联合国文件/part0184

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture (E/CN.4/2005/54 and Corr.1);

Welcomes the final report on the evaluation of the Fund (E/CN.4/2005/55) and calls on the Fund to continue to implement the recommendations contained therein, including on the reform of its working methods;

Recognizes the global need for international assistance to victims of torture, stresses the importance of the work of the Board of Trustees of the Fund and appeals to all Governments, organizations and individuals to contribute annually to the Fund, preferably with a substantial increase in the contributions;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to include the Fund, on an annual basis, among the programmes for which funds are pledged at the United Nations Pledging Conference for Development Activities and to transmit to all Governments the appeals of the Commission for contributions to the Fund;

Calls upon the Board of Trustees of the Fund to report to the Commission at its sixty-second session;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure, within the overall budgetary framework of the United Nations, the provision of an adequate and stable level of staffing, as well as the necessary technical facilities, for the bodies and mechanisms involved in combating torture and assisting victims of torture, in order to ensure their effective performance commensurate with the strong support expressed by Member States for combating torture and assisting victims of torture;

Calls upon all Governments, the High Commissioner and United Nations bodies and agencies, as well as relevant intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, to commemorate on 26 June the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture as proclaimed by the General Assembly in its resolution 52/149 of 12 December 1997;

Decides to continue to consider this matter at its sixty-second session, as a matter of priority.

See chap.

Elimination of all forms of intolerance and of discrimination based on religion or belief

Recalling General Assembly resolution 36/55 of 25 November 1981, by which it proclaimed the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief,

Recalling also article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights provisions,

Reaffirming the call of the World Conference on Human Rights upon all Governments to take all appropriate measures in compliance with their international obligations and with due regard to their respective legal systems to counter intolerance and related violence based on religion or belief, including practices of discrimination against women and the desecration of religious sites, recognizing that every individual has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, expression and religion,

Reaffirming also the recognition by the World Conference on Human Rights that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent, and interrelated,

Recalling General Assembly resolution 56/6 of 9 November 2001 on the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, in which the Assembly recognized the valuable contribution that dialogue among civilizations can make to an improved awareness and understanding of the common values shared by all humankind,

Considering that the disregard for and infringement of human rights and fundamental freedoms, in particular of the right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief, have brought, directly or indirectly, wars and great suffering to humankind,

Considering also that religion or belief, for those who profess either, is one of the fundamental elements in their conception of life and that freedom of religion or belief should be fully respected and guaranteed,

Seriously concerned at all attacks upon religious places, sites and shrines, including any deliberate destruction of relics and monuments,

Seriously concerned also at the misuse of registration procedures as a means to limit the right to freedom of religion or belief of members of certain religious communities, as well as at the limitations placed on religious publications,

Recognizing the important work carried out by the Human Rights Committee in providing guidance with respect to the scope of the freedom of religion or belief,

Recognizing also the importance of promoting dialogue among civilizations in order to enhance mutual understanding and knowledge among different social groups, cultures and civilizations in various areas, including culture, religion, education, information, science and technology, as well as in order to contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Convinced of the need to address, for instance in the context of the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, the rise of religious extremism affecting the rights of individuals and groups based on religion or belief in all parts of the world, the situations of violence and discrimination that affect many women as a result of religion or belief, and the abuse of religion or belief for ends inconsistent with the Charter of the United Nations and other relevant instruments of the United Nations,

Resolved to adopt all necessary and appropriate measures for the speedy elimination of such intolerance based on religion or belief in all its forms and manifestations and to prevent and combat discrimination based on religion or belief,

Noting that a formal or legal distinction at the national level between different kinds of religions or faith-based communities may, in some cases, constitute discrimination and may impinge on the enjoyment of the freedom of religion or belief,