United Nations A/HRS/RES/56/1

General Assembly Distr.: General

16 June 2024

Original: English

Human Rights Council

Fifty-sixth session
Agenda item 3
Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,
political, economic, social and cultural rights,
including the right to development

56/1. Freedom of opinion and expression

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights,

Reaffirming the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, and recalling relevant

international human rights treaties, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, and the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and the Additional Protocols thereto of 8
June 1977,

Mindful that the right to freedom of opinion and expression is a human right guaranteed
to all, in accordance with article 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that it constitutes one of the essential
foundations of a democratic society and one of the basic conditions for its progress and
development,

Recalling also the Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, particularly its
paragraphs pertaining to the review, rationalization and improvement of mandates,

Recalling further the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, which place
responsibilities on all business enterprises to respect human rights by, inter alia, refraining from
contributing to human rights abuses arising from conflict,

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United Nations Human Rights Council

1. Decides to hold an enhanced interactive dialogue on the promotion and protection of

the freedom of opinion and expression at its fifty-eighth session, with the participation of,
inter alia, the Special Rapporteur, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Human Rights, civil society, private companies and other relevant stakeholders;

2. Requests the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee to prepare a study

examining the applicability of universal standards to the ‘right to be forgotten’, while
taking into account ongoing discussions within the United Nations system, and to present
the study to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fifth session;

3. Also requests the Advisory Committee to seek the views of and inputs from and to
take into account relevant work already done by stakeholders, including States, United
Nations agencies, entities, funds and programmes within their respective mandates,
international and regional organizations, the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights, the special procedures of the Human Rights Council,
the treaty bodies, national human rights institutions, civil society, the private sector,
academic institutions, multi-stakeholder initiatives and other relevant stakeholders, when
preparing the above-mentioned study;

4. Decides to establish an open-ended intergovernmental working group with the

mandate of negotiating, finalizing and submitting to the Human Rights Council a draft
international standard relating to the right to be forgotten, on the basis of the study to be
submitted by the Advisory Committee, and without prejudging relevant past, present and
future views and proposals;

5. Also decides that the working group shall hold its first session for five working days
before the sixty-seventh session of the Human Rights Council;

6. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to
provide the working group with the human, technical and financial assistance necessary
for it to fulfill its mandate;

7. Requests the President of the Human Rights Council to invite the Rapporteur of the
Advisory Committee drafting group on the requested study to participate in the first
session of the working group;

8. Invites States, civil society, private companies and all relevant stakeholders to
contribute actively and constructively to the work of the working group;

9. Requests the working group to submit a report on progress made to the Human
Rights Council for its consideration at its seventieth session.

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