About International Solidarity and human rights

In his 2018 report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/38/40), the former Independent Expert on International Solidarity and human rights, Obifor Okafor, recognized that “inadequate attention has thus far been paid to the importance of international solidarity to the fuller realization of human rights, including the right to development and economic, social and cultural rights, as well as to its centrality to the effective implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

His subsequent report to the General Assembly (A/75/180) in 2020 raised concern about the rise of reactionary populism as “a threat to human rights-based international solidarity because countries governed by populist leaders tend to focus excessively on their national audience and its well-being, forgetting about the principles encompassed by the Charter of the United Nations and other instruments and by the draft declaration on the right to international solidarity, especially when the need to address potential or existing global crises and challenges requires concerted and common action. . . many donor countries where populist leaders are in charge have reduced both their development assistance and their international cooperation significantly.”

In 2021, and in the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, he referred to “the unfortunate gaps in international solidarity that have been manifested during the pandemic, most concerning of which were actions towards excessive “vaccine nationalism” that involved the hoarding of vaccines and other COVID-19 control products in a way that significantly reduced the chances of controlling and defeating the pandemic as a world community” (A/HRC/47/31).

In his 2019 report to the General Assembly ​A/74/185, Okafor underscored international solidarity “as a foundational principle undergirding the provision of international protection to refugees. It is based on the understanding that the challenge of refugee flows is international in scope, the resolution of which required a true spirit of unity of purpose, even beyond the contractual scope of the obligations that States assumed under the 1951 Convention and other international human rights instruments.” He pointed out that “serious gaps exist in the expression of human rights-based international solidarity in refugee protection between the States of the global North and those of the global South. As has been noted, States of the global North contribute immensely to the pool of financial resources available to fund the global refugee protection effort. Nevertheless, States in the global South tend to host nearly 90 per cent of the world’s refugees. . . Crucially, States in the global North have adopted more stringent measures to deny refugees from the global South entry to their territories. Some of the most commonly deployed measures include stricter visa controls, carrier sanctions, interdiction on the high seas, and cooperation with States in the global South, both with States of origin and with transit States,” In contrast he emphasized “the positive expressions of human rights-based international solidarity towards refugees by elements within civil society, cities and other local governments, countries, regional organizations, and at the global level, should be reinforced, expanded, supported by others, and celebrated more widely as imperative pro-human rights and pro-humanitarian acts that save the lives of thousands of human beings.”

In his 2018 report to the General Assembly ​A/73/206, Okafor set forth “Some of the most important positive expressions of human rights-based international solidarity in the global migration context can be observed in the customary practices of certain progressive civil society groups around the world. These practices mostly take the following forms: the patrolling of large bodies of water by vessels belonging to humanitarian and other groups to rescue irregular migrants at risk of death by drowning; the facilitation of the entry into a given country of irregular migrants; the transportation of such migrants either into or within a country; the granting of sanctuary in churches to such migrants; the organization of mass rallies, protests and “national days of solidarity” in support of such migrants; protests on board aircrafts directed at the perceived ill-treatment of persons being deported by air; speaking out in the media in favour of irregular migrants; the provision of basic necessities of life, such as food, water and shelter, to such migrants — including those facing a serious risk of death in inhospitable border areas; and the provision of medical or legal assistance to such migrants.” He cautioned against criminalization of these actors and “end or modify efforts to externalize continental borders: efforts to externalize the borders of continental or regional arrangements to other continents and regions, through the adoption of international agreements of the sort that tend to undermine rather than bolster the human rights and dignity of migrants, should be strongly discouraged. Such agreements tend to lead to significant human rights violations, offend the spirit of human rights-based international solidarity.”

In building on the pre-existing draft declaration and the work done in that regard by his predecessor, Virginia Dandan, which itself was aided by extensive regional and other consultations that shaped the pre-existing text, Mr. Okafor followed a highly consultative and inclusive process that included global consultations in Geneva, in January 2023, during which States and other stakeholders considered the text of the proposed revised draft declaration and offered valuable reflections on and input into the proposed text.

Future focus for the Independent Expert for International Solidarity

With the appointment of the current mandate-holder, Ms. Cecilia M. Bailliet, in 2023, she pledged to continue building on the work of her predecessors in line with the relevant Human Rights Council resolutions. As such, she outlined the following main goals and objectives that she seeks to achieve during her tenure:

• Building greater consensus for the adoption of the revised Draft Declaration on Human Rights and International Solidarity among States and other stakeholders, including by showing how greater enjoyment of human rights-based international solidarity would most likely benefit all States and all peoples in every region of the world through promotion of trust, empathy, and social integration;
• Encourage greater effort to demonstrate the role of human rights-based international solidarity in addressing common challenges, countering polarization, and protecting global public goods;
• Identifying and disseminating best practices of human rights based international solidarity by States, civil society groups, and other stakeholders, as well as opinio juris.

The Independent Expert seeks to focus on the following thematic priorities:

• Civil society and international solidarity;
• Artificial Intelligence and international solidarity;
• The role of businesses and international solidarity;
• International solidarity and regional organizations;
• Women, youth, Indigenous Peoples, and international solidarity;
• Sustainable peace, development, and international solidarity.