HRBA Portal

• OHCHR and National Human Rights Institutions
  The webpage of OHCHR on NHRIs documents relevant resolutions, guidance notes, feature stories and information and resources on the International Coordinating Committee of NHRIs (ICC).
• International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC)
  Webpage for the ICC, a global network of national human rights institutions ((NHRIs), that coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the UN human rights sysem.
• Asia Pacific Forum-net
  The Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions advances human rights in the Asia Pacific region through its member organizations.
• Network of African National Human Rights Institutions
  NANHRI aims to support, through national, regional and international cooperation, the establishment, strenghening and development of NHRIs in order to enable them to more effectively undertake their mandate of human rights monitoring, promotion, protection and advocacy.

Paris Principles compliant NHRIs stand out as partners that are central to national human rights protection systems and are important counterparts. 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.

Relevant UN Resolutions

Over the past two decades, the United Nations General Assembly and other bodies have issued several resolutions of relevance to NHRIs:

• GA resolution 48/134 (the Paris Principles are annexed)
• CHR resolution 2005/74
• HRC resolution 5/1 (Human Rights Council Institutions Building Package – note “Rules of Procedure – Rule 7”
• GA resolution A/RES/63/172

Since 2003, OHCHR maintains a website on NHRIs (www.nhri.net). The site, linked to all existing NHRI websites and to the OHCHR main web page, includes global, regional and country information and thematic issues of interest to NHRIs.

Accreditation of NHRIs

The Sub‑Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) has the mandate to review and analyze accreditation applications and to make recommendations to ICC Bureau members on the compliance of applicants with the Paris Principles. The SCA is composed of one “A status” accredited NHRI for each of the four regional groupings; namely Africa, the Americas , the Asia Pacific, and Europe.  Members of the SCA are appointed by the regional groupings for a renewable term of three years. OHCHR participates in the work of the SCA as a permanent observer and in its capacity as ICC secretariat.

As at December 2008, there were 64 NHRIs accredited with A Status by the ICC , i.e. in compliance with the Paris Principles. The following link provides access to the calendar of ICC accreditation reviews (2009-2013). Summaries of NHRIs that have undergone accreditation in the past are all available through www.nhri.net .

The following link provides access to the latest Secretary-General’s report to the Human Rights Council on the accreditation process; A/HRC/10/54 (E F S R A C)

See:  OHCHR webpage on NHRI for additional information

UN support to the Ombudsman Institution in Ukraine

The Institution of the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation

The Ombudsman institution in Moldova – Ongoing Evolution

UNDP support to the Public Defender’s Office in Georgia

UN support to the Human Rights Commissioner in Azerbaijan

UNDP support to the Human Rights Defender’s Office in Armenia

UNDP support to the Equal Opportunities Ombudsperson in Lithuania

UNDP support to the Ombudsman Institution in Kazakhstan

Dignity and Justice for All of Us: Stories from National Human Rights Institutions in Europe and the CIS.