognizing and affirming that all human rights derive from the
dignity and worth inherent in the human person, and that the human person
is the central subject of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and
consequently should be the principal beneficiary and should participate
actively in the realization of these rights and freedoms,

Reaffirming their commitment to the purposes and principles
contained in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights,

Reaffirming the commitment contained in Article 56 of the Charter of
the United Nations to take joint and separate action, placing proper
emphasis on developing effective international cooperation for the
realization of the purposes set out in Article 55, including universal
respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all,

Emphasizing the responsibilities of all States, in conformity with
the Charter of the United Nations, to develop and encourage respect for
human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, without distinction as to
race, sex, language or religion,

Recalling the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations, in
particular the determination to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal
rights of men and women and of nations large and small,

Recalling also the determination expressed in the Preamble of the
Charter of the United Nations to save succeeding generations from the
scourge of war, to establish conditions under which justice and respect
for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international
law can be maintained, to promote social progress and better standards of
life in larger freedom, to practice tolerance and good neighbourliness,
and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic
and social advancement of all peoples,

Emphasizing that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which
constitutes a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all
nations, is the source of inspiration and has been the basis for the
United Nations in making advances in standard setting as contained in the
existing international human rights instruments, in particular the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Considering the major changes taking place on the international
scene and the aspirations of all the peoples for an international order
based on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations,
including promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all and respect for the principle of equal
rights and self – determination of peoples, peace, democracy, justice,
equality, rule of law, pluralism, development, better standards of living
and solidarity,

Deeply concerned by various forms of discrimination and violence, to
which women continue to be exposed all over the world,

Recognizing that the activities of the United Nations in the field
of human rights should be rationalized and enhanced in order to
strengthen the United Nations machinery in this field and to further the
objectives of universal respect for observance of international human
rights standards,

Having taken into account the Declarations adopted by the three
regional meetings at Tunis, San Josi and Bangkok and the contributions
made by Governments, and bearing in mind the suggestions made by
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, as well as the
studies prepared by independent experts during the preparatory process
leading to the World Conference on Human Rights,

Welcoming the International Year of the World’s Indigenous People
1993 as a reaffirmation of the commitment of the international community
to ensure their enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms
and to respect the value and diversity of their cultures and identities,

Recognizing also that the international community should devise ways
and means to remove the current obstacles and meet challenges to the full
realization of all human rights and to prevent the continuation of human
rights violations resulting thereof throughout the world,

Invoking the spirit of our age and the realities of our time which
call upon the peoples of the world and all States Members of the United
Nations to rededicate themselves to the global task of promoting and
protecting all human rights and fundamental freedoms so as to secure full
and universal enjoyment of these rights,

Determined to take new steps forward in the commitment of the
international community with a view to achieving substantial progress in
human rights endeavours by an increased and sustained effort of
international cooperation and solidarity,

Solemnly adopts the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action.

I

1. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the solemn commitment
of all States to fulfil their obligations to promote universal respect
for, and observance and protection of, all human rights and fundamental
freedoms for all in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
other instruments relating to human rights, and international law. The
universal nature of these rights and freedoms is beyond question.

In this framework, enhancement of international cooperation in the
field of human rights is essential for the full achievement of the
purposes of the United Nations.

Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the birthright of all
human beings; their protection and promotion is the first responsibility
of Governments.

2. All peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status, and freely pursue
their economic, social and cultural development.

Taking into account the particular situation of peoples under
colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation, the
World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the right of peoples to take
any legitimate action, in accordance with the Charter of the United
Nations, to realize their inalienable right of self-determination. The
World Conference on Human Rights considers the denial of the right of
self- determination as a violation of human rights and underlines the
importance of the effective realization of this right.

In accordance with the Declaration on Principles of International
Law concerning Friendly Relations and Cooperation Among States in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, this shall not be
construed as authorizing or encouraging any action which would dismember
or impair, totally or in part, the territorial integrity or political
unity of sovereign and independent States conducting themselves in
compliance with the principle of equal rights and self- determination of
peoples and thus possessed of a Government representing the whole people
belonging to the territory without distinction of any kind.

3. Effective international measures to guarantee and monitor the
implementation of human rights standards should be taken in respect of
people under foreign occupation, and effective legal protection against
the violation of their human rights should be provided, in accordance
with human rights norms and international law, particularly the Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War,
of 14 August 1949, and other applicable norms of humanitarian law.

4. The promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms must be considered as a priority objective of the United Nations
in accordance with its purposes and principles, in particular the purpose
of international cooperation. In the framework of these purposes and
principles, the promotion and protection of all human rights is a
legitimate concern of the international community. The organs and
specialized agencies related to human rights should therefore further
enhance the coordination of their activities based on the consistent and
objective application of international human rights instruments.

5. All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and
interrelated. The international community must treat human rights
globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the
same emphasis. 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.

6. The efforts of the United Nations system towards the universal
respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for
all, contribute to the stability and well-being necessary for peaceful
and friendly relations among nations, and to improved conditions for
peace and security as well as social and economic development, in
conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.

7. The processes of promoting and protecting human rights should be
conducted in conformity with the purposes and principles of the Charter
of the United Nations, and international law.

8. Democracy, development and respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms are interdependent and mutually reinforcing. Democracy is based
on the freely expressed will of the people to determine their own
political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full
participation in all aspects of their lives. In the context of the
above, the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms at the national and international levels should be universal and
conducted without conditions attached. The international community
should support the strengthening and promoting of democracy, development
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the entire
world.

9. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that least developed
countries committed to the process of democratization and economic
reforms, many of which are in Africa, should be supported by the
international community in order to succeed in their transition to
democracy and economic development.

10. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the right to
development, as established in the Declaration on the Right to
Development, as a universal and inalienable right and an integral part of
fundamental human rights.

As stated in the Declaration on the Right to Development, the human
person is the central subject of development.

While development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights,
the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of
internationally recognized human rights.

States should cooperate with each other in ensuring development and
eliminating obstacles to development. The international community should
promote an effective international cooperation for the realization of the
right to development and the elimination of obstacles to development.

Lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to
development requires effective development policies at the national
level, as well as equitable economic relations and a favourable economic
environment at the international level.

11. The right to development should be fulfilled so as to meet equitably
the developmental and environmental needs of present and future
generations. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes that
illicit dumping of toxic and dangerous substances and waste potentially
constitutes a serious threat to the human rights to life and health of
everyone.

Consequently, the World Conference on Human Rights calls on all
States to adopt and vigorously implement existing conventions relating to
the dumping of toxic and dangerous products and waste and to cooperate in
the prevention of illicit dumping.

Everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress
and its applications. The World Conference on Human Rights notes that
certain advances, notably in the biomedical and life sciences as well as
in information technology, may have potentially adverse consequences for
the integrity, dignity and human rights of the individual, and calls for
international cooperation to ensure that human rights and dignity are
fully respected in this area of universal concern

12. The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon the international
community to make all efforts to help alleviate the external debt burden
of developing countries, in order to supplement the efforts of the
Governments of such countries to attain the full realization of the
economic, social and cultural rights of their people.

13. There is a need for States and international organizations, in
cooperation with non-governmental organizations, to create favourable
conditions at the national, regional and international levels to ensure
the full and effective enjoyment of human rights. States should
eliminate all violations of human rights and their causes, as well as
obstacles to the enjoyment of these rights.

14. The existence of widespread extreme poverty inhibits the full and
effective enjoyment of human rights; its immediate alleviation and
eventual elimination must remain a high priority for the international
community.

15. Respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms without
distinction of any kind is a fundamental rule of international human
rights law. The speedy and comprehensive elimination of all forms of
racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance is a
priority task for the international community. Governments should take
effective measures to prevent and combat them. Groups, institutions,
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations and individuals are
urged to intensify their efforts in cooperating and coordinating their
activities against these evils.

16. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the progress made in
dismantling apartheid and calls upon the international community and the
United Nations system to assist in this process.

The World Conference on Human Rights also deplores the continuing
acts of violence aimed at undermining the quest for a peaceful
dismantling of apartheid.

17. The acts, methods and practices of terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations as well as linkage in some countries to drug trafficking
are activities aimed at the destruction of human rights, fundamental
freedoms and democracy, threatening territorial integrity, security of
States and destabilizing legitimately constituted Governments. The
international community should take the necessary steps to enhance
cooperation to prevent and combat terrorism.

18. The human rights of women and of the girl-child are an inalienable,
integral and indivisible part of universal human rights. The full and
equal participation of women in political, civil, economic, social and
cultural life, at the national, regional and international levels, and
the eradication of all forms of discrimination on grounds of sex are
priority objectives of the international community.

Gender-based violence and all forms of sexual harassment and
exploitation, including those resulting from cultural prejudice and
international trafficking, are incompatible with the dignity and worth of
the human person, and must be eliminated. This can be achieved by legal
measures and through national action and international cooperation in
such fields as economic and social development, education, safe maternity
and health care, and social support.

The human rights of women should form an integral part of the United
Nations human rights activities, including the promotion of all human
rights instruments relating to women.

The World Conference on Human Rights urges Governments,
institutions, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations to
intensify their efforts for the protection and promotion of human rights
of women and the girl-child.

19. Considering the importance of the promotion and protection of the
rights of persons belonging to minorities and the contribution of such
promotion and protection to the political and social stability of the
States in which such persons live,

The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the obligation of
States to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully
and effectively all human rights and fundamental freedoms without any
discrimination and in full equality before the law in accordance with the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

The persons belonging to minorities have the right to enjoy their
own culture, to profess and practise their own religion and to use their
own language in private and in public, freely and without interference or
any form of discrimination.

20. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the inherent dignity
and the unique contribution of indigenous people to the development and
plurality of society and strongly reaffirms the commitment of the
international community to their economic, social and cultural well-being
and their enjoyment of the fruits of sustainable development. States
should ensure the full and free participation of indigenous people in all
aspects of society, in particular in matters of concern to them.
Considering the importance of the promotion and protection of the rights
of indigenous people, and the contribution of such promotion and
protection to the political and social stability of the States in which
such people live, States should, in accordance with international law,
take concerted positive steps to ensure respect for all human rights and
fundamental freedoms of indigenous people, on the basis of equality and
non- discrimination, and recognize the value and diversity of their
distinct identities, cultures and social organization.

21. The World Conference on Human Rights, welcoming the early
ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by a large
number of States and noting the recognition of the human rights of
children in the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children and Plan of Action adopted by the World Summit
for Children, urges universal ratification of the Convention by 1995 and
its effective implementation by States parties through the adoption of
all the necessary legislative, administrative and other measures and the
allocation to the maximum extent of the available resources. In all
actions concerning children, non-discrimination and the best interest of
the child should be primary considerations and the views of the child
given due weight. National and international mechanisms and programmes
should be strengthened for the defence and protection of children, in
particular, the girl-child, abandoned children, street children,
economically and sexually exploited children, including through child
pornography, child prostitution or sale of organs, children victims of
diseases including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, refugee and
displaced children, children in detention, children in armed conflict, as
well as children victims of famine and drought and other emergencies.
International cooperation and solidarity should be promoted to support
the implementation of the Convention and the rights of the child should
be a priority in the United Nations system-wide action on human rights.

The World Conference on Human Rights also stresses that the child
for the full and harmonious development of his or her personality should
grow up in a family environment which accordingly merits broader
protection.

22. Special attention needs to be paid to ensuring non- discrimination,
and the equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by
disabled persons, including their active participation in all aspects of
society.

23. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that everyone,
without distinction of any kind, is entitled to the right to seek and to
enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution, as well as the right to
return to one’s own country. In this respect it stresses the importance
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 1951 Convention
relating to the Status of Refugees, its 1967 Protocol and regional
instruments. It expresses its appreciation to States that continue to
admit and host large numbers of refugees in their territories, and to the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for its
dedication to its task. It also expresses its appreciation to the United
Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes that gross
violations of human rights, including in armed conflicts, are among the
multiple and complex factors leading to displacement of people.

The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes that, in view of the
complexities of the global refugee crisis and in accordance with the
Charter of the United Nations, relevant international instruments and
international solidarity and in the spirit of burden-sharing, a
comprehensive approach by the international community is needed in
coordination and cooperation with the countries concerned and relevant
organizations, bearing in mind the mandate of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees. This should include the development of
strategies to address the root causes and effects of movements of
refugees and other displaced persons, the strengthening of emergency
preparedness and response mechanisms, the provision of effective
protection and assistance, bearing in mind the special needs of women and
children, as well as the achievement of durable solutions, primarily
through the preferred solution of dignified and safe voluntary
repatriation, including solutions such as those adopted by the
international refugee conferences. The World Conference on Human Rights
underlines the responsibilities of States, particularly as they relate to
the countries of origin.

In the light of the comprehensive approach, the World Conference on
Human Rights emphasizes the importance of giving special attention
including through intergovernmental and humanitarian organizations and
finding lasting solutions to questions related to internally displaced
persons including their voluntary and safe return and rehabilitation.

In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the
principles of humanitarian law, the World Conference on Human Rights
further emphasizes the importance of and the need for humanitarian
assistance to victims of all natural and man-made disasters.

24. Great importance must be given to the promotion and protection of
the human rights of persons belonging to groups which have been rendered
vulnerable, including migrant workers, the elimination of all forms of
discrimination against them, and the strengthening and more effective
implementation of existing human rights instruments. States have an
obligation to create and maintain adequate measures at the national
level, in particular in the fields of education, health and social
support, for the promotion and protection of the rights of persons in
vulnerable sectors of their populations and to ensure the participation
of those among them who are interested in finding a solution to their own
problems.

25. The World Conference on Human Rights affirms that extreme poverty
and social exclusion constitute a violation of human dignity and that
urgent steps are necessary to achieve better knowledge of extreme poverty
and its causes, including those related to the problem of development, in
order to promote the human rights of the poorest, and to put an end to
extreme poverty and social exclusion and to promote the enjoyment of the
fruits of social progress. It is essential for States to foster
participation by the poorest people in the decision-making process by the
community in which they live, the promotion of human rights and efforts
to combat extreme poverty.

26. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the progress made in
the codification of human rights instruments, which is a dynamic and
evolving process, and urges the universal ratification of human rights
treaties. All States are encouraged to accede to these international
instruments; all States are encouraged to avoid, as far as possible, the
resort to reservations.

27. Every State should provide an effective framework of remedies to
redress human rights grievances or violations. The administration of
justice, including law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies and,
especially, an independent judiciary and legal profession in full
conformity with applicable standards contained in international human
rights instruments, are essential to the full and non-discriminatory
realization of human rights and indispensable to the processes of
democracy and sustainable development. In this context, institutions
concerned with the administration of justice should be properly funded,
and an increased level of both technical and financial assistance should
be provided by the international community. It is incumbent upon the
United Nations to make use of special programmes of advisory services on
a priority basis for the achievement of a strong and independent
administration of justice.

28. The World Conference on Human Rights expresses its dismay at massive
violations of human rights especially in the form of genocide, “ethnic
cleansing” and systematic rape of women in war situations, creating mass
exodus of refugees and displaced persons. While strongly condemning such
abhorrent practices it reiterates the call that perpetrators of such
crimes be punished and such practices immediately stopped.

29. The World Conference on Human Rights expresses grave concern about
continuing human rights violations in all parts of the world in disregard
of standards as contained in international human rights instruments and
international humanitarian law and about the lack of sufficient and
effective remedies for the victims.

The World Conference on Human Rights is deeply concerned about
violations of human rights during armed conflicts, affecting the civilian
population, especially women, children, the elderly and the disabled.
The Conference therefore calls upon States and all parties to armed
conflicts strictly to observe international humanitarian law, as set
forth in the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other rules and principles of
international law, as well as minimum standards for protection of human
rights, as laid down in international conventions.

The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the right of the
victims to be assisted by humanitarian organizations, as set forth in the
Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other relevant instruments of
international humanitarian law, and calls for the safe and timely access
for such assistance.

30. The World Conference on Human Rights also expresses its dismay and
condemnation that gross and systematic violations and situations that
constitute serious obstacles to the full enjoyment of all human rights
continue to occur in different parts of the world. Such violations and
obstacles include, as well as torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading
treatment or punishment, summary and arbitrary executions,
disappearances, arbitrary detentions, all forms of racism, racial
discrimination and apartheid, foreign occupation and alien domination,
xenophobia, poverty, hunger and other denials of economic, social and
cultural rights, religious intolerance, terrorism, discrimination against
women and lack of the rule of law.

31. The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon States to refrain
from any unilateral measure not in accordance with international law and
the Charter of the United Nations that creates obstacles to trade
relations among States and impedes the full realization of the human
rights set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
international human rights instruments, in particular the rights of
everyone to a standard of living adequate for their health and
well-being, including food and medical care, housing and the necessary
social services. The World Conference on Human Rights affirms that food
should not be used as a tool for political pressure.

32. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the importance of
ensuring the universality, objectivity and non-selectivity of the
consideration of human rights issues.

33. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that States are
duty-bound, as stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
and in other international human rights instruments, to ensure that
education is aimed at strengthening the respect of human rights and
fundamental freedoms. The World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes
the importance of incorporating the subject of human rights education
programmes and calls upon States to do so. Education should promote
understanding, tolerance, peace and friendly relations between the
nations and all racial or religious groups and encourage the development
of United Nations activities in pursuance of these objectives.
Therefore, education on human rights and the dissemination of proper
information, both theoretical and practical, play an important role in
the promotion and respect of human rights with regard to all individuals
without distinction of any kind such as race, sex, language or religion,
and this should be integrated in the education policies at the national
as well as international levels. The World Conference on Human Rights
notes that resource constraints and institutional inadequacies may impede
the immediate realization of these objectives.

34. Increased efforts should be made to assist countries which so
request to create the conditions whereby each individual can enjoy
universal human rights and fundamental freedoms. Governments, the United
Nations system as well as other multilateral organizations are urged to
increase considerably the resources allocated to programmes aiming at the
establishment and strengthening of national legislation, national
institutions and related infrastructures which uphold the rule of law and
democracy, electoral assistance, human rights awareness through training,
teaching and education, popular participation and civil society.

The programmes of advisory services and technical cooperation under
the Centre for Human Rights should be strengthened as well as made more
efficient and transparent and thus become a major contribution to
improving respect for human rights. States are called upon to increase
their contributions to these programmes, both through promoting a larger
allocation from the United Nations regular budget, and through voluntary
contributions.

35. The full and effective implementation of United Nations activities
to promote and protect human rights must reflect the high importance
accorded to human rights by the Charter of the United Nations and the
demands of the United Nations human rights activities, as mandated by
Member States. To this end, United Nations human rights activities
should be provided with increased resources.

36. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms the important and
constructive role played by national institutions for the promotion and
protection of human rights, in particular in their advisory capacity to
the competent authorities, their role in remedying human rights
violations, in the dissemination of human rights information, and
education in human rights.

The World Conference on Human Rights encourages the establishment
and strengthening of national institutions, having regard to the
“Principles relating to the status of national institutions” and
recognizing that it is the right of each State to choose the framework
which is best suited to its particular needs at the national level.

37. Regional arrangements play a fundamental role in promoting and
protecting human rights. They should reinforce universal human rights
standards, as contained in international human rights instruments, and
their protection. The World Conference on Human Rights endorses efforts
under way to strengthen these arrangements and to increase their
effectiveness, while at the same time stressing the importance of
cooperation with the United Nations human rights activities.

The World Conference on Human Rights reiterates the need to consider
the possibility of establishing regional and subregional arrangements for
the promotion and protection of human rights where they do not already
exist.

38. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the important role
of non-governmental organizations in the promotion of all human rights
and in humanitarian activities at national, regional and international
levels. The World Conference on Human Rights appreciates their
contribution to increasing public awareness of human rights issues, to
the conduct of education, training and research in this field, and to the
promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
While recognizing that the primary responsibility for standard-setting
lies with States, the conference also appreciates the contribution of
non- governmental organizations to this process. In this respect, the
World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes the importance of continued
dialogue and cooperation between Governments and non-governmental
organizations. Non-governmental organizations and their members
genuinely involved in the field of human rights should enjoy the rights
and freedoms recognized in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and
the protection of the national law. These rights and freedoms may not be
exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Non-governmental organizations should be free to carry out their human
rights activities, without interference, within the framework of national
law and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

39. Underlining the importance of objective, responsible and impartial
information about human rights and humanitarian issues, the World
Conference on Human Rights encourages the increased involvement of the
media, for whom freedom and protection should be guaranteed within the
framework of national law.

II

A. Increased coordination on human rights within the United Nations
system

1. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends increased
coordination in support of human rights and fundamental freedoms within
the United Nations system. To this end, the World Conference on Human
Rights urges all United Nations organs, bodies and the specialized
agencies whose activities deal with human rights to cooperate in order to
strengthen, rationalize and streamline their activities, taking into
account the need to avoid unnecessary duplication. The World Conference
on Human Rights also recommends to the Secretary-General that high-level
officials of relevant United Nations bodies and specialized agencies at
their annual meeting, besides coordinating their activities, also assess
the impact of their strategies and policies on the enjoyment of all human
rights.

2. Furthermore, the World Conference on Human Rights calls on regional
organizations and prominent international and regional finance and
development institutions to assess also the impact of their policies and
programmes on the enjoyment of human rights.

3. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes that relevant
specialized agencies and bodies and institutions of the United Nations
system as well as other relevant intergovernmental organizations whose
activities deal with human rights play a vital role in the formulation,
promotion and implementation of human rights standards, within their
respective mandates, and should take into account the outcome of the
World Conference on Human Rights within their fields of competence.

4. The World Conference on Human Rights strongly recommends that a
concerted effort be made to encourage and facilitate the ratification of
and accession or succession to international human rights treaties and
protocols adopted within the framework of the United Nations system with
the aim of universal acceptance. The Secretary-General, in consultation
with treaty bodies, should consider opening a dialogue with States not
having acceded to these human rights treaties, in order to identify
obstacles and to seek ways of overcoming them.

5. The World Conference on Human Rights encourages States to consider
limiting the extent of any reservations they lodge to international human
rights instruments, formulate any reservations as precisely and narrowly
as possible, ensure that none is incompatible with the object and purpose
of the relevant treaty and regularly review any reservations with a view
to withdrawing them.

6. The World Conference on Human Rights, recognizing the need to
maintain consistency with the high quality of existing international
standards and to avoid proliferation of human rights instruments,
reaffirms the guidelines relating to the elaboration of new international
instruments contained in General Assembly resolution 41/120 of 4 December
1986 and calls on the United Nations human rights bodies, when
considering the elaboration of new international standards, to keep those
guidelines in mind, to consult with human rights treaty bodies on the
necessity for drafting new standards and to request the Secretariat to
carry out technical reviews of proposed new instruments.

7. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that human rights
officers be assigned if and when necessary to regional offices of the
United Nations Organization with the purpose of disseminating information
and offering training and other technical assistance in the field of
human rights upon the request of concerned Member States. Human rights
training for international civil servants who are assigned to work
relating to human rights should be organized.

8. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the convening of
emergency sessions of the Commission on Human Rights as a positive
initiative and that other ways of responding to acute violations of human
rights be considered by the relevant organs of the United Nations system.

Resources

9. The World Conference on Human Rights, concerned by the growing
disparity between the activities of the Centre for Human Rights and the
human, financial and other resources available to carry them out, and
bearing in mind the resources needed for other important United Nations
programmes, requests the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to
take immediate steps to increase substantially the resources for the
human rights programme from within the existing and future regular
budgets of the United Nations, and to take urgent steps to seek increased
extrabudgetary resources.

10. Within this framework, an increased proportion of the regular budget
should be allocated directly to the Centre for Human Rights to cover its
costs and all other costs borne by the Centre for Human Rights, including
those related to the United Nations human rights bodies. Voluntary
funding of the Centre’s technical cooperation activities should reinforce
this enhanced budget; the World Conference on Human Rights calls for
generous contributions to the existing trust funds.

11. The World Conference on Human Rights requests the Secretary- General
and the General Assembly to provide sufficient human, financial and other
resources to the Centre for Human Rights to enable it effectively,
efficiently and expeditiously to carry out its activities.

12. The World Conference on Human Rights, noting the need to ensure that
human and financial resources are available to carry out the human rights
activities, as mandated by intergovernmental bodies, urges the
Secretary-General, in accordance with Article 101 of the Charter of the
United Nations, and Member States to adopt a coherent approach aimed at
securing that resources commensurate to the increased mandates are
allocated to the Secretariat. The World Conference on Human Rights
invites the Secretary-General to consider whether adjustments to
procedures in the programme budget cycle would be necessary or helpful to
ensure the timely and effective implementation of human rights activities
as mandated by Member States.

Centre for Human Rights

13. The World Conference on Human Rights stresses the importance of
strengthening the United Nations Centre for Human Rights.

14. The Centre for Human Rights should play an important role in
coordinating system-wide attention for human rights. The focal role of
the Centre can best be realized if it is enabled to cooperate fully with
other United Nations bodies and organs. The coordinating role of the
Centre for Human Rights also implies that the office of the Centre for
Human Rights in New York is strengthened.

15. The Centre for Human Rights should be assured adequate means for the
system of thematic and country rapporteurs, experts, working groups and
treaty bodies. Follow-up on recommendations should become a priority
matter for consideration by the Commission on Human Rights.

16. The Centre for Human Rights should assume a larger role in the
promotion of human rights. This role could be given shape through
cooperation with Member States and by an enhanced programme of advisory
services and technical assistance. The existing voluntary funds will
have to be expanded substantially for these purposes and should be
managed in a more efficient and coordinated way. All activities should
follow strict and transparent project management rules and regular
programme and project evaluations should be held periodically. To this
end, the results of such evaluation exercises and other relevant
information should be made available regularly. The Centre should, in
particular, organize at least once a year information meetings open to
all Member States and organizations directly involved in these projects
and programmes.

Adaptation and strengthening of the United Nations machinery for human
rights, including the question of the establishment of a United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights

17. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the necessity for a
continuing adaptation of the United Nations human rights machinery to the
current and future needs in the promotion and protection of human rights,
as reflected in the present Declaration and within the framework of a
balanced and sustainable development for all people. In particular, the
United Nations human rights organs should improve their coordination,
efficiency and effectiveness.

18. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends to the General
Assembly that when examining the report of the Conference at its
forty-eighth session, it begin, as a matter of priority, consideration of
the question of the establishment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights
for the promotion and protection of all human rights.

B. Equality, dignity and tolerance

1. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other forms of
intolerance

19. The World Conference on Human Rights considers the elimination of
racism and racial discrimination, in particular in their
institutionalized forms such as apartheid or resulting from doctrines of
racial superiority or exclusivity or contemporary forms and
manifestations of racism, as a primary objective for the international
community and a worldwide promotion programme in the field of human
rights. United Nations organs and agencies should strengthen their
efforts to implement such a programme of action related to the third
decade to combat racism and racial discrimination as well as subsequent
mandates to the same end. The World Conference on Human Rights strongly
appeals to the international community to contribute generously to the
Trust Fund for the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism
and Racial Discrimination.

20. The World Conference on Human Rights urges all Governments to take
immediate measures and to develop strong policies to prevent and combat
all forms and manifestations of racism, xenophobia or related
intolerance, where necessary by enactment of appropriate legislation,
including penal measures, and by the establishment of national
institutions to combat such phenomena.

21. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the decision of the
Commission on Human Rights to appoint a Special Rapporteur on
contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and
related intolerance. The World Conference on Human Rights also appeals
to all States parties to the International Convention on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination to consider making the declaration
under article 14 of the Convention.

22. The World Conference on Human Rights calls upon all Governments to
take all appropriate measures in compliance with their international
obligations and with due regard to their respective legal systems to
counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief,
including practices of discrimination against women and including the
desecration of religious sites, recognizing that every individual has the
right to freedom of thought, conscience, expression and religion. The
Conference also invites all States to put into practice the provisions of
the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of
Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.

23. The World Conference on Human Rights stresses that all persons who
perpetrate or authorize criminal acts associated with ethnic cleansing
are individually responsible and accountable for such human rights
violations, and that the international community should exert every
effort to bring those legally responsible for such violations to justice.

24. The World Conference on Human Rights calls on all States to take
immediate measures, individually and collectively, to combat the practice
of ethnic cleansing to bring it quickly to an end. Victims of the
abhorrent practice of ethnic cleansing are entitled to appropriate and
effective remedies.

2. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and
linguistic minorities

25. The World Conference on Human Rights calls on the Commission on
Human Rights to examine ways and means to promote and protect effectively
the rights of persons belonging to minorities as set out in the
Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities. In this context, the World
Conference on Human Rights calls upon the Centre for Human Rights to
provide, at the request of Governments concerned and as part of its
programme of advisory services and technical assistance, qualified
expertise on minority issues and human rights, as well as on the
prevention and resolution of disputes, to assist in existing or potential
situations involving minorities.

26. The World Conference on Human Rights urges States and the
international community to promote and protect the rights of persons
belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities in
accordance with the Declaration on the Rights of Persons belonging to
National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

27. Measures to be taken, where appropriate, should include facilitation
of their full participation in all aspects of the political, economic,
social, religious and cultural life of society and in the economic
progress and development in their country.

Indigenous people

28. The World Conference on Human Rights calls on the Working Group on
Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to complete the drafting of a
declaration on the rights of indigenous people at its eleventh session.

29. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the Commission
on Human Rights consider the renewal and updating of the mandate of the
Working Group on Indigenous Populations upon completion of the drafting
of a declaration on the rights of indigenous people.

30. The World Conference on Human Rights also recommends that advisory
services and technical assistance programmes within the United Nations
system respond positively to requests by States for assistance which
would be of direct benefit to indigenous people. The World Conference on
Human Rights further recommends that adequate human and financial
resources be made available to the Centre for Human Rights within the
overall framework of strengthening the Centre’s activities as envisaged
by this document.

31. The World Conference on Human Rights urges States to ensure the full
and free participation of indigenous people in all aspects of society, in
particular in matters of concern to them.

32. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the General
Assembly proclaim an international decade of the world’s indigenous
people, to begin from January 1994, including action- orientated
programmes, to be decided upon in partnership with indigenous people. An
appropriate voluntary trust fund should be set up for this purpose. In
the framework of such a decade, the establishment of a permanent forum
for indigenous people in the United Nations system should be considered.

Migrant workers

33. The World Conference on Human Rights urges all States to guarantee
the protection of the human rights of all migrant workers and their
families.

34. The World Conference on Human Rights considers that the creation of
conditions to foster greater harmony and tolerance between migrant
workers and the rest of the society of the State in which they reside is
of particular importance.

35. The World Conference on Human Rights invites States to consider the
possibility of signing and ratifying, at the earliest possible time, the
International Convention on the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members
of Their Families.

3. The equal status and human rights of women

36. The World Conference on Human Rights urges the full and equal
enjoyment by women of all human rights and that this be a priority for
Governments and for the United Nations. The World Conference on Human
Rights also underlines the importance of the integration and full
participation of women as both agents and beneficiaries in the
development process, and reiterates the objectives established on global
action for women towards sustainable and equitable development set forth
in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and chapter 24 of
Agenda 21, adopted by the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3-14 June 1992).

37. The equal status of women and the human rights of women should be
integrated into the mainstream of United Nations system-wide activity.
These issues should be regularly and systematically addressed throughout
relevant United Nations bodies and mechanisms. In particular, steps
should be taken to increase cooperation and promote further integration
of objectives and goals between the Commission on the Status of Women,
the Commission on Human Rights, the Committee for the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, the United Nations Development Fund for
Women, the United Nations Development Programme and other United Nations
agencies. In this context, cooperation and coordination should be
strengthened between the Centre for Human Rights and the Division for the
Advancement of Women.

38. In particular, the World Conference on Human Rights stresses the
importance of working towards the elimination of violence against women
in public and private life, the elimination of all forms of sexual
harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women, the elimination of
gender bias in the administration of justice and the eradication of any
conflicts which may arise between the rights of women and the harmful
effects of certain traditional or customary practices, cultural
prejudices and religious extremism. The World Conference on Human Rights
calls upon the General Assembly to adopt the draft declaration on
violence against women and urges States to combat violence against women
in accordance with its provisions. Violations of the human rights of
women in situations of armed conflict are violations of the fundamental
principles of international human rights and humanitarian law. All
violations of this kind, including in particular murder, systematic rape,
sexual slavery, and forced pregnancy, require a particularly effective
response.

39. The World Conference on Human Rights urges the eradication of all
forms of discrimination against women, both hidden and overt. The United
Nations should encourage the goal of universal ratification by all States
of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women by the year 2000. Ways and means of addressing the
particularly large number of reservations to the Convention should be
encouraged. Inter alia, the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women should continue its review of reservations
to the Convention. States are urged to withdraw reservations that are
contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention or which are
otherwise incompatible with international treaty law.

40. Treaty monitoring bodies should disseminate necessary information to
enable women to make more effective use of existing implementation
procedures in their pursuits of full and equal enjoyment of human rights
and non-discrimination. New procedures should also be adopted to
strengthen implementation of the commitment to women’s equality and the
human rights of women. The Commission on the Status of Women and the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women should
quickly examine the possibility of introducing the right of petition
through the preparation of an optional protocol to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The World
Conference on Human Rights welcomes the decision of the Commission on
Human Rights to consider the appointment of a special rapporteur on
violence against women at its fiftieth session.

41. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the importance of
the enjoyment by women of the highest standard of physical and mental
health throughout their life span. In the context of the World
Conference on Women and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women, as well as the Proclamation of Tehran of
1968, the World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms, on the basis of
equality between women and men, a woman’s right to accessible and
adequate health care and the widest range of family planning services, as
well as equal access to education at all levels.

42. Treaty monitoring bodies should include the status of women and the
human rights of women in their deliberations and findings, making use of
gender-specific data. States should be encouraged to supply information
on the situation of women de jure and de facto in their reports to treaty
monitoring bodies. The World Conference on Human Rights notes with
satisfaction that the Commission on Human Rights adopted at its
forty-ninth session resolution 1993/46 of 8 March 1993 stating that
rapporteurs and working groups in the field of human rights should also
be encouraged to do so. Steps should also be taken by the Division for
the Advancement of Women in cooperation with other United Nations bodies,
specifically the Centre for Human Rights, to ensure that the human rights
activities of the United Nations regularly address violations of women’s
human rights, including gender-specific abuses. Training for United
Nations human rights and humanitarian relief personnel to assist them to
recognize and deal with human rights abuses particular to women and to
carry out their work without gender bias should be encouraged.

43. The World Conference on Human Rights urges Governments and regional
and international organizations to facilitate the access of women to
decision-making posts and their greater participation in the
decision-making process. It encourages further steps within the United
Nations Secretariat to appoint and promote women staff members in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, and encourages other
principal and subsidiary organs of the United Nations to guarantee the
participation of women under conditions of equality.

44. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the World Conference
on Women to be held in Beijing in 1995 and urges that human rights of
women should play an important role in its deliberations, in accordance
with the priority themes of the World Conference on Women of equality,
development and peace.

4. The rights of the child

45. The World Conference on Human Rights reiterates the principle of
“First Call for Children” and, in this respect, underlines the importance
of major national and international efforts, especially those of the
United Nations Children’s Fund, for promoting respect for the rights of
the child to survival, protection, development and participation.

46. Measures should be taken to achieve universal ratification of the
Convention on the Rights of the Child by 1995 and the universal signing
of the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of
Children and Plan of Action adopted by the World Summit for Children, as
well as their effective implementation. The World Conference on Human
Rights urges States to withdraw reservations to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child contrary to the object and purpose of the Convention
or otherwise contrary to international treaty law.

47. The World Conference on Human Rights urges all nations to undertake
measures to the maximum extent of their available resources, with the
support of international cooperation, to achieve the goals in the World
Summit Plan of Action. The Conference calls on States to integrate the
Convention on the Rights of the Child into their national action plans.
By means of these national action plans and through international
efforts, particular priority should be placed on reducing infant and
maternal mortality rates, reducing malnutrition and illiteracy rates and
providing access to safe drinking water and to basic education. Whenever
so called for, national plans of action should be devised to combat
devastating emergencies resulting from natural disasters and armed
conflicts and the equally grave problem of children in extreme poverty.

48. The World Conference on Human Rights urges all States, with the
support of international cooperation, to address the acute problem of
children under especially difficult circumstances. Exploitation and
abuse of children should be actively combated, including by addressing
their root causes. Effective measures are required against female
infanticide, harmful child labour, sale of children and organs, child
prostitution, child pornography, as well as other forms of sexual abuse.

49. The World Conference on Human Rights supports all measures by the
United Nations and its specialized agencies to ensure the effective
protection and promotion of human rights of the girl child. The World
Conference on Human Rights urges States to repeal existing laws and
regulations and remove customs and practices which discriminate against
and cause harm to the girl child.

50. The World Conference on Human Rights strongly supports the proposal
that the Secretary-General initiate a study into means of improving the
protection of children in armed conflicts. Humanitarian norms should be
implemented and measures taken in order to protect and facilitate
assistance to children in war zones. Measures should include protection
for children against indiscriminate use of all weapons of war, especially
anti- personnel mines. The need for aftercare and rehabilitation of
children traumatized by war must be addressed urgently. The Conference
calls on the Committee on the Rights of the Child to study the question
of raising the minimum age of recruitment into armed forces.

51. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that matters
relating to human rights and the situation of children be regularly
reviewed and monitored by all relevant organs and mechanisms of the
United Nations system and by the supervisory bodies of the specialized
agencies in accordance with their mandates.

52. The World Conference on Human Rights recognizes the important role
played by non-governmental organizations in the effective implementation
of all human rights instruments and, in particular, the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.

53. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the Committee
on the Rights of the Child, with the assistance of the Centre for Human
Rights, be enabled expeditiously and effectively to meet its mandate,
especially in view of the unprecedented extent of ratification and
subsequent submission of country reports.

5. Freedom from torture

54. The World Conference on Human Rights welcomes the ratification by
many Member States of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and encourages its speedy
ratification by all other Member States.

55. The World Conference on Human Rights emphasizes that one of the most
atrocious violations against human dignity is the act of torture, the
result of which destroys the dignity and impairs the capability of
victims to continue their lives and their activities.

56. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that under human
rights law and international humanitarian law, freedom from torture is a
right which must be protected under all circumstances, including in times
of internal or international disturbance or armed conflicts.

57. The World Conference on Human Rights therefore urges all States to
put an immediate end to the practice of torture and eradicate this evil
forever through full implementation of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights as well as the relevant conventions and, where necessary,
strengthening of existing mechanisms. The World Conference on Human
Rights calls on all States to cooperate fully with the Special Rapporteur
on the question of torture in the fulfilment of his mandate.

58. Special attention should be given to ensure universal respect for,
and effective implementation of, the Principles of Medical Ethics
relevant to the Role of Health Personnel, particularly Physicians, in the
Protection of Prisoners and Detainees against Torture and other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted by the General
Assembly of the United Nations.

59. The World Conference on Human Rights stresses the importance of
further concrete action within the framework of the United Nations with
the view to providing assistance to victims of torture and ensure more
effective remedies for their physical, psychological and social
rehabilitation. Providing the necessary resources for this purpose
should be given high priority, inter alia, by additional contributions to
the United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture.

60. States should abrogate legislation leading to impunity for those
responsible for grave violations of human rights such as torture and
prosecute such violations, thereby providing a firm basis for the rule of
law.

61. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that efforts to
eradicate torture should, first and foremost, be concentrated on
prevention and, therefore, calls for the early adoption of an optional
protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and
Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which is intended to establish a
preventive system of regular visits to places of detention.

Enforced disappearances

62. The World Conference on Human Rights, welcoming the adoption by the
General Assembly of the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance, calls upon all States to take effective
legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent,
terminate and punish acts of enforced disappearances. The World
Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that it is the duty of all States,
under any circumstances, to make investigations whenever there is reason
to believe that an enforced disappearance has taken place on a territory
under their jurisdiction and, if allegations are confirmed, to prosecute
its perpetrators.

6. The rights of the disabled person

63. The World Conference on Human Rights reaffirms that all human rights
and fundamental freedoms are universal and thus unreservedly include
persons with disabilities. Every person is born equal and has the same
rights to life and welfare, education and work, living independently and
active participation in all aspects of society. Any direct
discrimination or other negative discriminatory treatment of a disabled
person is therefore a violation of his or her rights. The World
Conference on Human Rights calls on Governments, where necessary, to
adopt or adjust legislation to assure access to these and other rights
for disabled persons.

64. The place of disabled persons is everywhere. Persons with
disabilities should be guaranteed equal opportunity through the
elimination of all socially determined barriers, be they physical,
financial, social or psychological, which exclude or restrict full
participation in society.

65. Recalling the World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons,
adopted by the General Assembly at its thirty-seventh session, the World
Conference on Human Rights calls upon the General Assembly and the
Economic and Social Council to adopt the draft standard rules on the
equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities, at their
meetings in 1993.

C. Cooperation, development and strengthening of human rights

66. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that priority be
given to national and international action to promote democracy,
development and human rights.

67. Special emphasis should be given to measures to assist in the
strengthening and building of institutions relating to human rights,
strengthening of a pluralistic civil society and the protection of groups
which have been rendered vulnerable. In this context, assistance
provided upon the request of Governments for the conduct of free and fair
elections, including assistance in the human rights aspects of elections
and public information about elections, is of particular importance.
Equally important is the assistance to be given to the strengthening of
the rule of law, the promotion of freedom of expression and the
administration of justice, and to the real and effective participation of
the people in the decision-making processes.

68. The World Conference on Human Rights stresses the need for the
implementation of strengthened advisory services and technical assistance
activities by the Centre for Human Rights. The Centre should make
available to States upon request assistance on specific human rights
issues, including the preparation of reports under human rights treaties
as well as for the implementation of coherent and comprehensive plans of
action for the promotion and protection of human rights. Strengthening
the institutions of human rights and democracy, the legal protection of
human rights, training of officials and others, broad-based education and
public information aimed at promoting respect for human rights should all
be available as components of these programmes.

69. The World Conference on Human Rights strongly recommends that a
comprehensive programme be established within the United Nations in order
to help States in the task of building and strengthening adequate
national structures which have a direct impact on the overall observance
of human rights and the maintenance of the rule of law. Such a
programme, to be coordinated by the Centre for Human Rights, should be
able to provide, upon the request of the interested Government, technical
and financial assistance to national projects in reforming penal and
correctional establishments, education and training of lawyers, judges
and security forces in human rights, and any other sphere of activity
relevant to the good functioning of the rule of law. That programme
should make available to States assistance for the implementation of
plans of action for the promotion and protection of human rights.

70. The World Conference on Human Rights requests the Secretary-General
of the United Nations to submit proposals to the United Nations General
Assembly, containing alternatives for the establishment, structure,
operational modalities and funding of the proposed programme.

71. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that each State
consider the desirability of drawing up a national action plan
identifying steps whereby that State would improve the promotion and
protection of human rights.

72. The World Conference on Human Rights on Human Rights reaffirms that
the universal and inalienable right to development, as established in the
Declaration on the Right to Development, must be implemented and
realized. In this context, the World Conference on Human Rights welcomes
the appointment by the Commission on Human Rights of a thematic working
group on the right to development and urges that the Working Group, in
consultation and cooperation with other organs and agencies of the United
Nations system, promptly formulate, for early consideration by the United
Nations General Assembly, comprehensive and effective measures to
eliminate obstacles to the implementation and realization of the
Declaration on the Right to Development and recommending ways and means
towards the realization of the right to development by all States.

73. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that non-
governmental and other grass-roots organizations active in development
and/or human rights should be enabled to play a major role on the
national and international levels in the debate, activities and
implementation relating to the right to development and, in cooperation
with Governments, in all relevant aspects of development cooperation.

74. The World Conference on Human Rights appeals to Governments,
competent agencies and institutions to increase considerably the
resources devoted to building well-functioning legal systems able to
protect human rights, and to national institutions working in this area.
Actors in the field of development cooperation should bear in mind the
mutually reinforcing interrelationship between development, democracy and
human rights. Cooperation should be based on dialogue and transparency.
The World Conference on Human Rights also calls for the establishment of
comprehensive programmes, including resource banks of information and
personnel with expertise relating to the strengthening of the rule of law
and of democratic institutions.

75. The World Conference on Human Rights encourages the Commission on
Human Rights, in cooperation with the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, to continue the examination of optional protocols to the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

76. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that more resources
be made available for the strengthening or the establishment of regional
arrangements for the promotion and protection of human rights under the
programmes of advisory services and technical assistance of the Centre
for Human Rights. States are encouraged to request assistance for such
purposes as regional and subregional workshops, seminars and information
exchanges designed to strengthen regional arrangements for the promotion
and protection of human rights in accord with universal human rights
standards as contained in international human rights instruments.

77. The World Conference on Human Rights supports all measures by the
United Nations and its relevant specialized agencies to ensure the
effective promotion and protection of trade union rights, as stipulated
in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and
other relevant international instruments. It calls on all States to
abide fully by their obligations in this regard contained in
international instruments.

D. Human rights education

78. The World Conference on Human Rights considers human rights
education, training and public information essential for the promotion
and achievement of stable and harmonious relations among communities and
for fostering mutual understanding, tolerance and peace.

79. States should strive to eradicate illiteracy and should direct
education towards the full development of the human personality and to
the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The World Conference on Human Rights calls on all States and institutions
to include human rights, humanitarian law, democracy and rule of law as
subjects in the curricula of all learning institutions in formal and
non-formal settings.

80. Human rights education should include peace, democracy, development
and social justice, as set forth in international and regional human
rights instruments, in order to achieve common understanding and
awareness with a view to strengthening universal commitment to human
rights.

81. Taking into account the World Plan of Action on Education for Human
Rights and Democracy, adopted in March 1993 by the International Congress
on Education for Human Rights and Democracy of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and other human rights
instruments, the World Conference on Human Rights recommends that States
develop specific programmes and strategies for ensuring the widest human
rights education and the dissemination of public information, taking
particular account of the human rights needs of women.

82. Governments, with the assistance of intergovernmental organizations,
national institutions and non-governmental organizations, should promote
an increased awareness of human rights and mutual tolerance. The World
Conference on Human Rights underlines the importance of strengthening the
World Public Information Campaign for Human Rights carried out by the
United Nations. They should initiate and support education in human
rights and undertake effective dissemination of public information in
this field. The advisory services and technical assistance programmes of
the United Nations system should be able to respond immediately to
requests from States for educational and training activities in the field
of human rights as well as for special education concerning standards as
contained in international human rights instruments and in humanitarian
law and their application to special groups such as military forces, law
enforcement personnel, police and the health profession. The
proclamation of a United Nations decade for human rights education in
order to promote, encourage and focus these educational activities should
be considered.

E. Implementation and monitoring methods

83. The World Conference on Human Rights urges Governments to
incorporate standards as contained in international human rights
instruments in domestic legislation and to strengthen national
structures, institutions and organs of society which play a role in
promoting and safeguarding human rights.

84. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends the strengthening of
United Nations activities and programmes to meet requests for assistance
by States which want to establish or strengthen their own national
institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights.

85. The World Conference on Human Rights also encourages the
strengthening of cooperation between national institutions for the
promotion and protection of human rights, particularly through exchanges
of information and experience, as well as cooperation with regional
organizations and the United Nations.

86. The World Conference on Human Rights strongly recommends in this
regard that representatives of national institutions for the promotion
and protection of human rights convene periodic meetings under the
auspices of the Centre for Human Rights to examine ways and means of
improving their mechanisms and sharing experiences.

87. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends to the human rights
treaty bodies, to the meetings of chairpersons of the treaty bodies and
to the meetings of States parties that they continue to take steps aimed
at coordinating the multiple reporting requirements and guidelines for
preparing State reports under the respective human rights conventions and
study the suggestion that the submission of one overall report on treaty
obligations undertaken by each State would make these procedures more
effective and increase their impact.

88. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the States
parties to international human rights instruments, the General Assembly
and the Economic and Social Council should consider studying the existing
human rights treaty bodies and the various thematic mechanisms and
procedures with a view to promoting greater efficiency and effectiveness
through better coordination of the various bodies, mechanisms and
procedures, taking into account the need to avoid unnecessary duplication
and overlapping of their mandates and tasks.

89. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends continued work on
the improvement of the functioning, including the monitoring tasks, of
the treaty bodies, taking into account multiple proposals made in this
respect, in particular those made by the treaty bodies themselves and by
the meetings of the chairpersons of the treaty bodies. The comprehensive
national approach taken by the Committee on the Rights of the Child
should also be encouraged.

90. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that States parties
to human rights treaties consider accepting all the available optional
communication procedures.

91. The World Conference on Human Rights views with concern the issue of
impunity of perpetrators of human rights violations, and supports the
efforts of the Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on
Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities to examine all
aspects of the issue.

92. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the Commission
on Human Rights examine the possibility for better implementation of
existing human rights instruments at the international and regional
levels and encourages the International Law Commission to continue its
work on an international criminal court.

93. The World Conference on Human Rights appeals to States which have
not yet done so to accede to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and
the Protocols thereto, and to take all appropriate national measures,
including legislative ones, for their full implementation.

94. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends the speedy
completion and adoption of the draft declaration on the right and
responsibility of individuals, groups and organs of society to promote
and protect universally recognized human rights and fundamental freedoms.

95. The World Conference on Human Rights underlines the importance of
preserving and strengthening the system of special procedures,
rapporteurs, representatives, experts and working groups of the
Commission on Human Rights and the Sub-Commission on the Prevention of
Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in order to enable them to
carry out their mandates in all countries throughout the world, providing
them with the necessary human and financial resources. The procedures
and mechanisms should be enabled to harmonize and rationalize their work
through periodic meetings. All States are asked to cooperate fully with
these procedures and mechanisms.

96. The World Conference on Human Rights recommends that the United
Nations assume a more active role in the promotion and protection of
human rights in ensuring full respect for international humanitarian law
in all situations of armed conflict, in accordance with the purposes and
principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

97. The World Conference on Human Rights, recognizing the important role
of human rights components in specific arrangements concerning some
peace-keeping operations by the United Nations, recommends that the
Secretary-General take into account the reporting, experience and
capabilities of the Centre for Human Rights and human rights mechanisms,
in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations.

98. To strengthen the enjoyment of economic, social and cultural rights,
additional approaches should be examined, such as a system of indicators
to measure progress in the realization of the rights set forth in the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. There
must be a concerted effort to ensure recognition of economic, social and
cultural rights at the national, regional and international levels.

F. Follow-up to the World Conference on Human Rights

99. The World Conference on Human Rights on Human Rights recommends that
the General Assembly, the Commission on Human Rights and other organs and
agencies of the United Nations system related to human rights consider
ways and means for the full implementation, without delay, of the
recommendations contained in the present Declaration, including the
possibility of proclaiming a United Nations decade for human rights. The
World Conference on Human Rights further recommends that the Commission
on Human Rights annually review the progress towards this end.

100. The World Conference on Human Rights requests the Secretary-General
of the United Nations to invite on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights all States, all
organs and agencies of the United Nations system related to human rights,
to report to him on the progress made in the implementation of the
present Declaration and to submit a report to the General Assembly at its
fifty-third session, through the Commission on Human Rights and the
Economic and Social Council. Likewise, regional and, as appropriate,
national human rights institutions, as well as non-governmental
organizations, may present their views to the Secretary-General on the
progress made in the implementation of the present Declaration. Special
attention should be paid to assessing the progress towards the goal of
universal ratification of international human rights treaties and
protocols adopted within the framework of the United Nations system.