Objective: Consolidation Phase: Strengthening the Mature NHRI

Identify key challenges and opportunities for UNCT staff who are called upon to support NHRIs during the consolidation phase, and provide specific guidance, guided by the international human rights framework and concrete case studies

Executive Summary

This chapter examines the consolidation or strengthening stage of NHRI development in order to assist UNCT staff in providing assistance.

In this phase, it is assumed that the NHRI has been operating for at least two to three years and that there is enough experience and data to assess what is working and what is not.

Unlike the pre-establishment and establishment phases, there are fewer predictable activities that can be cited as common needs of NHRIs at this phase. Each institution will present unique challenges and while there may be some trends in terms of common issues, the lack of uniformity means that evaluative activities are critical so that UNCT staff can assess how a specific NHRI is progressing.

It is through evaluative processes like capacity assessments that good information is fed into general evaluations at the institutional level and into the ICC accreditation process. These are the tools through which the UN can determine whether its work and the work of the NHRI are meeting with success.

By examining key phases of NHRI development and using constructive approaches to assessment and evaluation, UNCTs can plan for improvement. Annex 8 contains an overview of key recommendations and findings from a global survey of NHRIs that will help UNCTs design, support and troubleshoot their work on NHRIs based on international and regional experience.

The information provided here, as elsewhere in this Toolkit, is intended to support UNCT staff in managing UN projects and supporting the work of NHRIs through such projects. It is not intended to be used as a basis for second-guessing the leadership of NHRIs or substituting UNCT opinion for that of the NHRI leadership.