Strengthening the Role of the United Nations in Enhancing Periodic and Genuine Elections and the Promotion of Democratization

A/RES/72/164View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 72b Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2017.

What other versions does this mandate have?

6 versions · 2010–2020

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/74/158

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2020	A/RES/74/158	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization	2,915	89%Compare
2018	A/RES/72/164	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization	2,646	87%Compare
2016	A/RES/70/168	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization	2,324	87%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/164	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization	2,072	83%Compare
2012	A/RES/66/163	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization	1,796	91%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

5 reports · 2011–2021

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2021	A/76/266	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/74/158
2019	A/74/285	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/164
2017	A/72/260	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/168
2013	A/68/301	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/66/163
2011	A/66/314	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/64/155

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Advisory Services Cooperation Between Organizations Democratization Election Verification Elections Technical Cooperation

What’s in this document?

21 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on strengthening the role of the United Nations in enhancing the effectiveness of the principle of periodic and genuine elections and the promotion of democratization;¹³

¹³A/72/260.

Commends the electoral assistance provided upon request to Member States by the United Nations, and requests that such assistance continue on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the evolving needs and legislation of requesting countries to develop, improve and refine their electoral institutions and processes, including by ensuring full access to all stages of the elections process for persons with disabilities, recognizing that the responsibility for organizing free and fair elections lies with Governments;

Reaffirms that the electoral assistance provided by the United Nations should continue to be carried out in an objective, impartial, neutral and independent manner;

Requests the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, in his role as United Nations focal point for electoral assistance matters, to continue to regularly inform Member States about the requests received and the nature of any assistance provided;

Requests that the United Nations continue its efforts to ensure, before undertaking to provide electoral assistance to a requesting State, that there is adequate time to organize and carry out an effective mission providing such assistance, including the provision of long-term technical cooperation, that conditions exist to allow a free and fair election and that the results of the mission will be reported comprehensively and consistently;

Notes the importance of adequate resources for the administration of efficient and transparent elections at the national and local levels, and recommends that Member States provide adequate resources for those elections, including by considering the possibility of establishing internal funding, where feasible;

Reaffirms the obligation of all States to take all appropriate measures to ensure that every citizen has the effective right and opportunity to participate in elections on an equal basis;

Strongly condemns any manipulation of election processes, coercion and tampering with vote counts, particularly when done by States, and calls upon all Member States to respect the rule of law, the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons and the will of voters as expressed through genuine, periodic, free and fair elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage, as well as by secret ballot, thereby fostering conditions in which all citizens, regardless of how they voted, whom they supported or whether their candidates prevailed, have the motivation and incentive, as well as the right and opportunity, to continue to participate directly or through elected representatives in the conduct of public affairs and their Government;

Calls upon all States to ensure that persons with disabilities can effectively and fully participate in political and public life on an equal basis with others, directly or through freely chosen representatives, including the right and opportunity for persons with disabilities to vote and to be elected;

Also calls upon all States to enhance the political participation of women, accelerate the achievement of equality between men and women and, in all situations, promote and protect the human rights of women with respect to voting in elections and public referendums and being eligible for election to publicly elected bodies on equal terms with men;

Recommends that, throughout the timespan of the entire electoral cycle, including before and after elections, as appropriate, on the basis of a needs assessment and in accordance with the evolving needs of requesting Member States, bearing in mind sustainability and cost-effectiveness, the United Nations continue to provide technical advice and other assistance to requesting States and electoral institutions in order to help to strengthen their democratic processes, also bearing in mind that the relevant office may provide additional assistance in the form of mediation and good offices, upon the request of Member States;

Notes with appreciation the additional efforts being made to enhance cooperation with other international, governmental and non-governmental organizations in order to facilitate more comprehensive and needs-specific responses to requests for electoral assistance, encourages those organizations to share knowledge and experience in order to promote best practices in the assistance they provide and in their reporting on electoral processes, and expresses its appreciation to those Member States, regional organizations and non-governmental organizations that have provided observers or technical experts in support of United Nations electoral assistance efforts;

Acknowledges the aim of harmonizing the methods and standards of the many intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations engaged in observing elections, and in this regard expresses appreciation for the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation and the Code of Conduct for International Election Observers, which elaborate guidelines for international electoral observation;

Recalls the establishment by the Secretary-General of the United Nations trust fund for electoral assistance, and, bearing in mind that the fund is currently close to depletion, calls upon Member States to consider contributing to the fund;

Encourages the Secretary-General, through the United Nations focal point for electoral assistance matters and with the support of the Electoral Assistance Division of the Department of Political Affairs of the Secretariat, to continue to respond to the evolving nature of requests for assistance and the growing need for specific types of medium-term expert assistance aimed at supporting and strengthening the existing capacity of the requesting Government, in particular by enhancing the capacity of national electoral institutions;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Electoral Assistance Division with adequate human and financial resources to allow it to carry out its mandate, including to enhance the accessibility and diversity of the roster of electoral experts and the electoral institutional memory of the Organization, and to continue to ensure that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is able to respond, within its mandate and in close coordination with the Division, to the numerous and increasingly complex and comprehensive requests from Member States for advisory services;

Reiterates the need for ongoing comprehensive coordination, under the auspices of the United Nations focal point for electoral assistance matters, between the Electoral Assistance Division, the United Nations Development Programme, the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Field Support of the Secretariat and the Office of the High Commissioner to ensure coordination and coherence and avoid duplication of United Nations electoral assistance;

Requests the United Nations Development Programme to continue its democratic governance assistance programmes in cooperation with other relevant organizations, in particular those that promote the strengthening of democratic institutions and linkages between civil society and Governments;

Reiterates the role of civil society and the importance of its active engagement in the promotion of democratization, and invites Member States to facilitate the full participation of civil society in electoral processes;

Also reiterates the importance of reinforced coordination within and outside the United Nations system, and reaffirms the clear leadership role within the United Nations system of the United Nations focal point for electoral assistance matters, including in ensuring system-wide coherence and consistency and in strengthening the institutional memory and the development, dissemination and issuance of United Nations electoral assistance policies;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session on the implementation of the present resolution, in particular on the status of requests from Member States for electoral assistance, and on his efforts to enhance support by the Organization for the democratization process in Member States.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents