Texts on Trafficking in Women and Girls, Death Penalty Moratorium among 9 Draft Resolutions Approved by Third Committee
The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural) approved nine draft resolutions today, including texts on trafficking in women and girls, forced marriage, extreme poverty and the moratorium on the death penalty.
The Committee approved the draft resolution titled “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty” (document A/C.3/79/L.37/Rev.1), as amended, by a vote of 131 in favour, 36 against, with 21 abstentions. By the text, the General Assembly would call on all States to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty, as well as to respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty and ensure that any trial leading to the imposition of the death penalty complies with internationally recognized fair trial guarantees.
Introducing the draft “rooted in the principles of human dignity and the right to life”, Italy’s delegate recalled that 75 years ago when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted, only 10 countries had abolished the death penalty. Today, over two-thirds of countries have done so in law or in practice. “This demonstrates a growing global momentum, with a universal character,” he stressed, citing this text as “instrumental” in supporting this trend.
In 2023, the number of countries that carried out executions reached the lowest figure on record, he continued, adding that retentionist countries — even though “extremely vocal in this room” — are increasingly isolated worldwide. Underscoring that the abolition of the death penalty is not a matter of “culture” or “tradition”, he said this draft is crucial for promoting the right to life and addressing irreversible justice errors. He also stressed that the text does not call for any constitutional change or revision of national legislation.
Prior to the vote, the Committee approved by a vote of 105 in favour to 65 against, with 13 abstentions an amendment to the draft (document A/C.3/79/L.54), which would add the operative paragraph “Reaffirms the sovereign right of all countries to develop their own legal systems, including determining appropriate legal penalties, in accordance with their international law obligations” before operative paragraph 1.
“The text of the amendment is neutral, simple and constructive,” said the representative of Singapore in introducing the revision, noting that the paragraph added has repeatedly been voted back into the resolution with an overwhelming majority, whose opinions are dismissed by its deletion.
Many delegates echoed that sentiment, noting that the amendment's proponents are repeatedly forced to reintroduce it to be voted into the biennial moratorium resolution. The amendment is very direct in emphasizing that States, in including the death penalty in their legal systems, are only exercising their sovereign rights in accordance with their obligations under international law, they asserted.
However, other delegates countered that the amendment attempts to distract from the draft's main focus, urging States to consider applying a moratorium on executions. The proposed amendment, meanwhile, implies that States can use sovereignty as an excuse to disregard the universality of human rights and consider this call to action null and void.
After the approval of “L.37/Rev.1”, as amended, numerous speakers underscored that today’s vote clearly demonstrates the continued momentum to realize the commitment to abolish capital punishment, with a delegate stating: “The growing support for the resolution solidifies the emerging international consensus and understanding that the death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and human dignity.”
In other notable action, the Committee approved by consensus the draft resolution titled “Trafficking in women and girls” (document A/C.3/79/L.16/Rev.1), which would have the Assembly strongly condemn the trafficking in persons, especially women and children, and call on Governments to allocate resources to provide access to appropriate programmes for the physical, psychological and social recovery of its victims.
“Human trafficking hinders the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls,” said the representative of the Philippines, introducing the draft. The text recognizes that in armed conflict and post-conflict situations, trafficking in persons for purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labour, forced marriage, illegal adoption of children, and recruitment and use of children by armed groups can be prevalent. It also calls on States to consider the challenges presented by new methods of exploiting victims, such as criminals' misuse of social media and online platforms, blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). An essential addition to the resolution is the acknowledgment that trafficked women and girls may be used by criminal networks as shields to evade prosecution, he added.
Before approving the draft, the Committee voted in favour of keeping the preambular paragraph 17.
Calling for its deletion, some delegates voiced regret that this draft is being used as a front for an invalid and politicized institution — the International Criminal Court — which has shown its “inability to conduct independent and impartial justice”. Some States that are not parties to the Rome Statute rejected the reference to the Court.
However, others rejected attempts to upset the draft’s delicate balance by proposing to remove agreed-upon language from previous iterations, acknowledging the work of the International Criminal Court. The reference to the Court has been in the resolution since 2012, they added.
While some delegates distanced themselves from the term “multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination” in the draft, others welcomed references to a gender-responsive approach to address the specific needs of women and girls. Several delegates commended the reference to those who endured trafficking as both “victims” and “survivors” as it highlights their strength, resilience and capacity to rebuild their lives.
Among other texts that sparked contention was the draft “United Nations African Institute for the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders” (document A/C.3/79/L.10/Rev.1), which was approved by consensus after two rounds of voting focused on language to expand funding for the Institute’s staffing costs. By the text, the Assembly would urge all Member States, non-governmental organizations and the international community to keep adopting concrete practical measures to help the Institute develop the requisite capacity and implement its programmes and activities to strengthen the crime prevention and criminal justice systems in Africa. The Assembly would also request the Secretary-General to increase the grant to fully cover the staffing costs of this core Professional staff.
Prior to the draft’s approval, the representative of the United Kingdom proposed an amendment (document A/C.3/79/L.68) to change language about increasing the grant to “consider, within existing resources, the Institute’s appeal to increase the United Nations grant for the Institute to support core Professional staff and avoid high turnover because of financial unpredictability”. The amendment was rejected by a vote of 42 in favour, 98 against and 31 abstentions.
The Committee then retained the original provision by a vote of 120 in favour, with 40 against and 19 abstentions. The United Kingdom’s delegate insisted that requests for funding should be handled by the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) but several delegates noted the outstanding arrears of $17.1 million in the assessed financial contributions due from the Institute’s Member States.
The following resolutions were approved without a vote:
“Child, early and forced marriage” (document A/C.3/79/L.19/Rev.1), by which the Assembly would urge States to enact, enforce and uphold laws and policies aimed at preventing, addressing and ending child, early and forced marriage. These include enabling women and girls to leave the marriage without undue financial or administrative burden; ensuring that marriage is entered into only with the informed, free and full consent of the intending spouses; and recognizing child, early and forced marriage as a violation or abuse of human rights.
“Intensification of efforts to end obstetric fistula” (document A/C.3/79/L.20/Rev.1) by consensus. By the text, the Assembly would call upon States and the United Nations system to end obstetric fistula within a decade including by strengthening the capacity of healthcare systems to provide services needed to prevent the condition by ensuring that adequate funds are allocated to reproductive health.
“Universal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination”(document A/C.3/79/L.29), by which the Assembly would declare its firm opposition to acts of foreign military intervention and occupation suppressing the right to self-determination of peoples and nations, calling upon those States responsible to cease them.
“The role of Ombudsman and mediator institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights, good governance and the rule of law” (document A/C.3/79/L.30), by which the Assembly would strongly encourage Member States to create or strengthen independent, autonomous Ombudsman institutions as the national level — calling upon them to refrain from abolishing those institutions — with a view to upholding the right to access to justice and effective and accountable public administration.
“Human rights and extreme poverty” (document A/C.3/79/L.43/Rev.1), by which the Assembly would reaffirm that extreme poverty inhibits the full enjoyment of human rights, renders democracy and popular participation fragile and can also create barriers to full and effective participation in political and public life, particularly for women and girls and persons with disabilities, calling on States to implement gender-responsive social protection policies.
“Preventing and combating corrupt practices and the transfer of proceeds of corruption, facilitating asset recovery and returning such assets to legitimate owners, in particular to countries of origin, in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Corruption” (document A/C.3/79/L.15/Rev.1), by which the Assembly would condemn corruption in all its forms, including bribery, as well as the laundering of proceeds of corruption, urging States parties to the Convention to remove barriers to applying measures for the recovery of assets and to limit domestic legal immunities.
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