9.1 Key Infrastructure
9.1.1 Premises
There are several indicators to assess whether the NHRI premises have proved to be adequate and appropriate: These are set out in Annex 1.
Annex 1 Premises Checklist
Regional Expansion and local offices: While there may be a need to establish offices quickly, it is best to wait until the institution has attained a certain level of maturity, has developed basic management structures and programme areas, and has the funds to support the new offices. Local or regional offices do have advantages: they allow the Institution to serve people locally, and to operate in outlying areas, often where human rights abuses may be more pronounced and where the understanding of human rights is least evolved.
Despite the good reasons to consider local offices, there are difficulties involved.
First, because opening regional offices is part of sequencing organisational growth, they require careful planning.
Second, they are expensive.
Third, ensuring appropriate management control over programme activity is a challenge: regional offices often develop their own distinct management culture that can lead to difficulties in imposing standard procedures and performance measures. It is therefore important that the NHRI have a high level of organisational maturity before embarking on expansion.
Where the required level of organisational maturity has not been achieved, or where there are insufficient funds, there are alternatives to full regional or local offices: NHRIs can look at different options such as ad hoc regional outreach programmes or establishing itinerant offices where headquarters staff visit the regions of the country. Some examples are set out below:
Bolivia: In many developing countries with small budgets, the success stories tend to be less about large offices and technology, and more about outreach and presence. In Bolivia, for example, the Defensor del Pueblo wanted a regional presence but could not afford full-scale offices with expensive rents, cars and office equipment. Instead, they decided to open a main office in La Paz, and a secondary office in another major city. The regional presence was achieved through storefront operations at street level, with one staff person and very basic equipment. Nine storefront offices were launched. Intake is conducted in these offices and the files are then sent to head office for processing and registry. The accessibility of the Bolivian institution is seen as a strong feature.
Namibia: An alternative or complementary strategy is to establish regional presence through regular tours and visits. The office can organize advance publicity in each area to let people know when the office will be in the area, with designated hours, and a process for setting up appointment schedules in advance.
Even when there are strong and independent regional offices or other regional forms of representation, it is important that the NHRI develop and maintain the capacity to collect and handle data and case processing centrally. Otherwise, consistently collected case management data will be difficult to come by.