The Social Forum

A/HRC/RES/59/21View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 5 Human rights bodies and mechanisms, published in 2025.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 2006–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/62/22

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/HRC/RES/62/22	The Social Forum	995	97%Compare
2025	A/HRC/RES/59/21	The Social Forum	1,002	93%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/56/12	The Social Forum	963	95%Compare
2023	A/HRC/RES/53/20	The Social Forum	950	96%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/50/22	The Social Forum	955	92%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 1	Human rights mainstreaming, right to development, and research and analysis	108

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 1	Human rights mainstreaming, right to development, and research and analysis	108	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Conferences Economic, Social and Cultural Rights International Cooperation Right to Health

What’s in this document?

15 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the Social Forum as a unique space for interactive and action-oriented dialogue between the United Nations human rights machinery and various stakeholders, including the contribution of civil society and grass-roots organizations, and stresses the need to ensure greater participation of grass-roots organizations and of persons in situations of vulnerability living in poverty, especially from developing countries, in the sessions of the Forum;

Underlines the importance of coordinated efforts at the national, regional and international levels for the promotion of social cohesion based on the principles of social justice, equity and solidarity, and of addressing the social dimension and challenges of the ongoing globalization process and the negative impact of multiple international crises;

Stresses the need for the increased and sustained participation of civil society and all other relevant actors in, and their contribution to, the promotion and effective realization of the right to development;

Decides that the Social Forum will meet for two working days in 2026, in Geneva, on dates suitable for the participation of representatives of States Members and observers of the United Nations and of the broadest possible range of other relevant stakeholders, especially from developing countries, and also decides that the 2026 Social Forum should be focused on the contribution of international cooperation and solidarity, including South-South cooperation, to the realization of the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;

Requests the President of the Human Rights Council to appoint, as early as possible, from candidates nominated by regional groups, the Chair-Rapporteur for the 2026 Social Forum, bearing in mind the principle of regional rotation;

Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to make available the most recent and relevant United Nations reports and documents, including statistical reports, as background documents for the dialogues and debates that will be held at the 2026 Social Forum;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to facilitate the participation in the 2026 Social Forum, in order to contribute to the interactive dialogues and debates held at the Forum and to assist the Chair-Rapporteur as resource persons, of no fewer than 10 experts, including, as appropriate, representatives of the academic, scientific, health and technological sectors and civil society and grass-roots organizations in developing countries, representatives of relevant international organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council;

Decides that the Social Forum will remain open to the participation of representatives of States Members and observers of the United Nations and all other interested stakeholders, such as intergovernmental organizations, different components of the United Nations system, especially mandate holders of thematic special procedures and of mechanisms of the human rights machinery, regional economic commissions and specialized agencies and organizations, and representatives designated by national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council;

Also decides that the Social Forum will be open to other non-governmental organizations whose aims and purposes are in conformity with the spirit, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, including newly emerging actors, such as small groups and rural and urban associations from the global North and South, anti-poverty groups, peasants’ and farmers’ organizations and their national and international associations, voluntary organizations, environmental organizations and activists, youth associations, community organizations, trade unions and associations of workers, and representatives of the private sector, on the basis of arrangements, including Economic and Social Council resolution 1996/31 of 25 July 1996, and practices observed by the Commission on Human Rights, through an open and transparent accreditation procedure, in accordance with the rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council, while ensuring the most effective contribution of these entities;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to seek effective means for ensuring consultation and the broadest possible participation of representatives from every region, in particular representatives of persons with disabilities, especially those from developing countries, in the Social Forum, including by establishing partnerships with non- governmental organizations, the private sector and international organizations;

Requests the Secretary-General to take appropriate measures to disseminate information about the Social Forum, to invite relevant individuals and organizations to the Forum and to take all practical measures required for the success of this initiative;

Requests the 2026 Social Forum to submit a report containing its conclusions and recommendations to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fifth session;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the 2026 Social Forum with all the services and facilities necessary to fulfil its activities, and requests the High Commissioner to provide all the support necessary to facilitate the convening and proceedings of the Forum;

Encourages all States Members and observers of the United Nations to participate in the discussions of the Social Forum so that worldwide representation in the debates can be ensured;

Decides to continue its consideration of this issue at its sixty-second session under the same agenda item.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?