4.8 NHRIs in Conflict Situations

NHRIs operating in conflict situations may undertake several roles, all of which have direct relevance to the core protection mandate in times of instability and heightened likelihood of serious human rights violations. These may include:

• efforts to promote dialogue between combatants;
• efforts to promote the establishment and growth of peace-building mechanisms among representative communities; and
• efforts to encourage acceptable and necessary accommodations to deal with underlying human rights issues that may be at the root of the conflict.

NHRIs face particular demands and challenges in times of conflict, such as:

• Training, education and public awareness: the NHRI may wish to redouble efforts in community-based training in human rights especially with regard to the need to respect the rights of minorities. Where large numbers of persons are displaced by the conflict, human rights education may also be required for host populations;
• Investigation: NHRIs should be aware of particular human rights problems that may occur in situations of conflict, such as the use of child soldiers or the use of sexual assault as an instrument of war. Another important issue is confidentiality and protection of witness/victim identity;
• Monitoring Human Rights: The NHRI may be required to monitor events rather than investigate them since full-scale investigations may not be either desirable or possible. This will require the monitors to fully understand the human rights and humanitarian law norms that apply; and
• Advice to the Government: NHRIs will likely face criticism when holding Government to account during times of conflict. Certain human rights are not subject to derogation, and an NI must remind the Government of this fact when necessary. Also, certain international rights norms apply to all combatants including insurgent groups.

In times of conflict, UNCTs may undertake efforts to support NHRIs and thereby reinforce their core protection mandate:15

• provision of training in and materials on humanitarian law, the rights of displaced persons and refugees, the particular situations involving child soldiers, sexual assault, etc.;
• facilitation of the exchange of information on approaches and best practices that other NHRIs, or UNCTs, may have gathered through their own experiences;
• participation in joint programming, community outreach, monitoring and providing advice to the Government; and
• public support to the NHRI so that it is not isolated.16

 

 

 

 

 

15 OHCHR National Institutions Unit. 2007. “Information Note: The Role of The UNCT in Establishing or Strengthening A National Human Rights Institution”

16 ”Ibid”