Promotion of a Democratic and Equitable International Order

A/HRC/RES/21/9View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2012.

What else is in this group?

35 documents · 2001–2025

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2025).

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/208	Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order	2,971	–
2025	A/HRC/RES/60/6	Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order	2,273	–
2024	A/RES/79/168	Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order	3,134	–
2024	A/HRC/RES/57/7	Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order	1,994	–
2023	A/RES/78/196	Promotion of a democratic and equitable international order	3,147	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Democracy Equality of States Experts Human Rights International Cooperation

What’s in this document?

37 operative paragraphs

Affirms that everyone is entitled to a democratic and equitable international order;

Also affirms that a democratic and equitable international order fosters the full realization of all human rights for all;

Declares that democracy includes respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms and is a universal value based on the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their lives, and reaffirms the need for universal adherence to and implementation of the rule of law at both the national and international levels;

Reaffirms the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in particular the principle that the will of the people, as expressed through periodic and genuine elections, shall be the basis of government authority, as well as the right to choose representatives freely through periodic and genuine elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures;

Calls upon all Member States to fulfil their commitment expressed during the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, held in Durban, South Africa, to maximize the benefits of globalization through, inter alia, the strengthening and enhancement of international cooperation to increase equality of opportunities for trade, economic growth and sustainable development, global communications through the use of new technologies and increased intercultural exchange through the preservation and promotion of cultural diversity, and reiterates that only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future based upon our common humanity and all its diversity can globalization be made fully inclusive and equitable;

Affirms that a democratic and equitable international order requires, inter alia, the realization of the following:

The right of all peoples to self-determination, by virtue of which they can freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development;

The right of peoples and nations to permanent sovereignty over their natural wealth and resources;

The right of every human person and all peoples to development;

The right of all peoples to peace;

The right to an international economic order based on equal participation in the decision-making process, interdependence, mutual interest, solidarity and cooperation among all States;

International solidarity, as a right of peoples and individuals;

The promotion and consolidation of transparent, democratic, just and accountable international institutions in all areas of cooperation, in particular through the implementation of the principle of full and equal participation in their respective decision-making mechanisms;

The right to equitable participation of all, without any discrimination, in domestic and global decision-making;

The principle of equitable regional and gender-balanced representation in the composition of the staff of the United Nations system;

The promotion of a free, just, effective and balanced international information and communications order, based on international cooperation for the establishment of a new equilibrium and greater reciprocity in the international flow of information, in particular correcting the inequalities in the flow of information to and from developing countries;

Respect for cultural diversity and the cultural rights of all, since this enhances cultural pluralism, contributes to a wider exchange of knowledge and understanding of cultural backgrounds, advances the application and enjoyment of universally accepted human rights across the world and fosters stable, friendly relations among peoples and nations worldwide;

The right of every person and all peoples to a healthy environment and to enhanced international cooperation that responds effectively to the needs for assistance of national efforts to adapt to climate change, particularly in developing countries, and that promotes the fulfilment of international agreements in the field of mitigation;

The promotion of equitable access to benefits from the international distribution of wealth through enhanced international cooperation, in particular in economic, commercial and financial international relations;

The enjoyment by everyone of ownership of the common heritage of mankind in connection to the public right of access to culture;

The shared responsibility of the nations of the world for managing worldwide economic and social development, as well as threats to international peace and security, that should be exercised multilaterally;

Stresses the importance of preserving the rich and diverse nature of the international community of nations and peoples, as well as respect for national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds, in the enhancement of international cooperation in the field of human rights;

Also stresses that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated and that the international community must treat human rights globally in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing and with the same emphasis, and reaffirms that, while the significance of national and regional particularities and various historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind, it is the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Urges all actors on the international scene to build an international order based on inclusion, justice, equality and equity, human dignity, mutual understanding and promotion of and respect for cultural diversity and universal human rights, and to reject all doctrines of exclusion based on racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance;

Reaffirms that all States should promote the establishment, maintenance and strengthening of international peace and security and, to that end, should do their utmost to achieve general and complete disarmament under effective international control, as well as to ensure that the resources released by effective disarmament measures are used for comprehensive development, in particular that of the developing countries;

Also reaffirms the need to continue working urgently for the establishment of an international economic order based on equity, sovereign equality, interdependence, common interest and cooperation among all States, irrespective of their economic and social systems, in order to correct inequalities and redress existing injustices, make it possible to eliminate the widening gap between the developed and the developing countries and ensure steadily accelerating economic and social development and peace and justice for present and future generations;

Further reaffirms that the international community should devise ways and means to remove the current obstacles and meet the challenges to the full realization of all human rights and to prevent the continuation of human rights violations resulting therefrom throughout the world;

Urges States to continue their efforts, through enhanced international cooperation, towards the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order;

Takes note of the report submitted by the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order;³

³A/HRC/21/45 and Corr.1.

Calls upon all Governments to cooperate with and assist the Independent Expert in the discharge of his mandate, and to provide him with all the necessary information requested by him in order to enable him to fulfil his duties effectively;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to provide all the necessary human and financial resources for the effective fulfilment of the mandate by the Independent Expert;

Requests the Independent Expert to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its twenty-fourth session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution, with particular emphasis on the fostering of full, equitable and effective participation, including the obstacles to that aim and possible measures to overcome them;

Invites the Independent Expert to develop close cooperation with academia, think tanks and research institutes, such as South Centre, and other stakeholders from all regions;

Requests the human rights treaty bodies, the Office of the High Commissioner, the special mechanisms extended by the Human Rights Council and the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee to pay due attention, within their respective mandates, to the present resolution and to make contributions to its implementation;

Calls upon the Office of the High Commissioner to build upon the issue of the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to bring the present resolution to the attention of Member States, United Nations organs, bodies and components, intergovernmental organizations, in particular the Bretton Woods institutions, and non-governmental organizations, and to disseminate it on the widest possible basis;

Decides to continue consideration of this matter under the same agenda item at its twenty-fourth session.

  The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of the Council on its twenty-first session (A/HRC/21/2), chap. I.

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