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

A/RES/78/208View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71b20 Human rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2023.

What other versions does this mandate have?

2 versions · 2022–2023

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2023	A/RES/78/208	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in the promotion of democratization and enhancing periodic and genuine elections	4,353	87%Compare
2022	A/RES/76/176	Strengthening the role of the United Nations in the promotion of democratization and enhancing periodic and genuine elections	3,837	–

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 2	Electoral assistance	1
	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?

2 entities

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 2	Electoral assistance	1	—
	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.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

2 reports · 2023–2025

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/277	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/78/208
2023	A/78/260	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/76/176

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Advisory Services Cooperation Between Organizations Democratization Election Verification Elections Technical Cooperation

What’s in this document?

24 operative paragraphs

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

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 electoral 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 and Peacebuilding Affairs, in her 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 the United Nations to 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, and calls upon States to take measures to eliminate laws, regulations and practices that discriminate, directly or indirectly, against citizens in their right to participate in public affairs, including based on race, colour, ethnicity, national or social origin, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity, language, religion, political views or on the basis of disability;

Strongly condemns any manipulation of election processes, coercion and tampering with vote counts, particularly when done by States, as well as by other actors, and calls upon all Member States to respect the rule of law and the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons, including the right to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections, which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret ballot, guaranteeing the free expression of the will of the electors, 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;

Reaffirms the need for all Member States to respect and protect the right to freedom of expression, including through creating an environment where a free and independent press can flourish and where journalists and media workers can keep citizens informed at all stages of elections about candidates, parties and their political platforms, both online and offline, in order to promote transparency and information integrity, including by countering disinformation and misinformation, and to this end also strongly condemns any attempts to harass, intimidate, attack or arbitrarily detain journalists and media workers;

Calls upon all Member 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 Member States to consider ways to increase the representation of all youth in decision-making at all levels in local, national, regional and international institutions and mechanisms, to promote the constructive political engagement of youth and to consider, explore and promote new avenues for the full, effective, structured and sustained participation of youth and youth-led organizations in relevant decision-making processes;

Further calls upon all Member States to enhance the political participation of all women, accelerate the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in all situations, including by taking measures to reduce and redistribute women’s and girls’ disproportionate share of unpaid care and domestic work, 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 at all levels of government by further inclusion and by measures to prevent and respond to and condemn all forms of sexual and gender-based violence, both online and offline;

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 that 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 and Peacebuilding 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 Peace Operations and the Department of Operational 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, human rights defenders, peacebuilders, as well as journalists and media workers, and the importance of their active engagement in the promotion of democratization, and invites Member States to facilitate the full, effective, equal and meaningful 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 eightieth 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;

Underlines the importance of public participation, with an increasing number of channels for engagement moving online, posing obstacles for those segments of the population who have limited or no Internet access or who face other barriers to digital inclusion, such as the affordability of the Internet, and encourages States to ensure that all stakeholders, including women and girls, persons living in rural communities and persons with disabilities, have access to timely and accurate information and are fully involved in decisions that affect them.

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?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?