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National Human Rights Institutions (NHRI) assist governments in strengthening and protecting human rights at the national level. They can play a crucial role in promoting and monitoring the effective implementation of international human rights standards at the national level; a role which is increasingly recognized by the international community. Along with international and regional human rights mechanisms, NHRI assist governments and civil societies with disseminating information on, as well as dealing with human rights issues. When needed, NHRI can also hear and consider complaints and petitions at national and regional level.
National Human Rights Institutions can be grouped into two main categories, human rights commissions and ombudsmen. Commissions are usually formed around multiple members, while ombudsmen are usually centered on a single person. These institutions often exist to protect the rights of certain vulnerable minorities such as ethnic or indigenous groups. Also, NHRI review their government's human rights methods and policies in order to ensure that all human rights are being upheld in that country, and prepare annual status reports relating these countries actions to the OHCHR for review.
NHRI enjoy a close association with the OHCHR, who supports the work of the NHRI and their relationship with the Human Rights Council. OHCHR especially supports NHRI to center their work on core protection issues, such as the prevention of torture and degrading treatment, summary executions, arbitrary detention and disappearances, or the protection of human rights defenders. NHRI can, and should, play a role in advancing all aspects of the rule of law, including with regard to the judiciary, law enforcement agencies and the correctional system.
The majority of NHRI which are actively involved in UN bodies are compliant with the guidelines of status and function laid out in the International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Paris in 1992, known as the Paris Principles. These principles were adopted by the UN Human Rights Commission that year, and then later by the General Assembly in 1993. Since the recent formation of the UPR, Resolution 5/1 allows the NHRIs to be actively engaged in the UPR mechanism, allowing them to submit documents, attending the reviews and following up with recommendations. Paris Principles compliant NHRIs stand out as partners that are central to national human rights protection systems and are important counterparts for OHCHR. To see the complete list of the Paris Principles, click here.
To see a list of all the current National Human Rights Institutions, click here.
Fact Sheet No.19, National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights
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The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition was first initiated in 1998 by UNESCO. It is intended to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples. The date is of particular importance: In the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, an uprising began in today's Haiti that played a crucial role in the abolition of transatlantic slave trade. Every year, cultural activities are organized around the globe to remember this event. UNESCO's "Slave Route" project helps to understand the history of slave trade and therewith fills the silence of the past.
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