A/HRC/RES/38/12 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 16 July 2018 Original: English Human Rights Council Thirty-eighth session 18 June–6 July 2018 Agenda item 3 Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council on 6 July 2018 38/12. Civil society space: engagement with international and regional organizations The Human Rights Council, Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, Guided also by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and recognizing their continued significance and relevance in the context of their anniversaries, and guided further by the International Covenants on Human Rights and all other relevant instruments, Reaffirming the importance of the Declaration on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Universally Recognized Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, in particular in the context of its twentieth anniversary, Recalling its resolutions 27/31 of 26 September 2014 and 32/31 of 1 July 2016 on civil society space, and 24/21 of 27 September 2013, on civil society space: creating and maintaining, in law and in practice, a safe and enabling environment, Recalling also all other Human Rights Council and General Assembly resolutions relevant to creating and maintaining civil society space, inter alia, those addressing freedom of opinion and expression; the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association; protecting human rights defenders; equal participation in political and public affairs; cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights; the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests; and the promotion, protection and enjoyment of human rights on the Internet, Reminding States of their obligation to respect and fully protect the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all individuals, inter alia, the rights to freedom of expression and opinion and to assemble peacefully and associate freely, online as well as offline, including for persons espousing minority or dissenting views or beliefs, and that respect for all such rights, in relation to civil society, contributes to addressing and resolving challenges and issues that are important to society, such as when addressing financial and economic crises, responding to public health crises, responding to humanitarian crises, including in the context of armed conflict, promoting the rule of law and accountability, achieving transitional justice goals, protecting the environment, realizing the right to development, empowering persons belonging to minorities and GE.18-11660(E) 

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