A/HRC/RES/23/17
United Nations
General Assembly
Distr.: General
24 June 2013
Original: English
Human Rights Council
Twenty-third session
Agenda item 8
Follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration
and Programme of Action
Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council∗
23/17.
National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights
The Human Rights Council,
Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 20/14 of 5 July 2012 and relevant
resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights concerning
national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and taking note of
Council resolution 22/6 of 21 March 2013,
Reaffirming the importance of establishing and strengthening independent,
pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights in
accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the
promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles),1
Reaffirming also the important role that such national institutions play and will
continue to play in promoting and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms, in
strengthening participation and the rule of law, and in developing and enhancing public
awareness of those rights and fundamental freedoms,
Reaffirming further, on the twentieth anniversary of its adoption, the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights
on 25 June l993, which reaffirmed the important and constructive role played by national
human rights institutions, in particular in their advisory capacity to the competent
authorities and their role in preventing and remedying human rights violations in
disseminating information on human rights and in education in human rights,
Acknowledging the important role that national institutions can play in promoting
and protecting the rights of women and girls,
∗
GE.13-15070
The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of
the Council on its twenty-third session (A/HRC/23/2), chap. I.
1
General Assembly resolution 48/134, annex.