A/HRC/35/35
history of the mandate, constituting a record of the significant achievements in the work of
the mandate up to that point. Notably and for the first time, the Council resolution requested
the Independent Expert to report regularly to the General Assembly.
26.
In the same resolution, the Council welcomed the holding of an expert workshop on
human rights and international solidarity convened by the Independent Expert in Geneva in
June 2012, and her participation in the same year in the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and the People’s Summit for Social and Environmental
Justice in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. In that resolution, the Council encouraged her
engagement in the post-2015 development agenda process, stressing the role of
international solidarity as a key element in achieving sustainable and more inclusive
development.
C.
Expert workshop on human rights and international solidarity
27.
The two-day expert workshop on human rights and international solidarity was held
in June 2012 in Geneva, under the auspices of the Independent Expert who gathered 26
experts from various regions. Representatives of States, United Nations agencies and NGOs
also attended the public segment of the workshop as observers and were invited to
participate in the working groups. The discussions in the workshop focused on issues
including the content, nature and added value of international solidarity; the definition of
international solidarity and a right to international solidarity; the relationships between
international solidarity and international cooperation; and looking beyond the Millennium
Development Goals. The participants expressed their thoughts freely based on their
individual expertise and exchanged views, as summarized in the Independent Expert’s
report to the Council (A/HRC/21/44/Add. 1).
28.
In its resolution 21/10, the Council explicitly spelled out the tasks of the mandate,
requesting the Independent Expert, inter alia, to:
(a)
Continue to identify areas to be addressed, the main concepts and norms that
can form the basis of a framework, and good practices to inform the future development of
law and policy with regard to human rights and international solidarity;
(b)
Conduct in-depth research and intensive consultations with a view to
preparing and sharing with Member States and all other relevant stakeholders a preliminary
text of the draft declaration on the right of peoples and individuals to international
solidarity;
(c)
Continue her work in the preparation of a draft declaration on the right of
peoples and individuals to international solidarity and in further developing guidelines,
standards, norms and principles with a view to promoting and protecting that right by
addressing, inter alia, existing and emerging obstacles to its realization.
29.
The Council also took note of the final paper on human rights and international
solidarity (A/HRC/21/66) submitted by the drafting group of the Human Rights Council
Advisory Committee, working in close cooperation with the Independent Expert, as an
input to the process of elaborating a draft declaration on the right of peoples and individuals
to international solidarity.
30.
The Independent Expert conducted formal and informal consultations with State
delegations, United Nations officials, bodies and specialized agencies, independent experts,
national human rights institutions, NGOs, academics and local communities, listening to as
many people as possible, including those who did not share her views regarding human
rights and international solidarity. At the same time, she conducted in-depth research and
participated in relevant forums and major events to raise awareness of and promote the
right to international solidarity.
8