THE VIENNA DECLARATION AND PROGRAMME
OF ACTION OF THE WORLD CONFERENCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
(VIENNA, 1993)

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the adoption by the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action - a common plan for the strengthening of human rights work around the world. The delegations in the Vienna Conference reaffirmed the universality and central role of human rights. They proclaimed that human rights had become the "legitimate concern of the international community", and that "all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated".

The World Conference on Human Rights was marked by an unprecedented degree of participation by Government delegates and the international human rights community. Some 7,000 participants, including 171 delegations of Member States, academics, treaty bodies, national institutions and representatives of more than 800 non-governmental organizations gathered in Vienna to review and profit from their shared experiences.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, adopted by consensus on 25 June 1993, marked the culmination of a long process of review and debate over the status of human rights in the world. It also marked the beginning of a renewed effort to strengthen and further implement the body of human rights instruments that have been painstakingly constructed on the foundation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights since 1948.

The Declaration's recognition of the interdependence between democracy, development and human rights prepared the way for cooperation by international organizations and national agencies in the promotion of all human rights, including the right to development. Similarly, the Conference took historic new steps to promote and protect the rights of women, children and indigenous peoples. The Vienna Declaration also made concrete recommendations for the strengthening and harmonizing of the monitoring capacity of the United Nations system. In addition to recommending that the General Assembly consider the establishment of a High Commissioner for Human Rights, it emphasized the need for speedy ratification of human rights instruments.

For the complete text of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, please visit the following web site:
http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu5/wchr.htm