Plan International - Girls' Rights Platform - Girls' rights are human rights: Positioning girls at the heart of the international agenda

Recognizing that, while development facilitates the enjoyment of all human rights, the lack of development may not be invoked to justify the abridgement of internationally recognized human rights,

Recalls the commitment in the United Nations Millennium Declaration of halving the number of people living in poverty by 2015, notes with concern that some developing countries have failed to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, and in this regard invites Member States and the international community to take proactive measures aimed at creating a conducive environment to contribute to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda, in particular increasing international cooperation, including partnership and commitment, between developed and developing countries towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals;

Recognizes the need to address market access for developing countries, including in the sectors of agriculture, services and non-agricultural products, in particular those of interest to developing countries;

Calls once again for the implementation of a desirable pace of meaningful trade liberalization, including in areas under negotiation in the World Trade Organization, the implementation of commitments on implementation-related issues and concerns, a review of special and differential treatment provisions, with a view to strengthening them and making them more precise, effective and operational, the avoidance of new forms of protectionism, and capacity-building and technical assistance for developing countries as important issues in making progress towards the effective implementation of the right to development;

Recognizes the important link between the international economic, commercial and financial spheres and the realization of the right to development, stresses in this regard the need for good governance and for broadening the base of decision-making at the international level on issues of development concern and the need to fill organizational gaps, as well as to strengthen the United Nations system and other multilateral institutions, and also stresses the need to broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries and countries with economies in transition in international economic decision-making and norm-setting;

Reaffirms the primary responsibility of States to create national and international conditions favourable to the realization of the right to development, as well as their commitment to cooperate with one another to that end;

Encourages United Nations bodies, agencies and other entities, within their respective mandates and in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner and the Special Rapporteur, to address the situation of human rights defenders in their work in order to contribute to the effective implementation of the Declaration;

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their jurisdiction.

Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.

Notes with concern the large number of children belonging to national, ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, migrant children, refugee or asylum-seeking children, internally displaced children, and children of indigenous origin who are victims of discrimination, including racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, stresses the need to incorporate special measures, in accordance with the principle of the best interests of the child and respect for his or her views and the child's gender-specific needs, including children with special needs, in education programmes and programmes to combat these practices, and calls upon States to provide special support and to ensure equal access to services for those children;

Reaffirms paragraphs 59 to 70 of its resolution 68/147, condemns in the strongest terms all violations and abuses committed against children in armed conflict, and in this regard urges all States and other parties to armed conflict that are engaged, in contravention of applicable international law, in the recruitment and use of children, in patterns of killing and maiming of children and/or rape and other sexual violence against children, acknowledging that sexual violence in these situations disproportionately affects girls, in recurrent attacks on schools and/or hospitals and related personnel, and in patterns of abduction of children, as well as in all other violations and abuses against children, to take time-bound and effective measures to end and prevent them, and takes note in this regard of the adoption of Security Council resolution 2225 (2015) of 18 June 2015;

[Calls upon all States to give full effect to the right to education for all children and in particular:] To integrate human rights education and training, education for democracy, along with civic education and education for sustainable development into national and subnational education standards, and in this regard to develop and strengthen national and subnational programmes, curricular and extracurricular educational activities and to implement, as appropriate, the Global Action Programme on Education for Sustainable Development;

[Calls upon all States to give full effect to the right to education for all children and in particular:] To adopt legislative and other appropriate measures with a view to realizing the right to education for children with disabilities, on the basis of equal opportunity, and to ensure an inclusive education system at all levels that provides reasonable accommodation of the child's needs, along with the required effective individualized support measures in environments to maximize academic and social development, within the general education system, and consistent with the goal of full inclusion, which facilitates effective education;

[Calls upon all States to give full effect to the right to education for all children and in particular:] To take all appropriate measures to safeguard the realization of the right to education for indigenous children, including their access to quality education, on the basis of equal opportunity, in a manner conducive to their fullest possible social inclusion and individual development, including through the provision of compulsory primary education that is available free to all and, when possible, is provided in their own language, and to take all appropriate measures to make all other levels and all forms of education available and accessible to indigenous children without discrimination;

[Calls upon all States to give full effect to the right to education for all children and in particular:] To develop and implement educational programmes and teaching materials, including comprehensive evidence-based education on human sexuality, based on full and accurate information, for all adolescents and youth, in a manner consistent with their evolving capacities, with appropriate direction and guidance from parents and legal guardians, with the active involvement of all relevant stakeholders, in order to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women of all ages, to eliminate prejudices and to promote and build decision-making, communication and risk reduction skills for the development of respectful relationships based on gender equality and human rights, as well as teacher education and training programmes for both formal and non-formal education;

Reaffirms the need for an international environment that is conducive to the realization of the right to development;

Emphasizes the critical importance of identifying and analysing obstacles impeding the full realization of the right to development at both the national and international levels;

Welcomes the report of the Working Group on the Right to Development (A/HRC/12/28);

Also decides to review the progress of the implementation of the present resolution as a matter of priority at its future sessions.

Welcomes the report of the Working Group on the Right to Development;

[Decides:] To endorse the recommendations of the Working Group as outlined in paragraphs 45 to 47 of its report;

[Decides:] To take note of the work of the high-level task force, including its consolidation of findings and the list of right to development criteria and corresponding operational sub-criteria;

Decides to review the progress of the implementation of the present resolution, as a matter of priority, at its future sessions.

Recognizing that Member States should cooperate with each other in ensuring development and eliminating obstacles to development, that the international community should promote effective international cooperation, in particular global partnership for development, for the realization of the right to development and the elimination of obstacles to development, and that lasting progress towards the implementation of the right to development requires effective development policies at the national level, as well as equitable economic relations and a favourable economic environment at the international level,

Recalling that 2011 marked the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Declaration on the Right to Development,

Recognizing that achieving the internationally agreed development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals, requires effective policy coherence and coordination,

Underlining the imperative need for raising awareness of the progress made, still existing difficulties and accelerating action towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,

Stressing the primary responsibility of States for the creation of national and international conditions favourable to the realization of the right to development,

Emphasizing the urgent need to make the right to development a reality for everyone,