Chapter 3

Objective: Roles and Responsibilities of NHRIs

Set out in detail the roles and responsibilities of NHRIs, including the human rights framework at the national and international levels with a focus on how NHRIs relate to the UN system.

Executive Summary

This chapter looks in detail at the main roles and responsibilities of NHRIs at both the national and international levels and related linkages. The Chapter begins with an overview of the context in which NHRIs function and then moves to the standard grouping of NHRI roles. It should be noted that NHRI functions or activities are described in the Paris Principles as “responsibilities”.1

The main roles and responsibilities under the Paris Principles are:

Human rights protection: typical roles and responsibilities in the protection mandate are investigations, handling individual complaints (in certain cases), monitoring human rights situations, and undertaking public inquiries into significant human rights problems. NHRIs have a special role in respect of what is sometimes called “core protection” issues. Specific discussion of the rule of law core protection issues is set out in Chapter 4.

Human rights promotion is required to create a national culture of human rights in which tolerance, equality, and mutual respect thrive. NHRIs inform people of their own human rights, and encourage State institutions and the public at large to understand and respect the rights of others. Typical activities include guidance on the domestic application of international human rights law, public education and campaigns, creating national documentation centres, training (especially of security and law enforcement officials), and cooperating with national stakeholders and civil society. NHRIs should sensitise State’s entities (i.e. Government, Judiciary and Parliament) to integrate human rights treaty obligations in their relevant policies, laws and programmes.

NHRIs should coordinate their work with NHRIs from other countries, and with regional bodies, in order to build international networks of NHRIs and build capacity.

Other roles and responsibilities have evolved considerably over the years, over and above what is in the Paris Principles. NHRIs have a special responsibility to both protect and promote the rights of persons who are made vulnerable by society because of their gender, age, sexual orientation or other minority status. Claiming and applying these rights is often controversial and contested, and NHRIs are frequently the only ones that can and do speak out in defence of those who have no voice, or whose influence is minimal.

In addition to civil and political rights, NHRIs are also increasingly being called on to protect and promote economic, social and cultural rights, within the context of the indivisibility of all rights. As well, NHRIs are frequently given the additional responsibility to support or manage transitional justice processes and mechanisms.

NHRIs have a growing role to play in interacting with international human rights mechanisms, such as the treaty bodies and the special procedures. Finally, NHRIs have an emerging and growing role in overseeing and working with businesses as key national and multinational actors in human rights.

Each of the NHRI roles discussed below is further elaborated for the pre-establishment, establishment and consolidation phases in Chapters 7, 8 and 9.

1 International Council on Human Rights Policy. 2005. “Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions”.