A/RES/42/102 GA

202 General Assembly-Forty-second Session 4. Invites ali Member States to offer their active sup- port to the completion of a draft convention on the rights of the child in 1989; 5. Requests the Secretary-General to provide ali neces- sary assistance to the working group in order to ensure its smooth and efficient work in the fulfilment ofits important task; 6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-third session the item entitled "Question of a con- vention on the rights of the child". 93rd plenary meeting 7 December 1987 42/102. Indivisibility and interdependence of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights The General Assembly, Mindful of the obligations of States under the Charter of the United Nations to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for ali without distinction as to race, sex, lan- guage or religion, Reaffirming the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,2 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 13 the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights13 and the Declaration on Social Pro- gress and Development, 14 Recalling that in the preambles to the International Covenants on Human Rights13 it is recognized that the ideal offree human beings enjoying freedom from fear and want can only be achieved if conditions are created whereby persons may enjoy their economic, social and cultural rights as well as their civil and política! rights, Recalling its resolutions 40/114 of 13 December 1985 and 41/117 of 4 December 1986, Reaffirming the provisions of its resolution 32/130 of 16 December 1977 that ali human rights and fundamental freedoms are indivisible and interdependent and that the promotion and protection of one category of rights can never exempt or excuse States from the promotion and protection of the other rights, Convinced that equal attention and urgent consideration should be given to the implementation, promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights, Desirous of removing all obstacles to the full realization of human rights, in particular colonialism, neo- colonialism, racism, racial discrimination in ali its forms, apartheid, foreign intervention, occupation, aggression and domination, Recognizing the fundamental rights of every people to exercise full sovereignty over its natural wealth and re- sources, Reaffirming that there is a close and multidimensional relationship between disarmament and development, that progress in the field of disarmament would considerably promote progress in the field of development and that re- sources released through disarmament measures could contribute to the economic and social development and well-being of ali peoples, in particular those of the devel- oping countries, Recognizing that the realization of the right to develop- ment may help to promote the enjoyment of ali human rights and fundamental freedoms, Recalling Commission on Human Rights resolutions 1985/42 of 14 March 1985,60 1986/15 of 10 March 198661 and 1987/19 and 1987/20 of 10 March 1987,26 in which the Commission stated that the implementation, promo- tion and protection of economic, social and cultural rights have not received sufficient attention within the frame- work of the United Nations system, Requesting the Secretary-General to enhance his efforts under the programme of advisory services to States in the implementation, promotion and protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms set forth in the Interna- tional Covenants on Human Rights and other United Na- tions instruments in the field of human rights, l. Notes the essential importance of national efforts and international co-operation to achieve the full and ef- fective realization of all human rights recognized in the In- ternational Covenants on Human Rights; 2. Appeals to ali States to pursue policies directed towards the implementation, promotion and protection of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights recog- nized in the International Covenants on Human Rights and other international instruments; 3. Requests the Commission on Human Rights to give more attention to the realization of economic, social and cultural rights under the relevant agenda items; 4. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its first session,91 including the suggestions and recom- mendations of a general nature approved by the Commit- tee; 5. Endorses the invitation to the Committee on Eco- nomic, Social and Cultural Rights by the Economic and Social Council, in its resolution 1987/5 of26 May 1987, to consider again at its next session the compilation of recommendations in the summary records of that Com- mittee relating to its future work, paying particular atten- tion to practices followed by other treaty bodies, including the preparation of general comments by the Human Rights Committee; 6. Requests the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to take due account of the experience gained in the Sessional Working Group of Governmental Experts on the Implementation ofthe International Cove- nant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and in par- ticular ofthe suggestions and recommendations ofthe Ses- sional Working Group; 7. Urges the Secretary-General to take determined steps, within existing resources, to give publicity to the Human Rights Committee and to the Committee on Eco- nomic, Social and Cultural Rights and to ensure that they receive full administrative support in order to enable them to discharge their functions effectively; 8. Affirms the importance and relevance, to pro- grammes and activities being undertaken throughout the United Nations system in the field ofhuman rights, ofre- ports submitted by States parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights to the Human Rights Com- mittee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cul- tural Rights; 9. Decides to discuss at its forty-third session, under the item entitled "International Covenants on Human 91 E/1987/28. VI. Resolutions adopted on the reports of the Third Committee 203 Rights", the question of the indivisibility and interdepen- dence of economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights. 93rd plenary meeting 7 December 1987 42/103. International Covenants on Human Rights The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 33/51 of 14 December 1978, 34/45 of 23 November 1979, 35/132 of 11 December 1980, 36/58 of25 November 1981, 37/191 of 18 Decem- ber 1982, 38/116 and 38/117 of 16 December 1983, 39/136 and 39/138 of 14 December 1984, 40/115 and 40/116 of 13 December 1985, 41/32 of3 November 1986 and 41/119 and 41/121 of 4 December 1986, Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General92 on the status of the International Covenant on Economic, So- cial and Cultural Rights, 13 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 13 and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 13 Recognizing the important role of the Human Rights Committee in the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Optional Protocol thereto, Bearing in mind the important responsibilities of the Economic and Social Council in relation to the Interna- tional Covenants on Human Rights, Welcoming the establishment, pursuant to Economic and Social Council resolution 1985/17 of28 May 1985, of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights to oversee the implementation of the International Cove- nant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Welcoming the submission to the General Assembly of the annual report of the Human Rights Committee93 and the first report ofthe Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,91 Noting with concern the critica! situation with regard to overdue reports from States parties to the International Covenants on Human Rights, 1. Takes note with appreciation ofthe report ofthe Hu- man Rights Committee on its twenty-ninth and thirtieth sessions,93 and expresses its satisfaction with the serious and constructive manner in which the Committee is con- tinuing to carry out its functions; 2. Further takes note with appreciation of the report of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, including the suggestions and recommendations of a gen- eral nature approved by the Committee; 3. Expresses its appreciation to the States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that have submitted their reports to the Human Rights Com- mittee under article 40 of the Covenant and urges States parties that have not yet done so to submit their reports as speedily as possible; 4. Urges those States parties to the International Cove- nant on Civil and Political Rights that have been re- quested by the Human Rights Committee to provide addi- tional information to comply with the request; 92 A/42/450. 93 Official Records of the General Assembly. Forty-second Session, Supplement No. 40 (A/42/40). 5. Commends the States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that have submitted their reports under article 16 ofthe Cove- nant and urges States parties that have not yet done so to submit their reports as soon as possible; 6. Notes with satisfaction that the majority of States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Politi- cal Rights, andan increasing number of States parties to the lnternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cul- tural Rights, have been represented by experts in the pre- sentation of their reports, thereby assisting the respective monitoring bodies in their work, and hopes that ali States parties to both Covenants will arrange such representation in the future; 7. Again urges all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the International Covenant on Eco- nomic, Social and Cultural Rights and the lnternational Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and to consider acceding to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 8. Invites the States parties to the International Cove- nant on Civil and Political Rights to consider making the declaration provided for in article 41 of the Covenant; 9. Emphasizes the importance of the strictest compli- ance by States parties with their obligations under the In- ternational Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Politi- cal Rights and, where applicable, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 10. Stresses the importance of avoiding the erosion of human rights by derogation, and underlines the necessity of strict observance of the agreed conditions and proce- dures for derogation under article 4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, bearing in mind the need for States parties to provide the fullest possible in- formation during states of emergency, so that the justifica- tion for and appropriateness of measures taken in these circumstances can be assessed; 11. Appeals to States parties to review whether any reservation made in respect of the provisions of the Inter- national Covenants on Human Rights should be upheld; 12. Urges all States parties to pay active attention to the protection and promotion of civil and political rights, as well as economic, social and cultural rights; 13. Urges States parties to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the specialized agencies and other relevant United Nations bodies to ex- tend their full support and co-operation to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; 14. Requests the Secretary-General to keep the Hu- man Rights Committee and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights informed of the relevant activi- ties of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Commission on Human Rights, the Commis- sion on the Status of Women, the Sub-Commission on Pre- vention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimina- tion, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against W ornen, the newly established Committee against Torture and, where appropriate, other functional commis- sions of the Economic and Social Council and the special- ized agencies, and also to transmit the annual reports of the Human Rights Committee and the Committee on Eco- nomic, Social and Cultural Rights to those bodies; 15. Also requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its forty-third session a report on the status of the International Covenant on Economic, So-

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