A/HRC/RES/56/15
and protect human rights throughout the United Nations system, in accordance with the
mandate of the Office,
Stressing that technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights
continue to be based on consultations with and with the consent of the States concerned, and
should take into account their requests, needs and priorities, as well as their national context,
and the fact that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated,
and are aimed at making a concrete impact on the ground, at all levels,
Underlining the importance for relevant entities within the United Nations system,
especially the United Nations country teams, within their respective mandates, of
mainstreaming technical cooperation and capacity-building in the field of human rights in
their work and programmes,
Underlining also the importance of enhancing technical cooperation between the
Office of the High Commissioner and States in the field of human rights, including through
the field presences of the Office, with the consent of the countries concerned, in advancing
the promotion and protection of all human rights within interested countries and supporting
the mainstreaming of human rights in United Nations country presences, in close
collaboration with the offices of resident coordinators,
Recognizing the contribution of human rights advisers to the promotion of human
rights mainstreaming across United Nations system presences in the field, in assisting States
to advance the promotion and protection of human rights and their role in providing advisory
services, technical assistance and capacity-building,
Noting that 44 of the 95 field presences of the Office of the High Commissioner
consist of individual human rights advisers based in the offices of resident coordinators,
Taking note of the decision to close the Human Rights Mainstreaming Fund at the end
of 2024, and also of the decision to incorporate the human rights adviser programme fully
into the work of the Office of the High Commissioner,
Expressing its appreciation to donors who have already provided funding support to
the human rights adviser programme, whether generally or with regard to specific positions,
and invites States and other prospective donors to consider providing further support to the
programme in the future,
Noting the increasing demand from both interested States and United Nations country
teams for the creation of new human rights adviser positions, and noting also the ongoing
shortfall in extrabudgetary support for the Office of the High Commissioner and for the
human rights adviser programme, including with respect to meeting the overall cost of the
programme as well as individual positions, the reduction in posts this already precipitated
since 2022, and the risk this poses to the long-term stability of the programme,
Noting with concern that a lack of funding support for individual human rights adviser
positions may prevent the creation of these positions, that existing ones cannot be maintained
in specific countries and that demand for the creation of new posts will not be met, and that
any shortfall in funding for individual positions will have a disproportionate impact on the
capacity of the Office of the High Commissioner to provide technical assistance and capacitybuilding and to promote human rights mainstreaming across the United Nations system in
specific interested countries,
Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a
report on the current status and work of the human rights adviser programme, its key
achievements, the challenges it faces and the future vision for the programme, including with
voluntary submissions made by States and other relevant stakeholders, and to present the
report to the Human Rights Council at its sixtieth session.
35th meeting
11 July 2024
[Adopted without a vote.]
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