National human rights
institutions
Obligations under HR treaties
• respect - governments themselves and
their agents must not violate human
rights
• protect - governments must prevent
human rights violations by others
• fulfil - governments must take positive
action to ensure the full enjoyment of
all human rights by all people
Mechanisms to protect and
promote human rights
• Political action
• Legal institutions and mechanisms :
laws and courts
• Other institutions and mechanisms:
national human rights institutions
and others
• National human rights action plans
• Non-government organisations
Development of national
human rights institutions
• Endorsed by UN in late 1940s
• First UN international conference in late
1970s
• First institutions established in late 1970s and
early 1980s
• 1991 first international meeting of national
institutions: Paris Principles
• 1993 Vienna Second World Conference on
Human Rights
• Annual UN resolutions: CHR, ECOSOC, GA
• 2006 full status in UN Human Rights Council
UN Economic and Social
Council 1946
Member states were invited to
consider the desirability of
establishing local bodies in the
form of information groups or local
human rights committees.
National human rights
institutions
• Established by law, are independent
and have a wide mandate
• Can deal with individual complaints
• Can initiate their own investigations
• Can address systemic problems
• Can make recommendations to
government
• Have informal, non-legalistic methods
of work
The Paris Principles
The Paris Principles require that
national human rights institutions be
• independent
• pluralistic
• accessible
• accountable
The meaning of independence
•
•
•
•
•
legal autonomy
operational autonomy
policy autonomy
financial autonomy
independent members
• members appointed for fixed terms
• members subject to dismissal only for serious
misconduct members subject to dismissal
only for serious misconduct
Legal autonomy
 Separate and independent legal
status, either under Constitution or
Act of Parliament
 Allows for independent decision
making
 Able to perform its functions without
interference from other government
bodies
Members
 Appointed for fixed terms of sufficient
length
 Subject to dismissal only for serious
misconduct
Appointment process
• Appointment and independence
• Executive appointment: president or
government (Australia, New Zealand,
Malaysia, Philippines)
• Selection committee with government
and opposition participation (India,
Nepal, Sri Lanka)
• Parliamentary election (Indonesia,
Thailand)
Operational autonomy
 Work without interference
 Determine its own priorities, programs
and activities
 Draft own rules of procedures
Policy autonomy
 Reports, recommendations, decisions
are not subject to direction of or review
by others
 Determines own views, findings and
recommendations
Financial autonomy
“The national institution shall have an
infrastructure which is suited to the smooth
conduct of its activities, in particular
adequate funding. The purpose of this
funding should be to enable it to have its
own staff and premises in order to be
independent of the government and not be
subject to financial control which might
affect its independence.”
Funding process
• Financing and independence
• Executive allocation
• Parliamentary approval of executive
recommendation
• Parliamentary determination
• Ability to raise additional resources
• internally
• internationally
The meaning of pluralism
• Membership
• Staff
• Reflecting the society as a whole
The meaning of accessibility
•
•
•
•
•
Accessible to all people
People in remote areas
Poor people
Poorly educated people
People with disability
The meaning of accountability
• Accountable to the parliament
• Accountable to the community
• Accountable to people whose rights are
violated
Cooperation
NHRIs should operate cooperatively
 with:
 NGOs
 Academics
 Legislators
 Civil servants
 International agencies
 Other NHRIs
National human rights
institutions should have
• broad mandate
• jurisdiction relating to universal human
rights standards
• broad functions of research, education
and investigation
• adequate powers
• adequate resources
Broad functions
•
•
•
•
Can deal with individual complaints
Can initiate their own investigations
Can address systemic problems
Can make recommendations to
government
• Can refer investigations to independent
prosecutors
• Can intervene in court proceedings
• Can undertake community education
Adequate powers
• Power to compel production of
documents
• Power to enter and inspect premises
• Power to examine witnesses on oath
• Power to compel the attendance of a
witness, even if in custody
• Prosecutorial powers?
• Determinative powers?
Responsibilities
These responsibilities can be classified
into the following areas:
 monitor
 advise
 educate and inform
 quasi-judicial competence
 relate to regional and international
organisations
Monitor
“The institution shall monitor any
situation of violation of human rights,
which it decides to take up.”
Advise
“The Institution shall be able to advise
the Government, the Parliament and
any other competent body on specific
violations, on issues related to
legislation and its compliance with
international human rights instruments,
on the the implementation of these
instruments.”
Advise – Promotion and
Protection of Human Rights
 Review existing and proposed
legislation and assist in the drafting of
new legislation
 General policy and administrative
advice to the government and
parliament
 Advice and assistance in the
implementation of international
standards
Educate and inform
“The institution shall have a mandate to
educate and inform in the field of human
rights. It shall assist in the formulation of
educational human rights programmes and
in the human rights research, and take part
in the implementation at schools,
universities and in professional circles.
Finally, the institution shall be able to
prepare and publicise reports on any human
rights matter and make the use of all press
organs.”
Educate and inform:
promotion of human rights
 “To inform and to educate about
human rights
 To foster the development of values
and attitudes which uphold human
rights
 To encourage action aimed at
defending human rights from
violations”
Educate and inform:
promotional activities
 “Collecting, producing and
disseminating information materials
 Organising promotional events and
encouraging community initiatives
 Working with the media
 Ensuring the visibility of the institution
and its work”
Educate and inform:
education and training
 “Professional Training
• administration of justice
• government and parliament
• other (for example, social workers, armed
forces, media, NGOs, teachers, trade
union, medical professionals, community
leaders)
 Seminars
 Education programmes”
Quasi-judicial competence
“A national institution may be
authorised to hear and consider
complaints and petitions concerning
individual situations.”
Paris Principles,
Section D
Quasi-judicial competence
power to:
 Investigate abuses
 Determine liability or responsibility
 Provide relief to victims
Quasi-judicial competence
complaints
 Complaints received from individuals or
groups
 Does not replace judiciary but
complements
Public inquiry
• Approach developed in this region
• Enables a broad human rights approach
• Enables examination of a large situation
rather than individual complaint
• Has both fact finding and educational role
• Supported by exercise of powers
• Subpoena witnesses and documents,
including government documents
• Enter premises
• Leads to public report with
recommendations
Examples of inquiries
• Australian Commission
• Homeless children
• Mental illness and human rights
• Removal of indigenous children
• Education in rural and remote areas
• Indonesian Commission
• Military and police killings
• East Timor
• Indian Commission
• Psychiatric hospitals
• Burning of bodies in Kashmir and Punjab
Cooperative work
National human rights institutions should
operate cooperatively with
• non-government organisations
• academics
• legislators
• civil servants
• international agencies
• other national human rights institutions
Other activities
• Intervention in court cases
• Review of laws and programs
• Changes to existing laws and programs
• New laws and programs
• Engagement with parliament
• Annual report and other reports
• Parliamentary committees
Models of institution
• Commission model: Asia Pacific
(except Timor Leste), Commonwealth
• Consultative Council model:
francophonie
• Ombudsman model: northern and
eastern Europe, Spain, Portugal, Timor
Leste and Latin America
• Institute model: some Western Europe
The Commission Model
• Commission that acts as a corporate or
collegial body
• Size varies: 5 (India) to 35 (Indonesia)
members
• Generalists (India) and specialists
(Australia, New Zealand)
• Full-time and part-time commissioners
• Supported by full-time professional staff:
around 20 (Mongolia) to more than 600
(Afghanistan, Philippines)