Chapter 1
Introducing National Human
Rights Institutions

Chapter 2
Models of NHRIs

Chapter 3
Roles and Responsabilities of
NHRIs

Chapter 4
The Rule of Law and the NHRI

Chapter 5
NHRIs, Development and
Democratic Governance

Chapter 6
Situating NHRI Support in the UN Planning & Programming Process

Chapter 7
Pre-establishment Phase of NHRIs

Chapter 8
Establishing NHRIs

Chapter 9
Consolidation Phase:
Strengthening the Mature NHRI

Chapter 10
Paris Principles and Accreditation

7.4 What kind of NHRI?

Having reached consensus on the need to act, a parallel or next step should be to move the process from the general (does the country wish to establish a NHRI? What are the advantages?) to the specific – what kind of NHRI, among the many models, should be adopted by the country?

For information on various NHRI models, please see Chapter 2. While the information in Chapter 2 will not be repeated here, it will be recalled that many different types of model can, in theory, conform to the Paris Principles and, in that sense, will satisfy the basic international requirements of a NHRI. UNCT staff can encourage the government and stakeholders to examine the various options – for example by looking at different solutions in other countries in the region - and providing basic information on the Paris Principles and different models of NHRIs. It can further provide technical advice, support study tours or research papers, or support access to experts with that technical knowledge, as indicated earlier in this section. This will involve assessing, in light of the situation, including the socio-political situation and the health of the justice sector, the weight that should be given to the following factors:

  • Compliance with the Paris Principles, including issues such as plurality through broad membership in the leadership of the institution (see Chapter 10).
  • The type of institution needed in the country: in addition to a “classic” NHRI, is there a need for transitional justice, or hybrid mandates? (See Chapter 2). The State must determine which human rights the NHRI will promote and protect (equality rights only, for example, or the full range of rights?).
  • Which sectors it will cover (public sector only, or public and non-governmental / private sector)?
  • Will the NHRI play a role under the OPCAT (as a NPM or not)? or whether it will have other mandate areas in addition to human rights. See Chapters 3 (roles and responsibilities of NHRIs), 4 (role of NHRIs in core protection issues, including torture prevention) and 10 (compliance with the Paris Principles) for further details.

Once again, the final decision regarding any model and legal structure belongs to the country.