A/HRC/35/35 58. At their group meeting, the experts considered how to emphasize the primacy of human rights in the definition of international solidarity, while also recognizing that the principle of international solidarity is broad in nature, extending to every facet of international law and cooperation, and is relevant as such in addressing all human rights and human needs. 59. In response to the discussion at the expert group meeting, the Independent Expert has included reactive solidarity in the constituent elements of international solidarity listed in the text. The list is an attempt to capture most, if not all, of the types of action taken by States and by the international community that can be viewed as expressing international solidarity. C. Right to international solidarity 60. The Independent Expert has taken care to define the right to international solidarity clearly and meaningfully, mindful of the comments received during the regional consultations and expert group meeting, and of established international law. Responding to the suggestions that were made during the regional consultations and the expert group meeting, the Independent Expert has simplified the articles defining the rights holders and duty bearers of the right to international solidarity, and has clarified the definition of nonState actors who — aside from States — are also identified as duty bearers of the right. 61. Echoing a conversation that also took place during the regional consultations, the expert group meeting debated whether the right to international solidarity should be classified as a right that is justiciable. While some experts struggled to imagine a context in which rights holders might be able to claim that right before a court of law, one expert suggested that the right to international solidarity might provide, for example, a cause of action for a civil society organization that was being targeted by a State for receiving funding from foreign sources, and another proposed that it might be invoked for the protection of those who were prosecuted for providing aid to migrants. D. Implementation of the right to international solidarity 62. Based on the recommendations that were made during the regional consultations and the expert group meeting, the Independent Expert has worked to align the implementation section of the draft declaration with that of other international declarations by simplifying and generalizing the positive obligations contained in the right to international solidarity and by eliminating the list of negative obligations, many of which were mirrored in the positive obligations already provided in the draft declaration. 63. The expert group gave careful consideration to the particular global issues and challenges that should be enumerated in the implementation articles, recognizing that while certain issues should be highlighted, it is important to make it clear that the implementation of the right is not limited to those particular areas only. The Independent Expert emphasized that the selection of issues highlighted reflected the priorities of prior consultations as well as the need to illustrate linkages between issues that are often overlooked in the discourse. V. Conclusion and recommendations 64. One of the questions that elicited lengthy discussions during the expert group meeting was how the right to international solidarity would be implemented in certain circumstances. While acknowledging that the points raised were important considerations, the Independent Expert argued that the understanding of international instruments does not derive solely from the texts, but also from how those instruments are interpreted by those responsible for their implementation. Thus, it is extremely valuable that there exists the space for that process to take place in practice. 13

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