9.6.4 Stakeholder Engagement
Maintaining and strengthening close contacts with NGOs and civil society is vital for an NHRI and linked to its accreditation by the ICC. NGOs at the grass roots level have access to broad networks. They can also support community-level buy-in for the work of NHRIs and information-sharing and monitoring about human rights situations on the ground.
It is important for NHRIs to work to maintain strong links with all those groups relevant to its mandate and its priority areas of work. This is not always easy: by this stage, it is not unusual to see NHRIs develop tense and mutually critical relationships with civil society.
You are working with a NHRI that has a difficult relationship with civil society and with human rights NGOs in particular.
NGOs complain to the UN and to the international community more generally that the NHRI is "useless". They allege that the appointees are government puppets and do not seriously investigate cases.
The NHRI, for its part, complains that NGOs are unfair and overly critical, and do not understand that the NHRI is neither an NGO nor a government body, and that it operates within constraints that the NGO community cannot or will not respect.
The NHRI has begun to reduce its contacts with NGOs that it perceives as being in bad faith or unduly critical: this further worsens relations. Both sides call you for help. What do you do?
Understanding the context: There are always two sides to a story and it is important to listen to both. There have been instances where NHRIs are actually doing the work that they are accused of neglecting, but there may be poor communications. UNCTs can help by developing more effective media strategies, supporting the preparation of annual reports and newsletters, or facilitating regular dialogue with the NGO sector. It would of course be best to help ensure that these vehicles are in place within the NHRI at the outset rather than trying to "fix" problems once they have started.
It may be that the NGO has unrealistic expectations of what the NHRI can do and, if so, efforts must be made to encourage them to better understand the roles, responsibilities and authorities that an NHRI possesses.
There may be situations where, for reasons of political pressure or internal unwillingness to address serious issues, the NHRI is not performing well. In these cases, if help is requested, it is important to determine (1) whether there is a genuine willingness to improve and (2) what support can realistically be provided.
NHRIs are responsible for establishing an open dialogue, no matter how critical or unfair the NGOs may be perceived to be. They can build ties with NGOs by holding regular briefing meetings, issuing press releases to major NGOs as well as the media, including NGOs in NHRI training sessions as appropriate, as well as in their strategic planning exercises, and working with NGOs to develop treaty body reports and other forms of reporting. If critiques are unfair, NHRIs have a responsibility to address them head on. In other cases, NHRIs may seek to address concerns about lack of communications around such things as complaints handling (a frequent source of concern) by developing and disseminating information about service standards (for example, around complaint processing).
Building on early partnerships with NGOs, as well as with media and State officials on specific issues affecting disadvantaged groups can result in concerted and coordinated action to tackle persistent social problems, or to follow up and monitor government actions on issues relevant to those groups.
International Cooperation: The Paris Principles recognize the importance of cooperation and collaboration with a wide range of organisations and groups in order to ensure the effectiveness of NHRIs. NHRIs around the world cooperate and collaborate with a variety of stakeholders, including the United Nations,12 and regional institutions, as well as with NHRIs in other countries.13
12 Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions, General Assembly Resolution 48/134, 20 December 1993. Paris Principles, Principle 3(e).
13 Ibid.