This draft UN General Assembly resolution, which aimed to mainstream human rights considerations in UN operations, was a revised version of what had originally been a much stronger statement. In order to garner the support of 59 UN member states as co-sponsors and encourage others not to object, it deleted provisions from the original version. Deleted, for example, were provisions which welcomed efforts "to ensure that human rights are integrated throughout the work of the United Nations" and called upon states "to implement all universal human rights norms." It also redirected attention to "encourages the...international financial and multilateral trading systems to continue to mainstream human rights in their policies and objectives."
The United States threatened to make amendments if the matter was brought to the floor. The South African delegation countered by tabling a series of amendments which would have made the resolution even worse.
What did the South Africans want? Among other things they advocated deleting all of these provisions:
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;...
Recognizing that human rights, the rule of law and democracy are interlinked and mutually reinforcing and that they belong to the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations;...
Supporting the strengthening of linkages between the normative work of the United Nations system and its operational activities;...
4. Encourages the:
(a) Security Council to continue to develop cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights;
(b) Economic and Social Council to continue to integrate the promotion and protection of human rights in all areas of its work;"
Since the result of pressing any amendments would have been a defeat of the U.S. proposals and the success of those from South Africa, the main sponsor of the resolution (Belgium) decided to withdraw it altogether.
Sections already deleted in the revised version which Belgium tabled on the last day of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee, are underlined: Recognizing the essential importance of the United Nations system in promoting international human rights instruments and adhering to international humanitarian law and international human rights standards in all aspects of its peace and security activities,
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1. Welcomes the:
(a) Recent efforts of the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to ensure that human rights are integrated throughout the work of the United Nations;
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(d) United Nations agreement on a human rights-based approach to development cooperation of 2003;
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4. Encourages the:
(a) Security Council to strengthen the links and to continue to develop cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, inter alia, through reports of the High Commissioner to the Council and involvement of the High Commissioner in the implementation of all human rights provisions of Security Council resolutions;
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(b) United Nations specialized agencies, funds and programmes;
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(ii) To implement the United Nations common understanding on a human rights-based approach to development cooperation;
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5. Encourages the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights:
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(b) To intensify her efforts to integrate human rights into development, humanitarian and rule of law activities and to further develop and implement the action 2 initiative, inter alia, through enhancing cooperation with United Nations bodies, funds and programmes;
(c) To also intensify her efforts to improve coordination and cooperation among United Nations agencies and programmes active in the field of the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular with respect to the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration3 and the Millennium Development Goals, and to engage in a dialogue with concerned Governments for that purpose;
6. Calls upon Member States:
(a) To implement all universal human rights norms and to integrate the promotion and protection of human rights into national policies;
(b) To further contribute actively towards mainstreaming of human rights at the national, regional and international level;