A/HRC/RES/54/16
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
13 October 2023
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Fifty-fourth session
11 September–13 October 2023
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council
on 12 October 2023
54/16.
Preventable maternal mortality and morbidity and human rights
The Human Rights Council,
Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,
Recognizing that preventing maternal mortality and morbidity is one of the human
rights priorities for all States, and reaffirming that all human rights are universal, indivisible,
interrelated, interdependent and mutually reinforcing,
Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and recalling relevant
international instruments, including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on
the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,
Recalling previous Human Rights Council resolutions on preventable maternal
mortality and morbidity and human rights,
Reaffirming the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, and their review
conferences and outcome documents, and reaffirming also the resolutions and agreed
conclusions of the Commission on the Status of Women and the resolutions of the
Commission on Population and Development,
Recalling the commitment contained in Sustainable Development Goal 3 to reduce
the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030, and deeply
concerned that the ratio in 2020 was still more than three times higher than that target,
Welcoming the efforts of the World Health Organization, the United Nations
Population Fund and other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, within their
respective mandates, to prevent maternal mortality and to prevent and treat maternal
morbidity,
Recognizing the importance of strengthening coordination among all relevant United
Nations agencies and civil society organizations, in accordance with their respective
mandates, and the need for States to respect, protect and fulfil sexual and reproductive health
and reproductive rights, to reduce preventable mortality and morbidity,
GE.23-19792(E)