National human rights institutions
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National human rights institutions (NHRIs) are administrative bodies set up in to protect or monitor human rights in a given country. There are some 90 such bodies, not all compliant with the United Nations standards set out in the 1993 Paris Principles.
Such bodies can be grouped together in two broad categories: human rights commissions and ombudsmen. While most ombudsman agencies are built arond a single person, human rights commissions are multi-member committees, ideally representative of various social groups and trens of thought. They are sometimes set up to deal with specific issues such as discrimination, although some are bodies with very broad responsibilities. Specialized national institutions exist in many countries to protect the rights of a particular vulnerable group such as ethnic and linguistic minorities, indigenous peoples, children, refugees or women.
In some countries, a constitution will provide for the establishment of a national human rights institution. The degree of independence of these institutions depends upon national law.
Special commissions have been established in many countries to ensure that laws and regulations concerning the protection of human rights are effectively applied. Commissions tend to be composed of members from diverse backgrounds, each with a particular interest, expertise or experience in the field of human rights.
Human rights commissions are concerned primarily with the protection of nationals against discrimination and with the protection of civil liberties and other human rights. Some commissions concern themselves with alleged violations of any rights recognized in the constitution.
One of the most important functions vested in many human rights commissions is to receive and investigate complaints from individuals (and occasionally, from groups) alleging human rights abuses committed in violation of existing national law. While there are considerable differences in the procedures followed by various human rights commissions in the investigation and resolution of complaints, many rely on conciliation or arbitration. It is not unusual for a human rights commission to be granted authority to impose a legally binding outcome on parties to a complaint. If no special tribunal has been established, the commission may be able to transfer unresolved complaints to the normal courts for a final determination.
Another important function of a human rights commission is systematically to review a government's human rights policy in order to detect shortcomings in human rights observance and to suggest ways of improving. This often includes human rights proofing of draft legislation, or policies.
Human rights commissions may also monitor the state's compliance with its own and with international human rights laws and if necessary, recommend changes. The realization of human rights cannot be achieved solely through legislation and administrative arrangements; therefore, commissions are often entrusted with the important responsibility of improving community awareness of human rights.
Promoting and educating about human rights may involve informing the public about the commission's own functions and purposes; provoking discussion about various important questions in the field of human rights; organizing seminars; holding counselling services and meetings; as well as producing and disseminating human rights publications.
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[edit] National human rights institutions
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- Australia
- Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission
- Canada
- Canadian Human Rights Commission
- Denmark
- Danish Institute for Human Rights
- Greece
- National Human Rights Commission (Greece)
- India
- National Human Rights Commission (India)
- Indonesia
- National Human Rights Commission (Indonesia)
- Korea, Republic of
- National Human Rights Commission (Korea)
- Malaysia
- Human Rights Commission of Malaysia
- Mauritius
- National Human Rights Commission (Mauritius)
- Mexico
- National Human Rights Commission (Mexico)
- Mongolia
- National Human Rights Commission (Mongolia)
- Nepal
- National Human Rights Commission (Nepal)
- New Zealand
- New Zealand Human Rights Commission
- Nigeria
- National Human Rights Commission (Nigeria)
- Northern Ireland (UK)
- Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission
- Peru
- National Human Rights Commission (Peru)
- Sri Lanka
- National Human Rights Commission (Sri Lanka)
- Thailand
- National Human Rights Commission (Thailand)
- Uganda
- Uganda Human Rights Commission
[edit] Regional Bodies
African National Human Rights Institutions (SANHRI)
Asia Pacific Forum (APF)
European group of National Institutions
Network of National Institutions in the Americas
[edit] Sub-national human rights institutions
[edit] See also
- Human rights
- List of human rights articles by country
- International human rights instruments
- European Court of Human Rights
- Human Rights Commissions
[edit] Further reading
- Anna-Elina Pohjolainen. (2006).The Evolution of National Human Rights Institution. The Danish Institute for Human Rights.
- Commonwealth Human Rights Inititative. (2006). Human Rights Commissions :A Citizen’s Handbook, IInd Edition Commonwealth Human Rights Inititative
- International Council on Human Rights Policy. (2005) Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions International Council on Human Rights Policy/Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
- Morten Kjærum. (2003). National Human Rights Institutions - Implementing Human Rights The Danish Institute for Human Rights
- Donnelly, Jack. (2003). Universal Human Rights in Theory & Practice. 2nd ed. Ithaca & London: Cornell University Press.
- Birgit Lindsnaes, Lone Lindholt, Kristine Yigen (eds.). (2001) National Human Rights Institutions, Articles and working papers, Input to the discussions of the establishment and development of the functions of national human rights institutionsThe Danish Institute for Human Rights.
- Shute, Stephen & Hurley, Susan (eds.). (1993). On Human Rights: The Oxford Amnesty Lectures. New York: BasicBooks.
- Ignatieff, Michael. Human Rights as Politics and Idolatry. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton University Press.
