The Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in a resolution adopted by a majority of 184 votes, expressed appreci-ation for the success of the assistance provided by the UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre for South-West Asia and the Arab Region, which is based in Doha, through capacity building activ-ities in the field of human rights.
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), in its decision submitted by the State of Qatar, expressed appreciation for the Centre, which provided capacity-building activities in the fields of civil and political rights, in addition to economic, social and cultural rights such as activities carried out in the areas of freedom of opinion and expression, com-bating hate speech and incitement to discrimination, and preventing violent extremism.
Prior to the adoption of the resolution, 29 countries in addition to the State of Qatar joined in sponsoring the draft resolution, namely: Afghanistan, Australia, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Canada, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Guinea, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Rwanda, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Yemen.
The Third Committee also recognised the Centre’s growing role and impact in enhancing human rights capacity in the region, which is reflected in the fact that many diverse partners constantly seek support and engage in cooperation.
They also expressed appreciation for the Centre’s adaptation of its meth-odology to the challenges arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and for continuing to organize online activities to implement its annual work plan.
The Third Committee wel-comed the Centre’s plans for the next two years to enhance its efforts to meet the needs of the 25 countries under its mandate through the development of the Human Rights Education Program, with an increased focus on the youth sector, consistent with the fourth phase (2020-2024) of the World Programme for Human Rights Education.
The resolution encouraged all Member States to make voluntary contributions to support the Centre in implementing its mandate. The Third Committee also noted the Centre’s full commitment to ensuring more effective and efficient implementation of its mandate, and welcomed the expansion of its outreach activities to include the League of Arab States and additional countries in the region, as well as the increasing number of beneficiaries, including young people.
The UN Human Rights Training and Documentation Centre was established by General Assembly Resolution 60/153 of 2005, and is mandated to undertake training and documentation activ-ities according to international human rights standards and to support such efforts within the region by Governments, UN agencies and programmes, national human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations.
