A/HRC/35/35
element that underpins global partnerships, a key approach to poverty eradication, and an
indispensable component of the efforts to realize all human rights, including the right to
development, as well as the Sustainable Development Goals.
37.
Articles 1 to 4 define the concept of international solidarity, exemplifying solidarity
among States, peoples and individuals, and identify foundational principles and the
constituent features of international solidarity, namely, preventive solidarity and
international cooperation. Article 4 enumerates the significance of international solidarity in
contemporary international law and its general objective.
38.
Article 5 spells out the definition and the normative content of the right to
international solidarity. It makes the important point that the right to international solidarity
draws on the human rights norms that are already codified in international legal documents
and that therefore, the right to international solidarity encompasses existing entitlements
along with the obligations of States that are well established in international human rights
treaties.
39.
Article 6 identifies the rights holders and indicates to whom the word “peoples”
applies, in addition to those belonging to the more familiar and dominant paradigms.
Article 7 enumerates the right of peoples and individuals, individually and in association
with others, within their territories and extraterritorially beyond national boundaries, as
provided for in human rights and other applicable international instruments. Article 8
identifies the duty bearers as primarily the State, as well as non-State actors that work with
groups and communities of people, and describes their duties and responsibilities as such.
40.
Articles 9 to 12 encapsulate various elements in existing international commitments
signifying duties and obligations of States that are directly linked to international solidarity.
Article 10 argues for the establishment of an appropriate institutional framework and
domestic measures to give effect to the right to international solidarity. Giving effect to
human rights is recognized as an important indication of the value a State attaches to its
human rights obligations. Article 11 deals with a human rights-based approach to
international cooperation and all partnerships in responding to global challenges. Article 12
focuses on some of the negative obligations of States that are required by international
human rights instruments.
F.
Five regional consultations
41.
The first consultation was held in April 2015 in Geneva with representatives of the
Western European and other States and the Eastern European States. Subsequent
consultations were then held in July 2015 in Addis Ababa with representatives of the
African States; in September 2015 in Panama City with representatives of the Latin
American and Caribbean States; in November 2015 in Suva with representatives of the
Asia-Pacific States; and in January 2016 in Doha with representatives of the Middle East
and North African States.
42.
The regional consultations brought together relevant experts and practitioners from
Member States, intergovernmental organizations, United Nations agencies, regional
economic commissions, the private sector, civil society, including NGOs, and academia and
independent experts in each region. OHCHR organized the consultations through its
regional and field offices. There was a common agenda for all five regional consultations,
consisting, for the most part, of panel presentations followed by discussions, then
comments of a general nature that allowed participants to freely discuss the components
and features of the proposed draft declaration. The experts who were invited to each
consultation were requested to prepare written submissions on specific themes that they
presented as panellists, in order to initiate discussions. Their submissions highlighted
regional and national experiences and approaches relating to international solidarity. Where
possible, panellists were invited based on their experience relating to the implementation of
government policies, including in the areas of poverty reduction, food security, public
health, international development cooperation, trade, finance, environmental protection,
natural disaster risk and management.
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