A/RES/56/161
Mindful of the importance of ensuring respect for the rule of law and human
rights in the administration of justice, in particular in post-conflict situations, as a
crucial contribution to building peace and justice and ending impunity,
Recalling the Guidelines for Action on Children in the Criminal Justice
System 7 and the establishment and subsequent meetings of the coordination panel on
technical advice and assistance in juvenile justice,
Calling attention to the relevant provisions of the Vienna Declaration on
Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges of the Twenty-first Century, 8 and of the
plans of action for its implementation and follow-up, 9
Recalling its resolution 54/163 of 17 December 1999, as well as Commission
on Human Rights resolution 2000/39 of 20 April 2000 10 and Economic and Social
Council resolution 1999/28 of 28 July 1999,
1.
Reaffirms the importance of the full and effective implementation of all
United Nations standards on human rights in the administration of justice;
2.
Reiterates its call to all Member States to spare no effort in providing for
effective legislative and other mechanisms and procedures, as well as adequate
resources, to ensure the full implementation of those standards;
3.
Invites Governments to provide training, including gender-sensitive
training, in human rights in the administration of justice, including juvenile justice,
to all judges, lawyers, prosecutors, social workers, immigration and police officers,
and other professionals concerned, including personnel deployed in international
field presences;
4.
Invites States to make use of technical assistance offered by the relevant
United Nations programmes in order to strengthen national capacities and
infrastructures in the field of the administration of justice;
5.
Appeals to Governments to include in their national development plans
the administration of justice as an integral part of the development process and to
allocate adequate resources for the provision of legal-aid services with a view to
promoting and protecting human rights, and invites the international community to
respond favourably to requests for financial and technical assistance for the
enhancement and strengthening of the administration of justice;
6.
Encourages the regional commissions, the specialized agencies and
United Nations institutes in the areas of human rights and crime prevention and
criminal justice, and other relevant parts of the United Nations system, as well as
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, including national
professional associations concerned with promoting United Nations standards in this
field, and other segments of civil society, including the media, to continue to
develop their activities in promoting human rights in the administration of justice;
7.
Invites the Commission on Human Rights and the Commission on Crime
Prevention and Criminal Justice, as well as the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for International Crime Prevention
_______________
7
Economic and Social Council resolution 1997/30, annex.
Resolution 55/59, annex.
9
See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2001, Supplement No. 10 (E/2001/30/Rev.1),
part two, chap. I.
10
Ibid., 2000, Supplement No. 3 and corrigendum (E/2000/23 and Corr.1), chap. II, sect. A.
8
2