The draft resolution Hostage-Taking, proposed by Russia in co-authorship with Armenia, Belarus, China, Cuba, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Ecuador, has been adopted by consensus by all the 53 members of the commission.
The resolution condemns all acts of hostage-taking in any region of the world and demands immediate an unconditional liberation of all the hostages, expresses solidarity with persons who have suffered as a result of hostage taking.
In addition, the commission calls upon all states to take all the steps required to prevent cases of hostage taking, struggle against such cases and punishment for them, including by strengthening international cooperation in this field.
Simultaneously, the Human Rights Commission has adopted the resolution Integrity of the Judicial System, whose draft was proposed by Russia in co-authorship with Belarus.
52 out of the 53 members of the commission voted for the draft resolution with only the United States abstaining.
The resolution insistently calls on the states to provide guarantees that all the persons whose files have been submitted to courts and tribunals under their jurisdiction for consideration be entitled to be tried in their presence and stand in defense personally or by a defender they have chosen, have all the necessary guarantees for defense.
In keeping with the resolution, the states shall ensure the observance of the principle of equality before the court and law within the framework of their judicial systems.
The commission also invites the states having military tribunals or special court-martials do everything for them to be made an integral part of the general judicial system, apply such norms of the law of procedure as the guarantees of fair trial, including the right to appeal against a sentence.
