Above Photo: Daniel Friedman/Flickr
An Independent Expert is a Special Procedure mechanism appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report on a specific human rights issue or theme. This position is honorary and the expert is not United Nations staff nor paid for his/her work.
For more on Special Procedures, please refer to Fact Sheet N° 27: Seventeen Frequently Asked Questions about United Nations Special Rapporteurs (PDF).
Introduction
On 29 September 2011, the Human Rights Council adopted resolution18/6 on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order.
The resolution affirmed that a democratic and equitable international order fosters the full realization of all human rights for all, and that everyone is entitled to it.
The resolution sees democracy as 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 reaffirmed the need for universal adherence to and implementation of the rule of law at both the national and international levels. In this connection, the principle of the will of the people, as expressed in periodic and genuine elections, shall be the basis of government authority. As stipulated in the resolution, a democratic and equitable international order requires inter alia the realization of the right of all peoples to self-determination, the right to development and the right to peace.
Resolution 18/6 established the mandate of the Independent Expert on the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order for an initial period of three years. Since then, the mandate has been extended twice, on 25 September 2014 (A/HRC/RES/27/9) and on 28 September 2017 (A/HRC/RES/36/4), for three years each.
The Human Rights Council has further renewed its commitment to the promotion of a democratic and equitable international order by adopting resolutions 21/9, 25/15, 30/29 and 33/3.
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