The Commission on Human Rights,

Considering that thematic procedures established by the Commission with regard to the consideration of questions relating to the promotion and protection of all human rights have an important role among its human rights monitoring mechanisms,

Noting with satisfaction that an increasing number of Governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, have developed a working relationship with the thematic procedures,

Recalling all its resolutions on human rights and thematic procedures,

Recalling also recommendations concerning thematic procedures contained in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights (A/CONF.157/23),

Noting that some human rights violations are specific to or primarily directed against women, and that the identification and reporting of these violations demand specific awareness and sensitivity,

1. Commends those Governments that have invited the thematic special rapporteurs or working groups to visit their countries and that have developed other forms of intensive cooperation with the thematic procedures;

2. Encourages all Governments to:

(a) Cooperate more closely with the Commission through the pertinent thematic procedures;

(b) Respond expeditiously to requests for information made to them through the thematic procedures so that the procedures may carry out their mandates effectively and, where appropriate, invite a thematic special rapporteur or working group to visit their countries;

(c) Consider follow-up visits designed to assist them with effective implementation of recommendations of the thematic special rapporteurs and working groups:

3. Invites the Governments concerned to study carefully the recommendations addressed to them under thematic procedures and to keep the relevant mechanisms informed promptly on the progress made towards their implementation;

4. Invites non-governmental organizations to continue their cooperation with the thematic procedures, and to ascertain that the material provided falls under the mandate of these procedures and contains the required elements;

5. Invites the thematic special rapporteurs and working groups to:

(a) Make recommendations for the avoidance of human rights violations;

(b) Follow closely the progress made by Governments in their investigations carried out within their respective mandates;

(c) Continue close cooperation with relevant treaty bodies and country rapporteurs;

(d) Include in their reports information provided by Governments on follow-up action, as well as their own observations thereon, including in regard to both problems and improvements, as appropriate;

(e) Include regularly in their reports gender-disaggregated data and to address the characteristics and practice of human rights violations under their mandates that are specifically or primarily directed against women, or to which women are particularly vulnerable, in order to ensure the effective protection of their human rights;

6. Requests the thematic special rapporteurs and working groups to include in their reports comments on problems of responsiveness and the result of analyses, as appropriate, in order to carry out their mandates even more effectively, and to include also in their reports suggestions as to areas where Governments might request relevant assistance through the programme of advisory services administered by the Centre for Human Rights;

7. Requests the Secretary-General, taking note of the recommendations of the meetings of the special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups, to consider the possibility of convening further periodic meetings of all the thematic special rapporteurs and the chairpersons of working groups of the Commission on Human Rights in order to enable them to continue to exchange views, cooperate and coordinate more closely and make recommendations;

8. Encourages the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to strengthen further cooperation among the thematic special rapporteurs, representatives, experts, members and chairpersons of working groups of the Commission and other relevant United Nations bodies, including the human rights treaty bodies, 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;

9. Suggests that the special rapporteurs, representatives, experts and chairpersons of working groups of the special procedures of the Commission on Human Rights consider how these mechanisms can make available information on the particular situation of individuals working for the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms and how their protection could be enhanced, taking into account the ongoing deliberations of the relevant working group of the Commission;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to:

(a) Issue annually and sufficiently early, in close collaboration with the thematic special rapporteurs and working groups, their conclusions and recommendations, so as to enable further discussion of their implementation at subsequent sessions of the Commission;

(b) Present annually a list of all persons currently constituting the thematic and country procedures, including their country of origin, in an annex to the annotations to the provisional agenda of each session of the Commission on Human Rights;

11. Also requests the Secretary-General, in implementing the United Nations budget for the biennium 1998-1999, to ensure the availability of such resources as are necessary for the effective implementation of all thematic mandates, including any additional tasks entrusted to the thematic special rapporteurs and working groups by the Commission.

57th meeting
11 April 1997

[Adopted without a vote. See chap. IX]