Human rights in the administration of justice
A/RES/73/177
and maintain stable societies and the rule of law in post-conflict situations, and
welcomes the role of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights in supporting the establishment and functioning of transitional justice
mechanisms in post-conflict situations;
7.
Reaffirms that no one should be unlawfully or arbitrarily deprived of
liberty, and notes that any deprivation should observe the principles of necessity and
proportionality in this regard;
8.
Calls upon States to apply individual criminal responsibility and to refrain
from detaining persons based solely on their family ties with an alleged offender;
9.
Also calls upon States to ensure that anyone who is deprived of libert y
through arrest or detention has prompt access to a competent court with the effective
power to determine the lawfulness of the detention and to order release if the detention
or imprisonment is determined not to be lawful and prompt access to legal couns el,
which could include legal aid schemes, in accordance with their international
obligations and commitments;
10. Calls upon all States to consider establishing, maintaining or enhancing
independent national mechanisms with the mandate to monitor all pl aces of detention,
including by making unannounced visits, and to hold private interviews without
witnesses with all persons deprived of liberty, inter alia, in line with the United
Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela
Rules); 12
11. Calls upon States to ensure a proper file and data management system on
prisoners that allows the tracking of the number of persons deprived of their liberty,
their detention period, offences or grounds for detention, and developments regarding
the prison population, and encourages States to collect other up -to-date,
comprehensive and disaggregated data that allow for the identification and pr evention
of discrimination in the administration of justice and overincarceration;
12. Affirms that States must ensure that any measure taken to combat
terrorism, including in the administration of justice, complies with their obligations
under international law, in particular international human rights, refugee and
humanitarian law;
13. Recalls the absolute prohibition of torture in international law, and calls
upon States to address and prevent the detention conditions, treatment and
punishment of persons deprived of their liberty that amount to cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment or punishment;
14. Calls upon States to investigate promptly, effectively and impartially all
alleged human rights violations suffered by persons deprived of their liberty, in
particular cases involving death, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment
or punishment, to provide effective remedy to the victims, in accordance with their
international obligations and commitments, and to ensure that detention
administrations fully cooperate with the investigating authority and preserve all
evidence;
15. Also calls upon States to ensure effective access to justice for persons with
disabilities when investigating, prosecuting and punishing persons responsible for
human rights violations and abuses committed against them, including by providing
effective remedies, taking into consideration, on an equal basis with others, the
specific circumstances of the person with disabilities, as well as by implementing
systemic changes, legal and policy reforms and capacity-building where needed in
order to ensure non-repetition;
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