9.5 Human Rights Capacity

Strengthening capacity in substantive and thematic areas of human rights requires the UNCT to assess the policies, strategies and programming related to established and emerging human rights issues facing the country.

First, there are the cross-cutting areas of human rights capacity described in Module 1, such as core protection issues and human rights-based approaches to development and to incorporating economic, social and cultural rights into NHRI work. See Chapters 4 and 5 for further information on strengthening capacity in these two important areas.

In addition, two areas that are mentioned throughout this Toolkit, namely human rights and business, and transitional justice, may be important aspects of NHRI work, depending on its legal mandate and the national context.

As the organisation matures, UNCTs may be engaged in projects to strengthen thematic areas of focus and to develop expertise in specific areas of focus including vulnerable persons:

• Children's rights
• National or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities
• IDPs and refugees
• Indigenous persons
• Migrant workers
• Persons with disabilities including those with HIV/AIDS
• Victims of Human Trafficking
• Women's rights

While it is beyond the scope of this Chapter to deal with strengthening capacity in each area, this section focus on women's equality, IDPs and refugees and persons with disabilities, using an equality rights focus, as illustrations.