7.3.1 The Letter of Request: Supporting the UN Resident Coordinator
Annex 1: Briefing Note for Resident Coordinators on NHRIs
Request for Assistance: In order to initiate the process, the Country will generally prepare a letter of request to the UN for assistance in establishing a NHRI.
1. Formal Letter Requesting Assistance
If the country seeks assistance, a formal request is generally required, in the form of a letter, to UN officials.
The Resident Coordinator is the entry point for such requests at the country level. As the representative of resident and non-resident UN Agencies, the UN Resident Coordinator could mobilize appropriate support.
The letter may be addressed jointly to the UN Resident Coordinator in the country and to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
In the event that a letter requesting assistance is addressed to either the Resident Coordinator or to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights alone, the recipient office should forward a copy to the other office.
As well, there may be regional associations who have close working relationships with the OHCHR or the UNDP in the matter of establishing NHRIs, and these may be copied as well.
2. Contact details regarding the High Commissioner and the OHCHR are set out below:
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
1201 Geneva 10
Switzerland
Mr. Vladlen Stefanov Chief of the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section Field Operations and Technical Cooperation Division
T: + 41 22 928 93 77
E: vstefanov@ohchr.org
Field Operations and Technical Assistance Division
1201 Geneva 10, Switzerland.
T: +41 22 928 9212
E: gmagazzenni@ohchr.org
Regional Representative OHCHR (will vary by region) For UNDP: contact relevant advisers at the Democratic Governance Group/Bureau for Development Policy and the Regional Service Centres.
3. Timeframes: As a general rule, a service standard of five (5) to ten (10) working days from receipt of correspondence will be considered a reasonable time frame from the OHCHR for initial feedback in terms of further involvement or commitment to next steps, and any such feedback should be copied to the UN Resident Coordinator.
Annex 2: Checklist of Steps in the Pre-Establishment Phase
Regional Networks of NHRIs:
Africa: Abderrazak Rouwane, Head of the Department of Cooperation and External Relations, NHRI of Morocco, Chair of the Network of African NHRIs (rouwane@ccdh.org.ma). Gilbert SEBIHOGO, Executive Director of the Permanent Secretariat of the Network of African NHRIs
(gsebihogo@nanhri.org and gsebihogo@knchr.org)
Asia Pacific: Kieren Fitzpatrick, Director of APF
(KierenFitzpatrick@asiapacificforum.net)
Americas: Raizabel Díaz, Director of International Relations, NHRI of Venezuela, Chair of the Network of NHRIs of the Americas
(secretariared@defensoria.gob.ve)
Europe: Kirsten Roberts, Director of Research and Policy, NHRI of Ireland, Chair of the European Group on NHRIs
(eurochair@ihrc.ie and kroberts@ihrc.ie)
for up-to date contact information, consult www.ohchr.org