nhri.ohchr.orgnhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/BureauMeeting/102015/Item 6 ICC … · Web viewICC PROGRESS REPORT. 1 January 2015-31 August 2015. INTRODUCTION. This ICC Progress Report covers

INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OFNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION AND

PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ICC)

ICC PROGRESS REPORT1 January 2015-31 August 2015

INTRODUCTIONThis ICC Progress Report covers ICC activities undertaken during the period 1 January to 31 August 2015, representing two thirds of the current financial year.

Purpose of the reportThis ICC Progress Report reports against the 3 year ICC Strategic Plan 2014-2016 and 2015 Implementation Plan. The report sets out ICC’s activities during this period, and provides the basis to monitor and evaluate the implementation of the ICC Strategic and Implementation Plans.

The ICC Progress Report reflects on the Record of Decisions and the extent to which these decisions have been implemented.

The Progress Report further identifies highlights and challenges that will in turn inform further matters for discussion at the upcoming ICC Bureau meeting on 6 and 7 October 2015 in Merida, Mexico.

Finally, this ICC Progress Report will together with other reports inform the content of the ICC Annual Report.

HIGHLIGHTSSTRATEGIC GOAL 1 - Enhancing ICC engagement with international and regional human rights mechanisms to strengthen awareness raising about the ICC and NHRIs

UN engagement at GenevaEngagement in Geneva continues to be a busy and vibrant area of work for the ICC. The ICC’s working relationship with Geneva-based UN human rights mechanisms and processes is growing in strength with the result in the increased recognition of the importance of NHRIs’ contribution to the work of the Human Rights Council, treaty bodies and special procedures. The ICC continues to actively engage with the Secretariats of the respective treaty bodies, to encourage NHRIs to embrace opportunities for engagement and to provide advice to individual NHRIs on how to effectively interact with the UN human rights mechanisms.

NHRI participation at the 28th (HRC 28) and 29th (HRC 29) Human Rights Council sessions through the use of video statements was very commendable. The HRC 29 received the highest number of video-statements (9) since the HRC review process introduced this modality.

Following the first meeting between the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, NHRIs and National Independent Monitoring Mechanisms (IMM) designated under Article 33(2) of UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which took place on 25 th September 2014, first steps have taken place to implement the Outcomes. In May, the ICC met with CRPD Secretariat to draft the process and timelines to consult with NHRIs on the development of the Guidelines on the participation of NHRIs and IMMs in the proceedings of the Committee. A survey designed in consultation with the Committee was administered to ensure a meaningful participation by NHRIs in the development of the Guidelines. It is anticipated that the Guidelines once finalised will be adopted in 2016.

The NHRI training held from 4th to 8th May with fourteen (14) NHRIs participating was a key highlight. A new key feature was the use of interactive sessions, where trainees were required to immediately

1

apply the knowledge in practice. Approximately 80 applications were received for the training indicating a high interest in the training. Extremely positive feedback was received from participants and further training opportunities are being explored with the co-organizers.

The ICC Secretary, Professor Alan Miller was on Mission in Geneva from 2 -6 March 2015 to meet with key stakeholders and represent the ICC at the Human Rights Council in plenary and side meetings.

27th Annual Meeting of Chairpersons of Human Rights Treaty BodiesThe ICC participated in the Annual Meeting of Chairperson of Treaty Bodies, which took place from 22nd to 26th June in San José, Costa Rica. The Ombudswoman of Costa Rica represented the ICC at the meeting and delivered a statement on its behalf. The key outcomes of the Meeting were a call to the treaty bodies to harmonize modalities of engaging with NHRIs and the adoption of the common Guidelines against intimidation or reprisals (San José Guidelines).

UN engagement in New York ICC Mission to New York

The main highlight was the mission to New York led by the ICC Chairperson accompanied by the Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators and ICC staff. The activities conducted included an ICC statement to the 8th session of COSP, delivered by the new Chief Commissioner of the Canadian NHRI; an ICC side event at the COSP on 9th June on the roles of NHRIs in monitoring the implementation of the CRPD within the context of the SDGs; meetings with key stakeholders to inform the development of the ICC’s position paper on the extension of participatory rights in relevant UN bodies and mechanisms that are associated with the promotion and protection of human rights as proposed by the 2013 UN General Assembly NHRI resolution and to garner support of a Group of Friends for NHRIs in New York. There’s ongoing ICC consultation with Germany as the main sponsor of the NHRI resolution including through the good offices of the German NHRI. An ICC Position Paper has been developed to assist NHRIs in their advocacy with Member States.

Post-2015 development agendaNoting the limited inclusion of reference to national human rights institutions in the draft texts relating to the development of the sustainable development goals, the ICC working group on sustainable development continued to advocate for the support for the inclusion of NHRIs in the draft Outcome Document which was adopted in early August and participated in the meetings of the Open-ended Working Group.

STRATEGIC GOAL 2 - Build partnerships and engage external stakeholdersOutreach to partnersThe ICC continued to work closely with OHCHR-National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section (NIRMS). The ICC contributed to the OHCHR’s evaluation of its work with NHRIs including as a member of the evaluation’s Reference Group. A draft report of the evaluation was received during this reporting period and the ICC submitted its comments noting in particular a concern that there had been limited direct consultation with the ICC in the development of the report.

The ICC delegation to New York participated in the annual UNDP-OHCHR-ICC Tripartite Partnership meeting hosted by UNDP from 10th to 11th June 2015 at UNDP Headquarters and participated in the 3rd Annual NHRI Seminar series which focused on NHRI participation within the international human rights systems and their role as institutions of accountability.

Outreach to key stakeholdersThis area of work continues to evolve and while demanding particularly for the staff in Geneva, yields high and positive results. Cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and UNITAR continues in relation to the NHRI training and e-learning module tool for NHRIs. The training was supported by resources persons from the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT) and Child Rights Connect.



In addition, the ICC held several joint activities with key stakeholders, such as the Conference on Legal Accountability of Business for Human Rights Impacts in March 2015 in Geneva with FES, or a meeting to roundtable discussion on the establishment of a Swiss NHRIs with the Swiss NGO Platform.

The highlight was the outreach by the European Union (EU) to NHRIs through the inclusion of an NHRI Special Event at the European Union’s Development Days event for 2015. The Special Session focused on the role that NHRIs can play within development with a key focus on their role in the implementation of the SDGs. The meeting led to the identification of possible avenues for collaboration between the EU and the ICC at an international level and with NHRIs and their regional networks at the regional and domestic levels.

Outreach to Regional Coordinating CommitteesRegional and sub-regional meetings in Asia were attended as well as an important conference in Geneva providing opportunities for engagement with a number of ICC members and other stakeholders.

STRATEGIC GOAL 3 - Maintain and strengthen ICC accreditation processes (additional information supplemented by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) Report)

The highlight for this reporting period is the Roundtable on Accreditation held on 10th March 2015. The Roundtable was held following a Bureau decision to address in a concise manner the number of issues relating to accreditation that had emerged in order that the system could be strengthened. A set of recommendations were proposed and when implemented will strengthen the accreditation process by ensuring that the rules and working methods are understood by all role-players that participate in the accreditation system.

The Outcomes Report has been prepared in consultation with the SCA, regional coordinators and key resource persons and will be presented to the Bureau at its October 2015 meeting for adoption and subsequent implementation.

STRATEGIC GOAL 4 - To develop a sustainable and well managed ICCICC meetings

Bureau Meeting and 28th annual General MeetingThe ICC Bureau Meeting and the 28th General Meeting were held in March from 11th to 13th March and for the first time without support for translation from OHCHR which was undergoing restructuring and severe budgetary cuts. While successful, the withdrawal of financial and related support with respect to translation of meeting documents placed enormous strain on the ICC’s financial resources and capacity to meet the demands for organising the meeting effectively.

12th International ICC ConferencePreparations are underway for the 12th International ICC Conference which will be held from 8-10th

October in Merida, Mexico on “The Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for NHRIs?” Regular preparatory committee meetings have been held with the host NHRI the Mexican National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) and OHCHR-NIRMS. The meeting documents including the conference concept note and programme have been prepared in consultation with the ICC working group on sustainable development goals, OHCHR and UNDP, and ICC membership.

MembershipThe collection of membership fees went smoothly and by the end of August 2015 a total of 48/71 A-

3

status NHRIs had paid their membership fees. Special mention is made of B status NHRI Algeria for paying the full membership fees for 2014 and 2015 and to the NHRIs that paid not only 2015 membership fees but outstanding fees as well (NHRI Burundi, El Salvador and Nepal). Two NHRIs (Americas) requested a full waiver of the fees and one NHRI (Europe) requested reduction in the fees given difficult financial and political situation it faced. Despite payment not being at full compliance, few NHRIs make use of the waiver provision. The ICC continues to encourage NHRIs to contact the ICC Chairperson’s office should they have problems meeting their financial obligations to the ICC and encourages NHRIs to make use of the waiver facility.

The ICC continues to provide assistance to any NHRI that is under threat or facing difficult circumstances. During this period, the most notable intervention was the assistance provided to NHRI Australia when its President came under attack from Government following the NHRI’s publication of a report on the situation of migrant children in places of detention. The ICC in consultation with the Asia Pacific Forum continued to monitor the situation faced by the Maldives NHRI.

FinancesThe transition to the new accounting firm CBI has been smooth and the quarterly reports for the first two quarters January to June 2015 have been received. There is continued liaison with the accountants to ensure that the financial systems are strengthened.

A budget for 2016 has been drafted and will be presented for adoption by the ICC Bureau at its October 2015 meeting.

FundraisingThere have been further developments with the EU funding, with the funding being agreed to in principle. The proposal for the funding was formally submitted by NHRI Denmark to the EU in July and the ICC Bureau will consider ICC’s participation in the project including outlining activities for implementation at the Bureau Meeting in October 2015

The ICC fundraising Task team was formally established and the inaugural meeting was held in Geneva on 13th March 2015. The members are: NHRIs of Kenya (Chair), India (Secretary), Denmark (with respect to EU funding).

Human resources Capacity at Geneva office

Following approval by the ICC Bureau at its meeting in March, the ICC appointed the Assistant ICC Geneva Representative on a permanent basis. While this has provided much needed certainty in terms of capacity in the short term, this still falls short of adequately addressing the capacity needs of the ICC. As an organisation the ICC is largely dependent on the voluntary human resource contributions of its members in order to sustain itself. This is due to the ICCs’ income remaining reliant on annual subscriptions being paid by approximately 70% of members, the number of members increasing very slowly year on year and subscriptions fees not being increased. In the short term, the ICC can sustain this staffing complement but with the dependence on limited financial resources from subscriptions for their salaries, it is imperative that the ICC adopts and implements a fundraising strategy for its core functions.

The ICC Chairperson as mandated by the Bureau is considering recruiting an intern for 2016.

Administration and technology Communications Project

The implementation of the ICC Communications Project began in January 2015 for a period of six (6) months and has concluded successfully. The report and its recommendations will be presented to the ICC Bureau for adoption at its meeting in October 2015 and thereafter launched at the General



Meeting in March 2016 at the 29th ICC annual General Meeting.

5

STRATEGIC GOAL 1Enhancing ICC engagement with international and regional human rights mechanisms to strengthen awareness raising about

the ICC and NHRIsActivity Report

UN engagement Geneva(e.g. Human Rights Council;Universal Periodic Review;Annual Meeting of Special Procedures;Annual Meeting of Treaty Bodies;Treaty Body Meetings)

Human Rights Council (HRC) 28th Regular Session (2nd to 27th March 2015)The ICC prepared and delivered four (4) statements on:

i) High Level Panel on Human Rights Mainstreaming focusing on international cooperation; ii) High Commissioner's Annual Report.iii) General Segment which focused on the sustainable development goals (SDGs) with the initial draft

developed by NHRI Denmarkiv) Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the initial draft

developed by NHRI CanadaThe ICC welcomes the involvement of NHRIs in drafting ICC statements.

The ICC provided assistance and promoted NHRI participation at the HRC sessions including by:i) Contacting NHRIs from all regions to advice about reports and engagement opportunities with the HRC

28 session and to assist with preparationsii) Coordinating the drafting, consultation process and delivery of the ICC statements to the HRC 28.iii) Participating in organisational meetings of the HRCiv) Attending plenary and side-event meetings relevant to ICC and NHRIsv) Providing logistical support to NHRIs attending the HRC session and coordinating the delivery of NHRI

oral and written statementsvi) Contributing to the development of NIRMS Information Note for NHRI participation in the HRC 28.vii) Follow up with HRC President’s office and HRC Branch to ensure rules of procedure with respect to

NHRI participation at the session were adhered to

Engagement highlights included:i) Attendance at the Annual thematic discussion on technical cooperation in the promotion and



protection of human rights, with Dr Ali Bin Samikh Al Marri, Chairman of NHRI Qatar as a panellistii) Attendance at the side-event on the World Human Rights Forum with the President and members

of NHRI Morocco; iii) Attendance at the side-event on the Human Rights situation in Ukraine, with the Ukrainian

Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights;iv) Attendance at the side-event on the Egypt UPR with the Chairperson and members of the Egypt

NHRI

A total of eight (8) video statements were delivered by the NHRIs of Haiti, Malaysia, Scotland, Australia, Afghanistan, El Salvador and Bosnia & Herzegovina and a joint statement by the NHRIs of Great Britain, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Human Rights Council (HRC) 29th Regular Session (15th to 3rd August 2015)The ICC prepared with the support of individual NHRIs and presented (2) statements to the HRC on:

i) Interactive dialogue with the UN Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations; and

ii) Dialogue with a co-facilitator for the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

The ICC provided support to the NHRIs participating in HRC29. Various meetings were held with NHRIs in Geneva, the HRC Secretariat, OHCHR, the HRC President, member states and NGOs. The ICC attended and participated in HRC29 plenary and side-event meetings relevant to the ICC and NHRIs and delivered statements on behalf of NHRIs of S. Korea, Portugal and Palestine

A total of nine (9) video statements were delivered at the HRC29 by the NHRIs of Hungary, Malaysia (2), Afghanistan, North Ireland, Armenia, 2 joint statements by NHRIs of Great Britain, Scotland and Northern Ireland and another by the NHRI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

A more detailed report concerning the ICC’s engagement in the Human Rights Council sessions and NHRI statements is available on the ICC webpage.

NHRI Statements to the HRCThe NHRI of Azerbaijan delivered a statement to the HRC under the Panel on the rights of persons with disabilities. Following consultation with the ICC Secretary and the HRC Branch, the NHRI revised its statement

7

to avoid a possible point of order.

Engagement with the Human Rights Council PresidentThe ICC attended the meeting between the HRC President Ambassador Joachim Ruecker and NGOs held on 18th March and 19th June 2015 and has regular correspondences and meetings with the President's staff.

Universal Periodic Review (UPR)At the 21st UPR Working Group Session (19th to 30th January), the ICC attended the UPR sessions of Spain, Kenya, Armenia and Turkey; the side event on UPR on Kenya organised by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on 22nd January 2015 and held a meeting with the NHRI of Guatemala on UPR mid-term reporting and NHRI contributions to the HRC28.

The ICC provided support to NHRIs whose States had a UPR report adopted at both the HRC28 and HRC29. The NHRIs of El Salvador, Egypt and Bosnia & Herzegovina made oral statements when their respective State’s reports were being adopted during HRC28. During HC29 support was provided to NHRIs whose States had a UPR report adopted: NHRI Armenia participated through a video-statement at the adoption of the UPR Outcome report of Armenia and NHRI Kenya addressed the Human Rights Council at the adoption of the Kenyan UPR Outcome report. The NHRIs of Guatemala and Argentina submitted written contributions of their respective UPR Mid-term reports. Additional support was provided to NHRIs concerned with the 22nd UPR Working Group session (4th to 15th May).

Other activities included: attendance at the UPR sessions of Spain, Kenya, Armenia and Turkey; the side event on UPR on Kenya organised by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights on 22nd January 2015 and a meeting with the NHRI of Guatemala on UPR mid-term reporting and NHRI contributions to the HRC28 and treaty bodies.

Human Rights Committee (ICCPR)Engagement with the Human Rights Committee continued and support was provided to NHRIs where required. The ICC contacted NHRIs with respect to the 113th session (16th March – 2nd April 2015). As a result, NHRIs from Korea, Croatia and Greece submitted reports to the Committee and the NHRI of Croatia held an informal meeting with the Committee. The ICC followed up with NHRIs concerned with the Committee’s 114 th Session and provided advice and assistance where required on how to effectively engage with the Committee with the NHRIs of Spain, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Rwanda, Namibia, El Salvador, South Africa, Great Britain and Canada.



As a result five (5) NHRI reports were submitted to the Committee.

Committee on Economic and Social Cultural Rights (CESCR)The ICC reached out to NHRIs regarding engagement with the CESCR. Follow up was made with the CESCR secretary about NHRIs’ contribution to the CECR session (28 th February- 6th March 2015). NHRIs of Canada, France, Greece and Morocco sent reports to contribute to the adoption of the list of issues by the Committee.

Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)Following outreach (formal invitation letters) by CERD Secretariat to NHRIs to participate at the 86 th Session (27th April to 15th May) and follow up by ICC, the Committee received contributions from NHRI Albania and NHRI Guatemala.

The ICC contacted NHRIs concerned with the 87th Session (3rd– 24th August), that is, Colombia, Costa Rica, Netherlands and Norway and provided advice and assistance to the NHRIs on how to effectively engage with CERD. As a result of CERD Secretariat’s outreach through formal invitation letters and follow up by the ICC, the Committee received contributions from NHRI Netherlands, Costa Rica and Norway and the ICC facilitated NHRI Costa Rica’s oral brief to the Committee via Skype.

Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)NHRIs received advice and assistance with participation in the CEDAW Session (16 th February – 4th March). As a result, NHRIs of Azerbaijan, Denmark, Ecuador and the Maldives contributed with a report and the NHRIs of Denmark, Azerbaijan and the Maldives participated in the session. Together with the ICC the latter 3 NHRIs participated in the informal meeting between the NHRIs and the Committee. Additionally, the ICC attended the CEDAW opening session on 16th February 2015.

In consultation with NHRI Maldives, the ICC provided CEDAW with information on the case of reprisals against the NHRI prior to the review of the State by the Committee As a result, CEDAW inquired about the case of reprisals against the NHRI during the dialogue with the State.

Committee Against Torture (CAT)ICC engagement with the Committee continued and NHRIs received assistance and advice on the reporting process to the Committee’s 54th session (20th April – 15th May). As result, NHRIs of Colombia, New Zealand, Guatemala and Spain submitted reports to the Committee and NHRI Luxembourg provided an update of its

9

work on torture. For the 55th session (27th July-14th August) the ICC followed up with NHRI Iraq which then submitted a written contribution to the Committee. The ICC is currently engaged with NHRIs concerned with 56TH CAT Session (9 Nov-9 Dec): France, Mongolia, Ghana, Kenya, Netherlands, Poland and Portugal and is providing advice and assistance on how to effectively engage with the Committee. NHRI Netherlands has as a result made a written submission to the Committee in advance of the session.

Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)The ICC attended the CRC consideration of the States of Tanzania and Colombia in January and encouraged NHRI participation at the session and actively followed with NHRIs including by coordinating with OHCHR sending out an invitation to NHRIs. As a result NHRI Iraq submitted a written contribution to the CRC. Outreach, advice and assistance provided to NHRIs concerned with the 70th Session and the 72nd Pre-sessional Working Group of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (PSWG) resulted in the submission of written contributions to the Session (NHRI Chile) and the PSWG (NHRIs of UK and Luxembourg)

The ICC participated in the Best Practices Exchange Forum organised by Child Rights Connect on 5 th February 2015, for NGOs and NHRIs interested in the Pre-session (PSWG) of the CRC to exchange best practices and follow-up modalities. The ICC working in consultation with Child Rights Connect provided assistance and advice to NHRI of Timor Leste about participation at the PSWG and attended the PSWG meeting with the NHRI on 6th February 2015.

Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)/Disability RightsThe ICC attended the CRPD’s opening session held on 25th March 2015 and continued to engage with the CRPD Secretariat. Discussions were held with the CRPD Secretariat’s Jorge Araya on: ICC 28 and Panel on rights of persons with disabilities – CRPD Chairperson provided with a video-statement for the Panel and the development of the Guidelines on NHRI engagement with the Committee; Conference of State Parties (COSP); side-event during the CRPD Session by NHRI Denmark, WHO and OHCHR (Information and Capacity exchange meeting on HR Indicators and Statistics for Monitoring the CRPD); possible development of Guidelines by the Committee on monitoring the Convention at national level; developments and events about the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and rights of persons with disabilities; the Inter Agency Support Group on Disabilities and the development of the survey on the draft CRPD Guidelines on engagement with NHRIs which the ICC.

The ICC continued to provide support to NHRIs to facilitate their engagement with the Committee including



NHRI Germany which attended Germany’s CRPD review. A meeting was held with the Ombudsperson on disabilities of Croatia to provide information about the ICC, accreditation and opportunities of collaboration. ICC follow up with the NHRI Kenya resulted in its submission of a written contribution to the Committee’s list of issues with respect to Kenya’s review. Additional submissions to the CRPD 14th Session (17 August – 4 Sep) were received from European Network of NHRIs (ENNHRI), Serbia and Thailand and NHRIs of Kenya, Qatar and Ukraine participated in the session. The ICC attended and presented a statement at the Opening of the 14th Session. The statement was drafted in collaboration with the NHRI Canada and delivered on behalf of the ICC by NHRI Kenya

AgeingThe ICC reached out to NHRIs to encourage their involvement in the operationalisation of an ICC Working Group on Ageing (See NHRI Special Session Strategic Objective 2). NHRI of Northern Ireland expressed a keen interest to participate in the working group and to foster a relationship between the ICC working group and that of ENNHRI. Discussions are ongoing particularly given the need for an increased NHRI presence at the COSP and the momentum of the relationship between the ICC and the CRPD.

Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED)The ICC presented a statement to the CED on 5th February 2015 following an invitation to attend a formal meeting with the Committee. The Committee’s Chairperson welcomed meeting with NHRIs through video-conference and requested ICC’s support in organising such sessions should they arise; requested NHRIs to encourage the ratification of the Convention by States; and their support in addressing reprisals.

The ICC continued to provide support to NHRIs in engaging with the Committee: the Iraqi NHRI, received advice on and the ICC facilitated the submission of its written contribution to inform the development of the list of issues by CED and confirmed its participation in the 9th session (7th-18th September).

As a follow-up to the adoption of the CED Paper on the relationship between the Committee and NHRIs in 2014, the ICC was invited to meet with the Committee at the two sessions held in 2015. The ICC circulated a questionnaire in August to inform the ICC statement to be presented in September 2015 on activities done by NHRIs to implement the Committee’s paper.

Committee on Migrant Workers (CMW)The ICC participated in the Committee’s opening session and other meetings relevant to NHRIs. Additional

11

advice and support was provided to NHRI Timor Leste who’s State will come under review during the 23rd Session of CMW (31st August – 9th Sep) resulted in the NHRI confirming that it would be making a written contribution to the session Special ProceduresThe ICC facilitated NHRI involvement in the nomination procedures for vacant special procedures (SP) mandates resulting in a number of NHRI representatives submitting their candidatures for the vacant positions.

Annual Meeting of Treaty BodiesThe ICC represented by NHRI Costa Rica attended and delivered a statement to the Annual Meeting of the Treaty Bodies Chairpersons which was held in San Jose in Costa Rica (15th-24th June 2015). The meeting concluded with an emphasis on treaty bodies to harmonise modalities of engagement with NHRIs and the adoption of the San Jose Guidelines against intimidation or reprisals.

Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Persons (EMRIP) 8th Session (13th – 16th July)The ICC continued with engagement with the EMRIP secretariat and NHRIs in relation to the 8th session. The ICC coordinated NHRI engagement including delivery of statements by NHRI New Zealand, video statement by NHRI Australia and ICC Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and delivery of statements on behalf of NHRI Malaysia. Furthermore, the ICC attended the EMRIP session and related side events, held bilateral meetings with the Permanent Mission of Mexico and Guatemala and the Expert Barume to discuss the role of NHRIs in the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous persons. Other meetings were held with NGOs-New Zealand members of the Fund for Indigenous People, Indian Law Resource Centre on the participation of indigenous people at the UN. A report on the session was shared with regional networks. Supplementary information and statements are available on the ICC webpage

Training for NHRIsFollowing the successful training in May 2014, the second NHRI training was held in Geneva from 4th -8th May 2015. This was organised and conducted in partnership with OHCHR, Fredrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) and UNITAR with the support of resource persons from Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), CRC and C Gervais. 14 participants from NHRIs of Armenia, Costa Rica, East Timor, Ecuador, Finland, Georgia, Hungary, Nepal, Nicaragua, Malaysia, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia attended the training.

The ICC together with UNITAR is developing an e-learning training tool.



ICC Secretary’s Mission to Geneva (3rd to 6th March)The ICC Secretary was on Mission prior to ICC 28 to represent the ICC at HRC 28 and to hold meetings with key stakeholders.

Business and Human RightsThe ICC Working Group on Business and Human Rights (ICC WG on BHR) remains actively engaged with business and human rights activities at the international level. The ICC presented a statement developed by the ICC WG on BHR to the Open-ended Intergovernmental Working Group on Transnational Corporations and other business enterprises, which was held in Geneva from 6 to 10 July 2015. The NHRIs of Morocco (new ICC WG BHR Chair) and Denmark attended the session and a press release on ICC and NHRI participation is available on the ICC webpage.

There are ongoing preparations including advice and support to NHRIs in relation to the upcoming UN Forum on Business and Human Rights (Geneva, 16-18 November 2015) and identification of opportunities for NHRI engagement in the next session of the WG on TNCs.

UN engagement New York(e.g. General Assembly, New YorkExpert Mechanism on Indigenous PersonsPermanent Forum Indigenous PersonsConference of States Parties to CRPDCommission on Status of WomenUN Working Group on Ageing, New York)

ICC Mission to New YorkThe ICC delegation consisting of the ICC Chairperson, ICC Secretary, Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators and ICC Staff was on mission to New York in June primarily to participate in the Annual UNDP-OHCHR-ICC Tripartite Partnership Meeting (see Strategic Objective 2). Members of the ICC delegation attended COSP (see COSP below) and the ICC hosted a side event. Bilateral meetings were held with Executive Secretary of UN Women, a representative of the Executive Office of the Secretary General (SG) at UN headquarters, the Permanent Missions of Australia and Morocco; CRPD Chairperson; UN Office of legal Affairs; CSW Executive Secretary; Office of the Special Advisor to the SG on SDGs; and UN Department of General Assembly Conference Management. Key objectives of the Mission were:

i) To gain an understanding of the political dynamics in New York and its impact on the recognition of participation rights for NHRIs in New York based UN mechanisms.

ii) To garner support for the establishment of a NHRI Group of Friends from among Statesiii) To determine the modalities for the recognition of participation rights for NHRIs UN system-wide in the

context of the implementation of the 2013 UNGA NHRI resolutioniv) To raise awareness of NHRIs role in the promotion and protection of rights of persons with disabilities

including the role that NHRIs can play in COSP

13

Moreover, the ICC delegation participated in the annual UNDP / OHCHR / ICC - hosted NHRI seminar which was co-sponsored by Germany (See Strategic Objective 2)

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (PFII) &World Conference on Indigenous PeoplesThe ICC continues to engage with the Permanent Forum’s Secretariat to identify cooperation opportunities in order to facilitate NHRI contributions to the PFII and information sharing.

Post-2015 Development Agenda (Sustainable Development Goals-SDGs)The ICC established a Working Group on Sustainable Development following a Bureau decision in October 2014. The membership of the group currently consists of NHRIs of Ecuador (Chair), Denmark and Indonesia with the African region yet to appoint a member. While not fully functional, members of the WG under the guidance of the ICC Secretary, Professor Miller (NHRI Scotland) have remained engaged with the new sustainable development agenda process. The WG in particular reiterated the importance of including NHRIs in the text of the Outcome Document on Follow-up and Review mechanisms and in particular, the crucial role that NHRIs have to play in national-level assessments.

The 12th International ICC Conference to be held in Merida, Mexico from 8th to 10th October 2015 has a thematic focus on SDGS. Significant amount of work has gone into the development of the conference concept note and programme so as to spotlight the important role that NHRIs can play in the successful implementation of the SDGs. The ICC Conference will conclude with the adoption of a Merida Declaration and Programme of action for the ICC’s WG on SDGs.

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)The ICC continues to pursue strategies to enhance NHRI participation at CSW. As part of the engagement strategy to leverage NHRI recognition, the ICC Chair sent letters to UN Women Executive Director; the Assistant Secretary General Simonovic and the Chair of CSW Bureau. The ICC actively followed up with the regional networks and individual NHRIs attending the session (Australia, New Zealand and Malawi) and provided advice on engagement including speaking notes for meetings.

Conference of State Parties to the CRPD (COSP)The ICC delegation on mission to New York attended the opening session of the 8th Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on 9th June 2015 and the ICC statement to the COSP was delivered by NHRI Canada on 10th June 2015.



On 9th June, the ICC hosted a side event on NHRIS AND THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES - Monit-oring the CRPD and advancing the rights of persons with disabilities within the context of the new Sustain-able Development Goals. The side event was well attended and it is envisaged that financial resources per-mitting, the ICC will hold an annual side event at COSP. NHRIs of Costa Rica (panellist) Germany, New Zealand (panellist) and South Africa shared their experiences.

In addition to this, the ICC continued to engage with the CRPD Chairperson in relation to support for NHRI involvement and role at the COSP. At the CRPD Chairperson’s suggestion, ICC will seek for the inclusion of a panel on the role of NHRIs in the 9th session of COSP with NHRI Netherland having offered to take the lead in the preparations and ICC engagement

Secretary General’s (SG) Report/ UNGA resolutionFollowing the adoption of the 2013 UNGA NHRI resolution which requested that the SG prepare a report on the feasibility of NHRI participation in UN-system wide processes, the ICC conducted an internal ICC-member-ship-wide consultation on NHRI participation at UN level. Furthermore, the ICC conducted a high level mission to New York, to seek and receive advice on the matter. Thus, meetings were held with the Executive Office of the Secretary General, Office of Legal Affairs, Department of Conference Management (ASG level), UN Women, member states, UNDP, OHCHR, and NGOs. Based on the ICC-wide consultation and advice received during the mission, the ICC developed and adopted in consultation with the Bureau a Position Paper which sets out ICC-endorsed proposals towards strengthening NHRI participation in relevant UN bodies and mechanisms. The pa-per was submitted to OHCHR to inform the development of the SG's report and has been shared with all ICC members to assist in their advocacy with regard to respective states.

The ICC continues to engage with Germany as the resolution’s main sponsor and encourages NHRIs to conduct advocate domestically. The ICC is also conducting advocacy with other partners, stakeholders, the President of the General Assembly and Chair of the Third Committee.

The position paper is available on this link: http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/ICC%20position%20pa-per.pdf

15

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/ICC%20position%20paper.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/ICC%20position%20paper.pdf

STRATEGIC GOAL 2Build partnerships and engage external stakeholders

Activity Report

Outreach to partnersOHCHR/NIRMSUNDP

Joint activities in terms of thematic priority areas.

OHCHR/NIRMSRegular consultation continued with NIRMS and highlights of the interaction are detailed below:

i) Meetings and other activitiesThe ICC Chair and ICC Secretary held a meeting with the High Commissioner for Human Rights on the margins of ICC28. In his opening statement at the ICC28, the High Commissioner announced OHCHR restructuring and its implications for the relationship with ICC and NHRIs.

The ICC contributed to the development of the NHRI Information Note for the Human Rights Council sessions, provided support with translation of the SCA report and consulted with NIRMS on questions related to accreditation or NHRI membership.

ii) Evaluation of OHCHR’s support to NHRIsThe ICC contributed to the evaluation process as part of the Reference Group. The ICC received the draft report of OHCHR’s evaluation and raised concerns about the limited consultation that had occurred with either the ICC or its members.

UNDPRegular correspondence and communication took place with UNDP, including in preparation for the ICC Bureau meeting and ICC 28 in March. UNDP Assistant Secretary General Magdy Martinez-Soliman, Ms. Ana Patricia Graca, Policy Advisor on Rule of Law, Justice and Human Rights and Ms Sarah Rattray, Policy Specialist on Human Rights, consisting part of the new team at UNDP working with NHRIs, attended the Bureau MeetingAs agreed at the Bureau Meeting in October 2014, a preparatory committee meeting for the tripartite meeting in June was held in Geneva prior to ICC 28. Subsequent preparatory committee meetings were held from April to June in the lead up to the Tripartite Partnership Meeting held on 10th and 11th June 2015 in New York.

UNDP-OHCHR-ICC annual Tripartite Partnership Meeting, New York, 10th-11th June 2015



The ICC Chairperson, accompanied by the ICC Secretary, Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators and ICC staff participated in the 5th Annual Tripartite Partnership Meeting held at the UNDP Headquarters in New York. Discussions focused on: identification of key areas for collaboration opportunities as reflected in the strategic plans; NHRIs in the post-2015 development process; Human Rights Upfront initiative; ICC communications and knowledge management; global principles of NHRI capacity development; challenges faced by NHRIs and regional networks including reprisals.

Key action points included: the development by ICC of a joint protocol for partners for engagement where NHRIs faced reprisals or came under threat; securing additional support including from EU and the Multi Donor Trust fund for implementation of joint activities; establishment of a New York-based Group of Friends of NHRIs; showcasing the role that NHRIs can play including specifically supporting NHRIs in the implementation of the SDGs; and building ICC’s institutional capacity.

3RD Annual Seminar Series On National Human Rights Institutions, New York, 12 June 2015UNDP in collaboration with the OHCHR and ICC and with the co-sponsorship of Germany's Permanent Mission organised the third annual seminar on NHRIs. The topic of the seminar was: Participation of NHRIs in the International Human Rights System and the Role of NHRIs as Institutions of Accountability. The webcast of the seminar is available: http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/IHRS/UNNY/Pages/3rd-Annual-Seminar.aspx

Evaluation of the UNDP Global Human Rights Strengthening Programme (GHRSP)The ICC and various members participated through interviews in the evaluation of the UNDP Global Human Rights Strengthening Programme in July.

Outreach to key stakeholdersIOICivil Society

International Ombudsman Institute (IOI)The ICC and IOI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in Geneva in March 2015 during ICC28. It is an-ticipated that there will now be closer cooperation with the IOI and its members.

European Union (EU)NHRI Special Event on “Sustainable Development Goals: What Role for National Human Rights Institutions?”The EU invited all A and B status NHRIs to participate in the Special Event. The session explored how NHRIs can promote the inclusion of human rights in the post-2015 agenda, how they can ensure the implementation of in-ternational accountability as part of the SDG’s, facilitate the participation and inclusion of marginalised groups in development, contribute to a human rights-based approach addressing all development sectors and the po-

17

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/IHRS/UNNY/Pages/3rd-Annual-Seminar.aspx

tentials and challenges that NHRIs face when interacting with and bringing other actors together. The keynote speakers included the ICC Chairperson and Michel Forst from NHRI France and Special Rapportuer on the situ-ation of human rights defenders. NHRIs that contributed from the floor included: Mauritania, Indonesia, Afgh-anistan, Tunisia, Malaysia, Burundi, Ukraine, and Mexico. Several NHRIs were panellists in the side events that were held including NHRIs of Kenya, Scotland, Denmark and Morocco.

Additional information can be found from this link: http://eudevdays.eu/topics/sustainable-development-goals-what-role-national-human-rights-institutions

The event opened up opportunities for ICC/NHRI engagement with EU-human rights related bodies. Follow up is ongoing in close consultation with ENNHRI

States/Permanent MissionsThe ICC held meetings with various permanent missions in Geneva on an ongoing basis, these include:

i) The Australian Permanent Mission to discuss: events at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and the ICC early warning system for NHRIs under threat; Human Rights Council elections and Australia’s intention to run for the membership; AHRC side-event on sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI); Human Rights Council resolution and follow-up with States; and the 28 th ICC annual General Meeting.

ii) The Indonesian Permanent Mission to the UN to discuss the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Jakarta.

iii) The German Permanent Mission to the UN to discuss developments at HRC; ICC’s work of ICC and the roles of NHRIs; the General Assembly (GA) NHRI resolution as Germany is the main sponsor and Secretary General’s report to 70th GA session; and support being provided to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission( AIHRC).

Meetings with civil societyRegular meetings and liaison with civil society and other key stakeholders took place, highlights, where not mentioned in this report included:

▪ Association for the Prevention of TortureThe ICC retains a close working relationship with APT. Regular monthly lunch meetings with the APT NHRI Advisor were held and information on APT activities shared continuously and an introductory



meeting with the Chief of NIRMS was facilitated. (see additional information Swiss NGO Platform below)

▪ The International Bar Association (IBA)A meeting was held with a representative from IBA to discuss training opportunities for IBA members on international human rights system and to explore engagement opportunities on UPR, reprisals and role of judiciary and lawyers in the Maldives.

▪ NGO Platform for a Swiss NHRIThe NGO Platform for a Swiss NHRI together with the ICC and APT hosted a seminar on NHRI roles in federal states and explored the feasibility of the establishment of a Swiss NHRI in March on the margins of ICC28. The final seminar report was shared with the NHRIs that participated in the seminar (NHRIs of Australia, Germany & Canada) and is currently being used by the NGOs to press for a decision on the establishment of a NHRI in Switzerland.

▪ Raoul Wallenberg Institute (RWI)The ICC met with RWI representative in Brussels on the sidelines of the European Development Days event and discussed the CRPD monitoring training project and cooperation opportunities.

▪ UNICEFThe ICC held consultations with UNICEF about the operational research UNICEF was conducting to help build the evidence base on social accountability with and for children so as to develop guidelines and inform UNICEF programming; shared information with regional networks to seek information about NHRI activities, early July.

▪ Universal Rights Group (URG)The ICC participated in the URG Policy Dialogues on the Human Rights Council meeting on implementation of HRC outcomes. These include meetings held at Thai Permanent Mission in February where a statement on the role of NHRIs was presented. Further, NHRI Morocco represented the ICC in the meeting of the Human Rights Dialogue in Glion at a retreat in May 2015 hosted by PM of Switzerland and Norway.

▪ University of Padova

19

The ICC was invited in April to give a presentation on NHRIs to Master’s students enrolled at the University of Padova’s Human Rights programme on a study tour of Geneva.

Outreach to the Regional Coordinating Committees(RCCs)

The ICC Chairperson and ICC staff engaged on a regular basis with the various Regional Coordinating Committees. Interaction with the Regional Coordinating Committees and individual NHRIs is on a continuous basis in relation to all aspects of ICC’s work. This section will merely note a number of examples:

▪ The ICC Secretary attended the 20th APF Annual Meeting that was held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia from 26-28 August 2015.

▪ The ICC worked closely with ENNHRI to develop the concept note for the NHRI Special Event held during the European Development Days 2015 (EDD15) Event.

▪ The ICC participated in the EU Development Days’ NHRI Special Event held in Brussels, Belgium from 3-5 June.

▪ Engagement where an NHRI was in need or came under attack for instance NHRI Maldives (continued follow up after high treason charges levied against its members after engagement with HRC) , NHRI Australia (Government backlash following publication of report), NHRI Thailand (Constitutional review), NHRI Nepal (earthquake).

▪ Discussions continued with the ICC Secretary and ENNHRI on the transition of the ICC Chair to the European region.

▪ Development of papers in support of discussions on clarifying and strengthening the ICC accreditation process during the Roundtable on Accreditation

There have been a number of opportunities for the ICC to interact at the regional level , such as:

▪ The ICC Chair attended the NANHRI Steering Committee and General Assembly Meetings in March in Geneva

▪ The ICC Secretary attended the 12th General Meeting of The Arab Network for National Human Rights Institutions (ANNHRI) held in Amman, Jordan held on 26th July 2015

▪ The ICC represented by both the ICC Chairperson and ICC Secretary participated in the Conference on Legal Accountability of Business for Human Rights Impacts held in Geneva from 14-15 March and co-organised by FES

▪ The ICC is jointly hosting with the APF and the NHRI S. Korea an NHRI Special Session on the rights of Older Persons on 26 October 2015 on the margins of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) Confrence on



Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons. Assistance was provided in developing the concept note and programme, identification of speakers for the Session, outreach to NHRIs to attend the session and identification of an ICC representative to attend the session. The main objective of the session is to establish the ICC Working Group on Ageing whose terms of reference will include advocating for the recognition of NHRIs in the work of the UN open-ended working group on ageing. Information about the session is available on the ICC Webpage: http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Themes/Ageing/Pages/Seoul-ASEM-Conference.aspx

21

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Themes/Ageing/Pages/Seoul-ASEM-Conference.aspx

STRATEGIC GOAL 3Maintain and strengthen ICC accreditation processes

see additional information provided by the SCA

Activity Report

NHRI Preparation Assistance The ICC provides advice to NHRIs in relation to the accreditation process as required. For instance, the ICC received a request from ENNHRI Secretariat for support to lobby for a NHRI in Benin. This was referred to the NANHRI for further consideration.

SCA Meetingstwice a year

The ICC SCA held a session from 16 to 20 March 2015. ICC staff attend the SCA session as observers and where requested provide information on NHRIs, particularly in relation to NHRI engagement with international human rights mechanisms. The Session’s report is available on http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ICCAccreditation/Pages/SCA-Reports.aspx

The next SCA meeting will take place from 16th to 20th November in Geneva, Switzerland. Further information on this meeting is available here: http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ICCAccreditation/Pages/nextsession.aspx

Development of General Observations No general observations were scheduled for development during this period.

Accreditation Awareness raising During this reporting period, the ICC organised a Roundtable on Accreditation which was held on 10th March 2015 in Geneva prior to ICC28 to raise awareness about the accreditation process. The conclusions from the Roundtable will inform changes to strengthen the accreditation process including possible statutory amendments. Feedback was received from the SCA, NIRMS, ENNHRI and resource persons on the initial draft Outcomes Report. The final report will be made available on the ICC webpage and will be presented to the ICC Bureau at its October meeting for adoption

MonitoringDevelopment of FrameworkEstablishmentImplementation

Follow up was made with the SCA with respect to accreditation concerns raised by NHRIs and other actors including:

i) NHRI Venezuela with support from NHRI Nicaragua continued to raise concerns about the SCA recommendation to have the institution downgraded to B status



ii) The ICC Chair received a complaint from NHRI Palestine on the appointment process of membership to the SCA from the APF region

iii) The ICC Chair received a letter from a Member of the S. Korean National Assembly requesting his involvement in the review of the appointment of the new Chairperson of NHRI S Korea

iv) The ICC received and noted a complaint about the staffing composition of NHRI Malaysia

Additional NHRI-related communications relating to the work of NHRIs were received and included:i) The ICC received a complaint about the Costa Rican NHRI which was referred to the regional networkii) The ICC chairperson received and responded to an update on the activities that the NHRI of

Honduras was undertaking to implement recommendations from SCA

While on mission in New York, the ICC delegation held a meeting with NHRI Canada to discuss the transition process following the end of term of Canada as the Chair of the SCA

23

STRATEGIC GOAL 4To develop a sustainable and well managed ICC

Activity Report

ICC MeetingsGeneral Meetings; ICC Bureau Meetings;ICC Conference 2015

ICC Bureau MeetingThe ICC Bureau met in Geneva on 11th March 2015. The Bureau welcomed new members from APF-NHRIs of Australia and Mongolia and from Africa, the new Regional Chair from NHRI Cameroon. The draft record of decisions is available on the ICC webpage. Follow up continues in relation to the implementation of the Bureau decisions

28th ICC General Meeting (ICC 28)ICC 28 was held in Geneva on 12th to 13th March 2015. Preparations for ICC 28 included: drafting and preparing ICC Progress Report; ICC 28 Invitation letter, specific invitation letters for UNDP & NGOs; finalisation of the Record of Decisions from October 2014; development of ICC Bureau Meeting Agenda and ICC 28 programme; development of ICC 28 theme proposals document, development of agenda and concept note for the Roundtable on Accreditation and consultations related to this including identification of resource persons to assist.. The draft ICC 28 report prepared by NIRMS was received and edited during this period and will be made available on the ICC webpage once finalised.

12th International ICC ConferenceThe dates for the 12th International ICC Conference were confirmed in late June for 8th -10th October 2015. ICC staff together with NIRMS and staff from the host NHRI the Mexican National Human Rights Commission (CNDH) form the preparatory committee (Prep Com.). Regular Prep Com meetings have been held since June 2015 to ensure adequate planning for the Conference. The concept note, programme, general conference information note, information note for speakers, invitation to key speakers and follow up thereon have been ongoing. There has been ongoing consultation with regional coordinators and current members of the ICC WG on SDGs to ensure that the process of organising the conference is consultative. Members of the declaration drafting committee are in the process of being identified and it is envisaged that a draft declaration will be made available prior to the commencement of the conference. Challenges have been experienced with securing funding for interpretation and additional support has been sought from



NHRI Qatar. Whilst, CNDH will generously cover the vast majority of costs, the ICC will cover costs related to translation of documents and OHCHR is funding the participation of some NHRIs and speakers.

MembershipImprove systems and procedures for collection of membership fees

Provide assistance to new members and members under threat

Collection of membership feesDuring this period, the subscription fee invoices were sent to NHRIs and follow up was made with institutions with the support of the Regional Coordinating Committees where necessary. The detailed quarterly reports on the status of subscription fee payments were submitted to the Finance Committee and will inform the ICC’s Finance Report for the first two quarters. As at the end of August 2015, a total of 48 A status NHRIs and 1 B status NHRI had paid membership fees.

Awareness raising on Fee WaiversThe Guidelines for the Determination of Fee Waivers were disseminated to all NHRIs with outstanding membership fees and where necessary re-submitted to NHRIs at their own request and NHRIs were directed to the ICC webpage link to the Guidelines for further reference. However, despite encouragement to do so, few NHRIs make use of the waiver facility.

Membership Fee WaiversNHRIs of Haiti and Bolivia requested waivers for the subscription fees for 2015 and NHRI of Ukraine requested a reduction of fee owing to the financial crisis it faces occasioned by civil conflict.

Assistance to new members and members under threat / facing difficult circumstancesThe ICC liaised with individual NHRIs, Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinating Committees and the OHCHR NIRMS in relation to NHRIs that are experiencing difficult circumstances (e.g. NHRI Australia-Government backlash following publication of a report; NHRI Nepal –earthquake)

The ICC worked closely with the APF to provide support to the NHRI Australia whose President came under attack from the Government following the Commission’s publication of a report on the situation of migrant children in places of detention. A letter in support of the NHRI was written by the ICC Chairperson to the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot and copied to the High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Secretary General and the President of the Human Rights Council and is available on the ICC webpage). Furthermore, a meeting was held with the Australian Permanent Mission and the matter was discussed further. The ICC Chairperson was interviewed by various Australian media houses on the matter including ABC Radio on 26 th February 2015 where he reiterated the ICC’s support for NHRIs discharging their mandates in accordance to the Paris Principles. The UN Special Rapportuer on the situation of human rights defenders, Michel Forst (NHRI France) was consulted on the situation and kept abreast of the developments.

Further, the ICC enquired through NANHRI whether NHRI Algeria required any assistance following the terrorist attacks in Tunis in

25

March. The NHRI responded that they were coping and would inform the ICC should they require assistanceFinancesEnsuring effective and efficient financial systems

General financial mattersOn an ongoing basis, the ICC Chairperson’s office attends to the payment of invoices and refund requests, as well as the calculation and processing of per diem for travel by ICC Chair, ICC Secretary and ICC staff. Each month, the ICC bank statements are perused and an internal summary prepared in order to monitor budgetary spending whilst the quarterly books of accounts are provided by the ICC accountant.

Appointment of new ICC AccountantFollowing approval by the ICC Bureau, the CBI Group was appointed to manage the ICC financial and administrative matters (related to its staff in Geneva. To date the CBI’s services have been satisfactory. There has however been a challenge due to delays occasioned by incomplete information being provided by the ICC bank to grant the accountants viewing rights to the ICC Bank accounts. This has unfortunately resulted in the ICC Chairperson’s and Geneva office increased administrative workload.

2016 BudgetThe ICC budget for 2016 has been developed and will be presented to the ICC Bureau Members for consideration and adoption.

2016 Books of AccountThe ICC accountant, CBI Group, provided the books of account for the first two quarters of 2015-January to March 2015 and April to June 2015. Where necessary other supporting documents and clarifications were provided to the accountant to ensure that all income and expenditure was fully accounted for.

Information in support of ICC income and expenditure was presented to the Chair of the Finance Committee to inform the development of the ICC’s Finance Committee’s Report.

FundraisingEstablish Task team

UN Grant AgreementThe 2015 UN Grant will support the implementation of the Communications Project. The consultant–Neil Gaught & Associates- began implementing the project in January as scheduled.

FES / UNITAR TrainingThe ICC, through FES received funding for the NHRI training programme for 2015 and the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided additional funds to support the development of the e-learning training materials and for delivery and translation of the course.(See Strategic Goal One – Engagement with UN Geneva for further reporting on this training)



EU FundingNHRI Denmark (DIHR) held consultations with regional networks and held meetings with the ICC to determine the content of the proposal for the €5 million grant from the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights. The proposal was finalized and submitted by DIHR to the EU and ICC Bureau Members for consideration. However while the ICC provided guidance on the nature of anticipated activities in order to meet the proposal submission deadline, the ICC is yet to agree on the activities it will undertake as these will be dependent on a number of factors including the enhancement of ICC’s internal capacity to manage external funding. The nature of ICC’s activities will be determined during the inception phase of the project. The ICC Chair sent a full Update with all documents submitted to the Danish Institute via email to Bureau members on 22 July 2015.

Fundraising Task TeamThe Fundraising Task team held its inaugural meeting in March 2015 on the sidelines of the ICC28. The meeting confirmed the Chairperson as NHRI Kenya and Secretary as NHRI India. Other members of the Task Team are NHRI Denmark and Mexico.

Human ResourcesEstablish Task team

StaffThe Assistant ICC Geneva Representative’s position was changed to permanent following the Bureau’s endorsement of the ICC Chairperson’s proposal. There is still need to explore additional avenues for addressing the capacity challenges which the ICC faces. The proposed 2016 Budget provides again for an intern position to assist the Geneva based staff. ReportingAll ICC Staff continue to prepare monthly reports on their activities. This information is used in the development of the ICC Progress Report, the ICC Annual Report and monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the ICC Strategic Plan and Implementation Plan. While an initial draft of the Annual Report was prepared due to the implementation of the Communications Project and scheduling, the report will be finalised at a later agreed upon date.

Staff Meetings – a number of bilateral and full staff meetings have taken place during this reporting period.

Leave - ICC staff have taken leave during this period and this is duly recorded.Admin & TechnologyAccessible information project

Throughout the period, the ICC uploaded reports, press releases, and statements on the ICC webpage: http://nhri.ohchr.org

Communications ProjectImplementation of the ICC Communications’ Project commenced in January 2015. Several preparatory meetings were held with the firm appointed-Neil Gaught & Associates. Neil Gaught attended the ICC 28 meeting in March 2015 in Geneva and held a variety of meetings including with the ICC Chair, ICC staff, NHRI representatives, regional coordinators and OHCHR staff. A baseline survey to determine ICC members’ needs with respect to ICC Communications including the ICC name change was administered in May/June

27

and responses have been consolidated and will inform the final report and proposals for consideration. The full report will be presented to the Bureau Meeting in October 2015 in Mexico for adoption and the launch of the report and recommendations will be presented to the General Meeting in March 2016 at the 29th ICC annual General Meeting

Travel - during this period, substantial administrative work was conducted in relation to the travel needs of the ICC: the ICC Chairperson, ICC Secretary, Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators and ICC staff travelled on mission to Brussels, Belgium for the EU Development Days 2015 NHRI Special Event from 3rd -5th June and thereafter to New York from 8th-12th June to attend the COSP, the Annual UNDP-OHCHR-ICC Tripartite Partnership meeting and NHRI Seminar series. Administration - The ICC Chair was supported by staff in the preparation for the missions to Brussels and New York. Where necessary additional support was provided to the ICC Secretary on mission to Mongolia to attend the APF General Meeting

Translation and interpretationIn January 2015, NIRMS informed the ICC that it would no longer support translation and interpretation for ICC meetings with the exception of the SCA sessions. The withdrawal of support was not anticipated and was received after the 2015 ICC budget had already been adopted. The resultant burden on the ICC both in terms of time spent in sourcing translation of documents and finances has been enormous and has impacted for instance the number of statements, messages and ICC produced documents that can be translated. The Assistant ICC Geneva Representative’s support has offset some of the costs in relation to translation of short documents and key messages to members particularly in the Americas regional network. Additional interpretation support has been provided by ICC staff at some meetings.

Translation and interpretation costs were incurred as below:▪ Interpretation and documents - Accreditation Roundtable, ▪ Documents - March ICC Bureau Meeting and the annual General Meeting▪ Documents - ICC 12 Conference and October ICC Bureau Meeting▪ Draft ICC Human Rights Council 28 & 29 statements (French and/or Spanish)▪ ICC June 2015 side meeting at COSP▪ ICC statement to the Open-ended intergovernmental working group on transnational corporations and other business

enterprises

ANNEXURE A: ICC POSITION PAPER



NHRI PARTICIPATION IN THE UN HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEM

ICC POSITION PAPER



ABOUT THE ICC

The International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) is the international association for national human rights institutions from all parts of the globe. Established in 1993, the ICC promotes and strengthens national human rights institutions (NHRIs) to be in accordance with the Paris Principles, and provides leadership in the promotion and protection of human rights.

The ICC coordinates at an international level the activities of NHRIs established in conformity with the Paris Principles and promotes the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs in conformity with the Paris Principles in order to strengthen human rights domestically. It undertakes accreditation of NHRIs under the auspices of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and holds an annual meeting and international conferences to strengthen cooperation and share good practice between NHRIs.

The current ICC Chairperson is Adv. Lawrence Mabedle Mushwana, Chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission. The current ICC Secretary is Prof. Alan Miller, Chairperson of the Scottish Human Rights Commission.

ABOUT THIS PAPER

In this paper the ICC sets out its views about strengthening NHRI participation in relevant United Nations human rights mechanisms and processes. The paper is structured as follows:

Introduction Evolution of NHRIs and their participation at an international level Current participation Strengthening NHRI participation in relevant UN human rights mechanisms and processes Conclusions Recommendations

1

INTRODUCTION

National human rights institutions (NHRIs) in compliance with the Paris Principles are increasingly being recognised as important and unique actors in the advancement of human rights.

Though relatively new actors in the field having been formally recognised internationally in 1993, there is a common understanding that within each State, there is a need to establish an independent mechanism that would serve the primary purpose of advancing the promotion and protection of human rights in every aspect of society and in line with international human rights norms and standards.

As independent institutions of the state with a broad human rights mandate and powers, NHRIs work to bridge the gap between international and national human rights protect systems, to strengthen human rights domestically.

NHRIs are uniquely positioned to provide the UN with independent, authoritative and evidence-based information on national situations, and can in turn promote implementation of UN norms and standards in-country.

Effective engagement by NHRIs with UN mechanisms helps increase the impact the UN can have on national situations, to a level and extent that has to date been unprecedented.

UN member states - individually and collectively at General Assembly and Human Rights Council level - have acknowledged and further encouraged the positive contributions of Paris Principles compliant national human rights institutions across the work of the UN.

In line with this welcome recognition, NHRIs in all regions are increasingly making use of opportunities to engage with and through UN human rights mechanisms and processes.

NHRIs enjoy participation rights with a number of UN bodies, whilst in other relevant bodies suitable and acceptable modalities for NHRIs participation remain to be determined.

In resolution 68/171 of December 2013, the General Assembly has requested the Secretary-General to focus in his next report on the current participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs in the work of the Assembly and related processes, with a view to

Exploring the feasibility of enabling national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to participate independently in relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes in accordance with their respective mandates

Based on practices and arrangements agreed upon in Assembly resolution 60/251, Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 and 16/21 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/74

While ensuring their most effective contribution.1

As global association of NHRIs across the world, the ICC welcomes the General Assembly's initiative as a historic opportunity as the UN celebrates its 70th anniversary to send another clear indication that NHRIs

1 General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/171, dated 23 January 2014, OP 16.



are welcome to contribute in those areas of UN work that would benefit from their specific independent human rights expertise.

In this paper, the ICC sets outs why Paris Principles compliant NHRIs are uniquely positioned to participate in relevant UN mechanisms, the current practices for their engagement at the UN, and the provisions the ICC believes are required to ensure that NHRIs can most effectively do so.

The paper also sets out conclusions and recommendations.

EVOLUTION OF NHRIS AND THEIR PARTICIPATION AT THE UN

The General Assembly consideration of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs and their relation to the United Nations in resolution 68/171 of December 2013 reflects the important developments which have marked the unique relationship between the UN and NHRIs in the last decades.

Development of NHRIs

With the formal recognition at the Vienna World Conference in 1993 of the critical role of NHRIs in the human rights protection system,2 and the adoption of the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions by the General Assembly in resolution 48/134 (Paris Principles) later that year, the number of NHRIs has steadily grown in all regions of the world. Whilst in 1993 there was no more than a handful of NHRIs, at June 2015 more than 100 NHRIs exist worldwide of which 72 are in full compliance with the Paris Principles.3

NHRIs are independent institutions established by States with a constitutionally or legally entrenched broad mandate to protect and promote human rights.

Their establishment and operations are guided by the Paris Principles. The Paris Principles provide the international community, including Member States, UN and NHRIs themselves, with the minimum requirements for the establishment and functioning of NHRIs. These requirements, and the protection associated with it, help ensure that NHRIs can make most effective contributions to advance human rights domestically.

In order for NHRIs to effectively fulfill this mandate, the Paris Principles require that NHRIs have a diverse set of statutorily functions including:

At the domestic level

Monitoring and investigating the human rights situation at national and local levels, which may include complaints handling;

Advising the State, including on domestication of international human rights norms and standards, and engaging with rights-holders, communities and civil society;

Reporting to UN mechanisms and processes, on progress made in the implementation of human rights treaties; and

Cooperating with the United Nations and any other organisation in the United Nations system that are competent in the areas of the promotion and protection of human rights

2 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, Adopted by the World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, A/CONF.157/23, 12 July 1993.

3 http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Documents/Status%20Accreditation%20Chart.pdf

3

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Documents/Status%20AccreditationChart.pdf

Their establishment at the national level by the State based on internationally agreed principles positions NHRIs uniquely within both the national and international human rights protection systems.

NHRIs are distinct from NGOs and other civil society organisations, as NHRIs are mandated by the State and protected through constitutional or legislative norms. This, in addition to NHRIs' required compliance with the Paris Principles, provides NHRIs a particular legitimacy to advise the State on implementation of international human rights norms and standards and in turn report at UN levels on progress made. However, NHRIs and civil society organisations work closely together, and NHRIs are required to cooperate constructively and consult with civil society organisations, in order to comply with the Paris Principles.

At the regional and global level, NHRIs are increasingly organized through their four coordinating committees and through the ICC.4 The ICC and regional coordinating bodies provide support to NHRIs and serve as an important platform to share experiences and best practices on how NHRIs with their unique mandates and functions can enhance their work to protect and promote human rights, including through engagement with the United Nations at an international level.

The ICC is also mandated to review and accredit NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles. This process is supported by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as a permanent observer and serves as its secretariat.5

Accreditation ensures independence, pluralism, accountability and impartiality of NHRIs, in line with the requirements of the Paris Principles. Accreditation confers national, regional and international recognition, and protection, of the NHRI and its independence.

In granting A status accreditation which implies full compliance with the Paris Principles NHRIs also receive the right to participate in the work and decision-making of the ICC. The A status also grants the NHRI the right to address the Human Rights Council and other UN mechanisms including the treaty bodies.6

Speaking at the opening of the ICC 28th General Meeting on 12 March 2015, United Nations High Commissioner Zeid Raad Al Hussein noted that

“The Paris Principles are the basis for the credibility of NHRIs – in their country, their regions, and within the international human rights system. And the accreditation process is one of the major achievements of the ICC. Outcome recommendations have had real impact, leading many States to make legal and institutional reforms, and increase funding, to strengthen the capacity and effectiveness of NHRIs”.

Similarly, the Secretary-General in his reports to the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council (Council) has continuously welcomed the role and activities of the ICC in reviewing and accrediting NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles and has supported the ICC's efforts in ensuring a rigorous, transparent and fair process.7 By reporting regularly to the General Assembly and the Council, the Secretary-General provides the international community with a detailed and transparent account of the ICC accreditation process and the current status of accreditation of NHRIs.8

4 The Regional Coordinating Committees have been established to represent and support NHRIs at the regional level. There are currently 4 Regional Coordinating Committees, namely: the Asia Pacific Forum; the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions; the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions; and la Red de Instituciones Nacionales para la Promoción y Protección de los Derechos Humanos del Continente Americano. For more information see http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Contact/RegionalNet/Pages/Global.aspx.

5 For more information on the accreditation process see http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ICCAccreditation/Pages/default.aspx

6 See Report of the Secretary-General National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, document A/62/287, dated 21 August 2007, para 16.

7 See Report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/27/40 entitled Activities of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles, dated 30 June 2014, Conclusions and recommendations.

8 See e.g. latest Report of the Secretary-General entitled National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to the General Assembly A/68/208, dated 4 July 2013, and to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/27/39, dated 30 June 2014; and Report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/27/40 entitled Activities of the International Coordinating

http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/27/40



http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Contact/RegionalNet/Pages/Global.aspx



The General Assembly and the Human Rights Council, in their resolutions on NHRIs, have welcomed and recognised the importance of the accreditation process and have encouraged NHRIs and other bodies to seek accreditation status through the ICC.9 They have further noted with satisfaction the strengthening of the accreditation process and the continued assistance of OHCHR in this regard.10

In its resolution 68/171 of December 2013, the General Assembly

“Welcomes the important role played by the International Coordinating Committee, in close cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner, in assisting Governments, when requested, in the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions in accordance with the Paris Principles, in assessing the conformity of national human rights institutions with the ParisPrinciples and in providing technical assistance to strengthen national human rights institutions, upon request, with a view to enhancing their compliance with the Paris Principles, and calls upon Member States and other stakeholders, including United Nations agencies, to follow up on the recommendations of the Subcommittee on Accreditation of the International Coordinating Committee, with a view to enabling national human rights institutions to fully comply with the Paris Principles in both law and practice” and further

“Encourages national institutions, including ombudsman and mediator institutions, to seek accreditation status through the International Coordinating Committee.”

Assessed based on universally agreed principles – the Paris Principles – in an independent process hosted at the UN's heart of human rights system – the OHCHR – which provides status and legitimacy at UN level, NHRIs are arguably the most scrutinised actors that engage at an international level.

NHRI participation at an international level

The Paris Principles specifically require NHRIs to engage with the international human rights system, requiring that NHRIs: “… cooperate with the United Nations and any other organization in the United Nations system, the regional institutions and the national institutions of other countries that are competent in the areas of the promotion and protection of human rights”.11

Paris Principles compliant NHRIs are critical actors in the human rights framework and within the UN system. They are unique bodies, due to their broad state mandate to apply the full range of international human rights norms and standards; and their international accreditation system, to ensure independence, pluralism, accountability and impartiality.

NHRIs serve an important bridging role between the UN and the country level. As expert bodies at national level, they provide the local application of international human rights norms and standards, with full understanding of the local context. They are trusted and legitimate partners to report, in their independent capacity next to States and other stakeholders, to UN bodies the human rights situation on the ground.

Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles, dated 30 June 2014.

9 See General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/171, adopted on 18 December 2013, OP 22 and 23; and Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/27/18, dated 7 October 2014, OP 13 and 14.

10 Ibidem.

11 Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles) Adopted by General Assembly resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993, Competence and responsibilities 3, e).

5

The combination of this two way exchange provides a mutually reinforcing flow of information and action, to promote and implement international human rights norms and standards and recommendations in-country. Paris Principles NHRI participation in, and contributions to, the UN level therefore not only helps the UN and its mechanisms understand the human rights situation on the ground. It also helps to achieve the implementation of international human rights norms and standards at the national and local level.

Addressing the ICC 28th General Meeting on 12 March 2015 in Geneva, Human Rights Council President Joachim Ruecker noted that

“Looking at the interaction between NHRIs and the Human Rights Council, NHRIs can indeed help to translate our work at the Council into real action. NHRIs support us not only by being a unique source of information, ensuring that we have a better understanding of national human rights situations but also – and primarily – by taking our work from Room XX back home. They help us to make our work public, to create domestic space for our discussions, to contribute to translating our recommendations into policies at the national level. All in all, NHRIs contribute to both, the strengthening of human rights at the national and international level. And for me, as President of the Human Rights Council, it is therefore only logical to see that the Human Rights Council continues to call for an active role of NHRIs in its work”

He further concluded that

“The more NHRIs and the ICC work with the Council, the more fruitful our work will be, the more effective it will be.”12

Over the past decades the United Nations has seen a substantive growth in the participation of, and contributions from, Paris Principles NHRIs, their regional coordinating committees and the ICC to the United Nations mechanisms and processes.

The Secretary-General has regularly documented and reported to Member States these developments in his annual and biannual reports on NHRIs and the ICC accreditation process respectively, both at Council and General Assembly levels.13 These figures demonstrate not only an increase in the participation of NHRIs in a variety of activities of the UN, but are also illustrative of the importance and value that NHRIs themselves attach to engaging at UN levels.

NHRIs contribute to the work of the UN in a number of ways.

They report to the UN credible, independent and evidence-based information about the local application of international human rights norms and standards. In doing so, they provide the UN with authoritative indication about where progress has been made and implementation challenges remain.

In turn, this information assists the UN to assess the national situation based on which it can develop targeted and detailed recommendations, which are meaningful and relevant to the specificities of each national situation.

The engagement of NHRIs in the Human Rights Council's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is an illustrative example. NHRIs enjoy the right to provide the UPR with specific information on the national situation, which is used as a source of information for Council's UPR Working Group to formulate responses and recommendations to the Member State under review. The General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have both specifically welcomed these important contributions of NHRIs to the UPR.14

12 The Human Rights Council President's statement is published at http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/AnnualMeeting/28/Reports%20of%20the%20UN%20SecretaryGeneral/20150312_Speech_President_Ruecker_ICC_28_General_Meeting_Opening_Ceremony.pdf

13 See Report of the Secretary-General entitled National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to the General Assembly A/68/208, dated 4 July 2013, and to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/27/39, dated 30 June 2014, Annexes.

14 See General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/171, adopted on 18 December 2013, OP 12, and resolution A/RES/66/169,




NHRIs also work to increase awareness of and involvement by national-level institutions and actors of the work of the UN, thereby helping to make the UN more relevant to the national and grassroots level, including rights-holders themselves.

As an example, the German Institute for Human Rights undertook to summarize and translate into German the key findings and recommendations in the report of the Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief to the 28th Council's session.15 This initiative has assisted in bringing the report findings and recommendations closer to the broader German public and to rights-holders, as well as to promote consideration in-country of follow-up to the reports' recommendations.16

NHRIs advise the state on implementation of international human rights norms and standards and recommendations resulting from UN bodies. This includes advice on ratification of international human rights treaties and their domestication into national laws and policies.

As an example, the Defensoria of Peru, Peru's Paris Principles compliant NHRI, has used its statutory powers of legislative initiative to develop and present in Congress a draft Law on indigenous peoples' rights to free, prior and informed consent. The draft Law was elaborated by the NHRI in close consultations with a number of actors including indigenous peoples on the basis of the provisions outlined in the United Nations Declaration on Indigenous Peoples and the work of the Human Rights Council's Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Indigenous Peoples. The draft was approved by Congress in August 2011 as first of its kind.17 Once adopted, the NHRI of Peru informed the Council that it would share experiences and lessons learned.18

Based on their monitoring and reporting mandates, NHRIs monitor the implementation of international human rights norms and standards and their States' commitments. Many NHRIs use their annual reports, which are public and regularly submitted to Government and Parliament, or special thematic reports to inform about progress made in the implementation.

The Australian Human Rights Commission has adopted the practice of including in its annual reports to Parliament, UPR and treaty body recommendations addressed to Australia with an update on status of implementation from the Commission's perspective. This practice provides not only for a standing national-level mechanism to periodically assess progress made in implementation of recommendations but also engages an important other implementation actor, Parliament. The information is also used to report to the Human Rights Council progress made by Australia in implementation of UPR recommendations.19

Importantly, cooperation between NHRIs and the UN also helps strengthen NHRIs' work in-country.

The then Special Rapporteur on the right to health Paul Hunt visited Uganda in 2007 and recommended Uganda a human rights-based approach to tackling neglected tropical diseases. To this end, he recommended in his report to the Council that the Uganda Human Rights Commission, as independent

dated, 11 April 2012, OP 9; and Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/27/18, dated 7 October 2014, OP 18 and 19, and resolution A/HRC/23/17, dated 24 June 2013, OP 12.

15 Document A/HRC/28/66.

16 http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/Gewalt%20im%20Namen%20der%20Religion%20-%20Berichtszusammenfassung %20Heiner%20Bielefeldt.pdf

17 Decimoquinto Informe Anual de la Defensoría del Pueblo al Congreso De La República, January-December 2011, p. 65-68. Availbale at: http://www.defensoria.gob.pe/modules/Downloads/informes/anuales/15-informe-anual-dp.pdf

18 Report of the Human Rights Council on its eighteenth session A/HRC/18/2 (12-30 September 2011), dated 22 Octubre 2012, para. 69. Available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G12/177/56/PDF/G1217756.pdf?OpenElement

19 Written submission by the Australian Human Rights Commission - Note by the Secretariat, document A/HRC/28/NI/1 of 26 February 2014.

7

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/Gewalt%20im%20Namen%20der%20Religion%20-%20Berichtszusammenfassung%20Heiner%20Bielefeldt.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Documents/Gewalt%20im%20Namen%20der%20Religion%20-%20Berichtszusammenfassung%20Heiner%20Bielefeldt.pdf

human rights institution, establishes a special health unit for neglected diseases, with a monitoring mandate and a mandate to report to and advise Parliament. The unit was subsequently established with the support of and advice from the Special Rapporteur and donors. It has a strong investigative, monitoring and reporting mandate, and provides critical advice to State agencies. Following the establishment of the unit, the Uganda Human Rights Commission reported back to the Human Rights Council.20

Individually and collectively through the ICC and their regional coordinating networks, NHRIs have played an important role in supporting the UN's work in developing international human rights treaties and other norms and standards.

One of the historic accolades of this role was the inclusion of NHRIs during the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). NHRIs were formally recognised in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee established by the General Assembly to develop the Convention.21

Working through the ICC, NHRIs had their own speaking slot under each agenda item and contributed to each stage of the drafting process. Their advice, as independent expert bodies, was called upon by Disabled Peoples Organisations, States and the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee.

The General Assembly particularly welcomed the contributions made by NHRIs to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, by

“Stressing the importance of the active participation of inter-governmental and non-governmental organisations and national human rights institutions in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee, and their valuable contribution to the promotion of the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by persons with disabilities”. (Emphasis added)

and by

“Welcoming the valuable contributions made by inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations and national human rights institutions to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee”.22 (Emphasis added).

Effective NHRI participation thus helps ensure the UN is connected to the realities at national and local levels. It means receiving knowledge from a unique and trusted source of information about the local implementation of States' international commitments and indications where human rights challenges remain.

NHRI participation also helps the UN maximise the effectiveness of its responses to national situations and challenges, for independent and credible information is essential for decision-making and NHRIs are often the holders of this information

Participation of NHRIs supports greater awareness about human rights violations globally and is an effective means of holding States accountable for their actions, at global and national level.

NHRIs are responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in-country and what takes place within the UN is closely monitored. Where matters impact on human rights and whether these emanate from the Human Rights Council or other UN bodies, NHRIs in terms of their mandates are duty-bound to create awareness, conduct advocacy and carry out follow-up if these actions will support the promotion and

20 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health,Paul Hunt -Addendum - MISSION TO UGANDA, E/CN.4/2006/48/Add.2, 19 January 2006. Available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/105/24/PDF/G0610524.pdf?OpenElement

21 NHRI participation to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee was based on GA resolution 56/168, by which the General Assembly “Decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee, open to the participation of all Member States and observers of the United Nations, to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities”. (Emphasis added).

22 General Assembly resolution 61/106 of 24 January 2007.

http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/105/24/PDF/G0610524.pdf?OpenElement#_blank

http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/G06/105/24/PDF/G0610524.pdf?OpenElement#_blank



protection of human rights.

Overall, effective NHRI participation helps bridge the critical “implementation gap” between global commitments made by States and their realisation for rights-holders at the national and local level. Effective NHRI participation thus also means an effective UN, ensuring its continued relevance, and impact on the lives of peoples everywhere.

UN support to NHRIs and their participation at the UN

The establishment of NHRIs in-country and their participation internationally has been continuously supported and further encouraged by the United Nations including its Secretary-General and Member States at General Assembly and Human Rights Council levels.

In its most recent resolution on NHRIs of January 2014, the General Assembly

“welcom(ed) the rapidly growing interest throughout the world in the creation and strengthening of independent, pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights”,

whilst

“recognizing the important role of the United Nations, in particular the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, in assisting the development of independent and effective national human rights institutions, guided by the Paris Principles,

and recognizing also in this regard the potential for strengthened and complementary cooperation among the United Nations, the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and those national institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights.”

The General Assembly further welcomed

“the contribution of national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to the work of the United Nations”

whilst further encouraging

“national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to continue to participate in and contribute to deliberations in all relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes in accordance with their respective mandates”.23

At the operational level, engagement between the United Nations and NHRIs has also undergone vast qualitative and quantitative changes in recent years. As the strengths of NHRIs and the potential for their complementary with the United Nations grew more evident, they have become indispensable partners in all operative areas of the United Nations' work.

This has become particularly visible through the establishment of a Tripartite Partnership Agreement between the ICC, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the OHCHR which was concluded in March 2010. The partnership aims at increasing cooperation among the parties towards better coordinating and leveraging of knowledge, expertise and capacity aimed at strengthening the effectiveness of national

23 General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/171, dated 23 January 2014, OP 14 and OP 15.

9

human rights institutions (NHRIs) and has been welcomed by the Secretary-General and the General Assembly.24 As a result, annual Partnership Meetings take place in June in New York and the 5 th such meeting was concluded in June 2015. The Partnership has evolved and increasingly the benefits to all parties are being realised.

The United Nations Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Issues (IASG), established to support and promote the mandate of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues within the United Nations system, at its last meeting in December 2014 met with the ICC to discuss opportunities to further promote the roles of NHRIs in relation to indigenous issues across the work of the United Nations. The IASG report was presented to and discussed at the 14th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues in April-May 2014.25

NHRIs enjoy relationships with a number of UN agencies that report annually to the General Assembly such as UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund); UNDP (United Nations Development Programme); UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund); UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees); OCHA (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

NHRIs also work with inter-governmental organisations such as IOM (International Organisation for Migration).

CURRENT PARTICIPATION

To respond to the increase in numbers of NHRIs in-country, and their developing recognition and participation at an international level, a number of United Nations mechanisms and processes have developed practices and arrangements to enable Paris Principles compliant NHRIs to participate independently in their work, albeit to varying degrees. The level of space and support UN mechanisms and processes have provided to NHRI participation has directly impacted on the level of NHRIs' most effective participation.

United Nations Human Rights Council

At the United Nations Human Rights Council (Council), a subsidiary body of the General Assembly, Paris Principles compliant NHRIs, their regional coordinating networks and the ICC enjoy a broad range of participation opportunities.

NHRIs accredited by the ICC as being in compliance with the Paris Principles, their regional coordinating networks as well as the ICC may attend regular and special sessions of the Council, at which they have allocated seating and to which they may host side-events.26 They may make oral interventions and submit written information under each of the Council's agenda items.27 NHRIs, their regional coordinating networks and the ICC have also participated in inter-governmental consultations to inform the development of draft Council resolutions. The same participation opportunities extend to the Council's mechanisms and bodies,

24 See General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/171, dated 23 January 2014, OP 21, and the Report of the Secretary-General entitled National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/20/9, para.86

25 IASG report. Report on the Inter-Agency Support Group on Indigenous Peoples’ Issues annual meeting for 2014 E/C.19/2015/7, dated 6 February 2015, para. 28-35. Available at: http://daccess-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N15/033/43/PDF/N1503343.pdf?OpenElement

26 Report of the United Nations Secretary-General entitled National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, document A/62/287, dated 21 August 2007, para 7.

27 Ibid., See also Report of the United Nations Secretary-General entitled National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, document A/64/320, dated 24 August 2014, page 16.



including the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,28 the Council's Advisory Committee,29 the Forum for Business and Human Rights,30 and the newly established Forum on the Rule of Law and Democracy.31

These contribution opportunities originated at the former Commission on Human Rights, a functional Commission under the United Nations Economic and Social Council.32 When the General Assembly replaced the Commission on Human Rights with the Council, it decided that the Council would work in close cooperation with NHRIs,33 based on the same practices and arrangements observed by the Commission on Human Rights, while also seeking to ensuring the most effective contribution of NHRIs to the Council's work.34

In 2011, the Council decided to examine the first five years of its operation. A key outcome of the review was the strengthening of opportunities for Paris Principles compliant NHRIs to contribution to the Council's work.35 The Council furthermore granted Paris Principles compliant NHRIs the opportunity of addressing the Council via pre-recorded video-statements.36 In its subsequent resolutions on NHRIs, the General Assembly welcomed the extension of NHRI participation opportunities and continuously encouraged NHRIs to make use of them.37

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights is also mandated to confirm with the Council the credentials for Paris Principles compliant NHRIs to the Council, based on the outcomes of the ICC accreditation process.38

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in close cooperation with the ICC also assists Paris Principles compliant NHRIs as they engage with the Council and its mechanisms.39

This includes sharing Human Rights Council documentation and reports, providing timely information to NHRIs about contribution opportunities and facilitating the submission of NHRI contribution including video-statements and NHRI accreditation to the Council.40 An OHCHR-developed NHRI information note

28 Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/6/36, entitled Expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous peoples, 14 December 2007, OP 9.

29 See Rules of procedure of the Human Rights Council Advisory Committee [Adopted by the Advisory Committee on 6 August 2009], A/HRC/AC/3/2 Annex III, Rule 19; and Report of the Advisory Committee on its fourteenth session, document A/HRC/AC/14/2, 27 February 2015, Action taken by the Advisory Committee, 14/4 Review of the Methods of Work, OP5.

30 Human Rights Council Resolution A/ HRC/RES/17/4, entitled Human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises, of 6 July 2011, OP13.

31 Human Rights council Resolution A/HRC/RES/28/14, entitled Human rights, democracy and the rule of law, of 9 April 2015, OP3.

32 And outlined in Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/75 of 20 April 2005.

33 Resolution of the General Assembly 60/251 of 15 March 2006, Operative Paragraph 5 (h).

34 Resolution of the General Assembly 60/251 of 15 March 2006, Operative Paragraph 11.

35 Report of the open-ended intergovernmental working group on the review of the work and functioning of the Human Rights Council A/HRC/WG.8/2/1, of 4 Mai 2011; Resolution of the Human Rights Council 16/21 of 12 April 2011; and Resolution of the General Assembly 65/281 of 20 July 2011.

36 Human Rights council Resolution A/HRC/RES/16/21, entitled Review of the work and functioning of the Human Rights Council (2011); and the Human Rights Council Decision A/HRC/DEC/19/119, entitled Task force on secretariat services, accessibility for persons with disabilities and use of information technology, 25 April 2012.

37 Resolution of the General Assembly 66/169 of 11 April 2012, OP10; and Resolution of the General Assembly A/RES/68/171 of 23 January 2014, OP13.

38 See the documentImplementation Of General Assembly Resolution 60/251 Of 15 March 2006 Entitled “Human Rights Council, Report of the Secretary-General on national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights,A/HRC/4/91, dated 8 February 2007, para 16.

39 See the Report of the Secretary-General entitled National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/20/9, para. 88-71.

40 Ibidem.

11

setting out NHRI participation opportunities and logistical details is provided to the ICC and NHRIs in advance of each Council regular session and focal points for NHRI engagement are established at the Council.41 The OHCHR makes regular use of the ICC to disseminate Council-specific information to NHRIs and coordinate their engagement.

The combination of clear and broad participation rights for Paris Principles’ compliant NHRIs and the level of practical support they receive from OHCHR in close cooperation with the ICC has directly contributed to ensuring NHRIs' increasing and most effective participation in the work of the Council, in line with the vision of General Assembly resolution 60/151.

Figure 1: Oral statements of NHRIs, Regional Networks, and ICC at the Human Rights Council, March session 2011 – June session 2015.

From the perspective of NHRIs the provision of delivering pre-recorded video-statements to Council sessions has further facilitated NHRI effective participation to hitherto unprecedented levels.

Figure 2: Video-statements of NHRIs, Regional Networks and ICC at the Human Rights Council, March session 2012 – June session 2015.42

41 See http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NHRIParticipation.aspx.

42 Figures provided at the Secretary-General reports to the Human Rights Council and from the ICC.

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/Pages/NHRIParticipation.aspx



United Nations Treaty Bodies

Similarly, NHRIs enjoy a broad range of participation rights in their independent capacity at all stages of the proceedings of United Nations human rights treaty bodies, including reporting, review and follow up. The treaty bodies are established to monitor the implementation by States parties of international human rights treaties which have been adopted by the General Assembly.

A number of treaty bodies have developed General Comments or formal position papers on their working relationship with NHRIs. These include the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, 43 the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women,44 the Committee on the Rights of the Child,45 the Human Rights Committee,46 the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,47 and the Committee on Enforced Disappearances.48 Following a historic meeting between the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Committee) and the ICC in September 2014, which was co-sponsored by the United Nations Office in Geneva and the International Telecommunications Union, the Committee decided to develop similar guidelines to guide its engagement with NHRIs.49

Whilst the practices may vary from one treaty body to another, NHRIs generally have the opportunity to submit written information in advance of the States' examination; meet formally in public or closed

43 General recommendation XVII on the establishment of national institutions to facilitate the implementation of the Convention, Forty-second session (1993).

44 CEDAW has issued a statement entitled Statement by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women on its relationship with national human rights institutions, E/CN.6/2008/CRP.1. Avilable at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/CEDAW/Statements/StatementOnNHRIs.pdf

45 General Comment nº2: The role of independent national human rights institutions in the promotion and protection of the rights of the child, CRC/GC/2002/2. Available at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CRC%2fGC%2f2002%2f2&Lang=en

46 See Paper on the relationship of the Human Rights Committee with national human rights institutions, adopted by the Committee at its 106th session (15 October–2 November 2012), CCPR/C/106/3. Available here: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CCPR%2fC%2f106%2f3&Lang=en

47 General Comment No. 10 (1998) on the role of national human rights institutions in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights (E/C.12/1998/25).

48 The relationship of the Committee on Enforced Disappearances with national human rights institutions, CED/C/6, 28 October 2014. Available at: http://tbinternet.ohchr.org/Treaties/CED/Shared%20Documents/1_Global/CED_C_6_7527_E.pdf

49 Outcome of the meeting between the Committee and national human rights institutions and independent monitoring mechanisms, CRPD/C/12/2, Annex V.

13

meetings with the Committee; meet privately with the Committee; and contribute with information about implementation of recommendations to treaty bodies' follow-up procedure. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities have adopted the practice of inviting NHRIs to address the Committee's public meeting during the examination of the State Party.50

At both public and private meetings, as well as when addressing the Committee, NHRIs are provided separate seating and speaking slots.

The OHCHR in its function as secretariat to UN treaty bodies provides information to NHRIs about their engagement opportunities in the reporting and follow-up procedures, as well as in special events such as Days of General Discussion. Similarly to the Council's practices, the OHCHR develops information notes for NHRI participation in each treaty body session. It also directly engages in close cooperation with the ICC with individual NHRIs to facilitate their contributions to the work of the treaty bodies and has developed the use of IT services such as video-conferencing with a view to further facilitating NHRIs' most effective contributions.

The combination of clear and broad participation rights for Paris Principles’ compliant NHRIs and the level of practical support they receive from OHCHR in close cooperation with the ICC has directly contributed to ensuring NHRIs' increasing and most effective participation throughout the work of treaty bodies.

The Secretary-General has documented the increase in both number and quality of NHRI participation in the work of treaty bodies.

Figure 3: Contributions of NHRIs to the Treaty Bodies, from 2012 to 2014.

The Council and the General Assembly have regularly recognised the important role that NHRIs play within the treaty body processes.51

50 Committee on the elimination of racial discrimination, Rules of Procedure, Rule 40, para.2; and the Information Note for NHRIs of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/CRPD/Pages/NoteonNHRIParticipation.aspx

51 NHRI resolutions and TB strengthening process.See General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/171, adopted on 18 December 2013, OP. 12 and 14; and General Assembly Resolution 66/268, Strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human



International Conferences under the auspices of the General Assembly

NHRIs have also enjoyed independent participation rights in all major human rights-focused International Conferences in the past decades hosted under the auspices of the General Assembly.

A historic precedent for the participation of NHRIs was the Vienna World Conference in 1993, at which the General Assembly decided to formally recognise NHRIs as observers to both the Conference and its preparatory process.52

Building on this precedent, the General Assembly granted NHRIs independent participation rights at the World Conference Against Racism in 200153, the Durban Review Conference in 200954 and most recently the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples in 2014.55 Their respective outcome documents specifically acknowledge the roles and contributions of NHRIs.56

The Durban Review Conference's rules of procedure allowed for the participation of NHRIs in both the Conference and its preparatory process based on arrangements and practices agreed upon by the Commission on Human Rights, including resolution 2005/74 of 20 April 2005, while ensuring their most effective contributions.57

The ICC as well as individual NHRIs actively participated in the meetings of the Preparatory Committee and contributed to the Durban Review Conference with formal oral and written statements and held an NHRI side event co-hosted by the OHCHR and the ICC.58 NHRIs participation and activities were supported and facilitated by the OHCHR working in close cooperation with the ICC.59 This included dissemination of information and documentation, facilitation of their accreditation as NHRIs and allocation of separate seating.

The active and effective participation of NHRIs was welcomed by all actors, and the final Durban Review Conference outcome document points out specific NHRI contributions to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.60

rights treaty body system, adopted on 9 April 2014, PP 19 and 23.

52 Provisional Rules of Procedure for the World Conference on Human Rights, Rule 64 entitled “Representatives of national human rights institutions”, PC.2/8 adopted on 10 April 1992, adopted by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/47/122 on 18 December 1992.

53 Provisional Rules of Procedures for the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Rule 65 entitled “Representatives of national human rights institutions”, A/CONF.189/2 of 14 August 2001, adopted at the Durban World Conference on 31 August 2001, Document A/CONF.189/12.

54 Provisional Rules of Procedure for the Durban Review Conference, Rule 65 entitled “Representatives of national human rights institutions”, A/CONF.211/3 of 30 January 2009, adopted at the Durban Review Conference on 20 April 2009, Document A/CONF.211/8.

55 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, entitled “Organization of the high-level plenary meeting of the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly, to be known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples”, A/RES/66/296, dated 15 October 2012. The outcome document adopted by the Conferences explicitly welcomes the increasingly important role of national human rights institutions in contributing to the achievement of the end of the Declaration.

56 Report of the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, Durban, 31 August - 8 September 2001, document A/CONF.189/12, Declaration para. 112-113; Outcome document of the Durban Review Conference 2009, adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 64/148 on 18 December 2009.; and Outcome document of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly known as the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 69/2, on 22 September 2014, para. 30

57 Provisional Rules of Procedure for the Durban Review Conference, Rule 65 entitled “Representatives of national human rights institutions”, A/CONF.211/3 of 30 January 2009, adopted at the Durban Review Conference on 20 April 2009, Document A/CONF.211/8.

58 See for example Report of the Secretary-General A/64/320 paras 78-80.

59 Ibid.

60 Outcome document of the Durban Review Conference 2009, adopted by the General Assembly Resolution 64/148 on 18 December 2009, paras 19, 42, 107, 114, 115, 140.

15

Working Groups and other processes established by the General Assembly

The General Assembly has regularly extended participation opportunities to Paris Principles compliant NHRIs in the work of inter-governmental working groups and processes established by the General Assembly to develop international human rights treaties and other related processes.

As illustrated above a historic precedent of NHRI contributions to the development of international human rights treaties is the drafting of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). NHRIs were formally recognised in the work of the Ad Hoc Committee established by the General Assembly to develop the Convention.61

Working through the ICC, NHRIs had their own speaking slot under each agenda item and contributed to each stage of the drafting process. Their advice, as independent expert bodies, was called upon by Disabled Peoples Organisations, States and the Chair of the Ad Hoc Committee.

Building on this precedent, the General Assembly has regularly granted participation rights to NHRIs in other inter-governmental processes relating to the development of international human rights treaties and similar processes.

NHRIs individually and collectively through the ICC have contributed to the development of all major recent international human rights treaties, including the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture, the Optional Protocol on the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights 62, and the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child,63 and their contributions to these processes have been acknowledged repeatedly by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council.

NHRIs also enjoyed participation throughout the inter-governmental process of the General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system.64

Collectively through the ICC, they contributed at all stages of the process with oral and written contributions. On 16 July 2012, at the invitation of the President of the General Assembly, the then ICC Chairperson addressed the opening of the meeting of the inter-governmental process, with a statement on behalf of all Paris Principles compliant NHRIs, next to the President of the General Assembly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the Chairperson of the 24th Annual Meeting of Chairpersons of Treaty Bodies.

NHRIs collectively through the ICC also contributed to the development of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Their role is explicitly mentioned in Human Rights Council resolution 17/9 on business and human rights and in resolution 20/14 on national human rights institutions.

Conference of State Parties to the CRPD

The Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Conference) has extended participation rights to Paris Principles compliant NHRIs and the ICC, at which the ICC is

61 NHRI participation to the work of the Ad Hoc Committee was based on GA resolution 56/168, by which the General Assembly “Decided to establish an Ad Hoc Committee, open to the participation of all Member States and observers of the United Nations, to consider proposals for a comprehensive and integral international convention to promote and protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities”. (Emphasis added).

62 See for example Report of the Open-ended Working Group on an optional protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights on its fifth session (Geneva, 4-8 February and 31 March-4 April 2008)1*, document A/HRC/8/7, ANNEX 2.

63 See for example Report of the Open-ended Working Group on an optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child to provide a communications procedure, document A/HRC/17/36 of 25 May 2011 (para 12).

64 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, entitled “Intergovernmental process of the General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system”, A/RES/66/254, dated 15 May 2012.



regularly invited to speak at the Conference opening. NHRIs, working through the ICC, have regularly attended the Conference and have hosted side events to inform debates.

To facilitate NHRI participation, the Conference Secretariat has introduced a section on its webpage to inform NHRIs about participation modalities and relevant practical information. The webpage also includes the OHCHR Chart of Accredited National Human Rights Institutions.

In 2015, NHRIs and ICC representatives participated in the Conference. The ICC delivered a statement and hosted a side event with the participation of the Vice-Chairperson of the CRPD Committee on the roles of NHRIs in promoting implementation of the Convention.

Both the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council have regularly welcomed NHRIs' contributions to the Conference of State Parties and encouraged NHRIs to continue to interact with and advocate for independent participation rights therein.65

Whilst NHRI participation is based on ad hoc arrangements pending final confirmation by the Conference, the practical support and information-services provided by the Conference Secretariat in close cooperation with the ICC has provided for an important level of NHRI contributions to the Conference's work.

Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues

Paris Principles compliant NHRIs also enjoy participation rights at the sessions of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, an advisory New York-based body under the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

In 2010, a special category for registration was created for NHRIs, which mirror the arrangements at the Human Rights Council. NHRIs in compliance with the Paris Principles, the ICC as the representative body of NHRIs globally, and regional coordinating committees of NHRIs, speaking on behalf of member institutions may attend and participate in the sessions of the Permanent Forum, including by contributing with written and oral statements.66

Attendance at the Permanent Forum's sessions provides valuable opportunities for NHRIs to develop relationships with indigenous peoples' organizations from their country and their region. The sessions also provide an important source of current information on the broad range of issues confronting indigenous peoples.

General Assembly and other related UN mechanisms and processes

i) The UN Charter provides for participation in the General Assembly and its subsidiary organs to Member States and non-Member States, entities, intergovernmental organizations, agencies and other entities having received permanent observer status with the General Assembly. The General Assembly itself and its main Committees do not provide for formal participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs.

Occasionally, Paris Principles compliant NHRIs have been invited to participate in the General Assembly's high level events. One example of such participation is the General Assembly's 10 th anniversary celebration of the Durban Declaration and Program of Action. The General Assembly's meeting commemorating the 10 th

anniversary was a one-day event at the level of Heads of State and Government taking the form of a plenary session and a series of round table discussions. The arrangements for this anniversary meeting were

65 See General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/171, adopted on 18 December 2013, OP 14; and Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/20/14, dated 16 July 2012, OP 15.

66 Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, Report on the fifth session (15-26 May 2006), E/2006/43, E/C.19/2006/11.

17

handled by the President of the General Assembly, assisted by the Permanent Representatives of Cameroon and Monaco.

Upon the ICC's request, the President of the General Assembly formally invited the ICC and its representative to attend the event as well as the thematic roundtables. Consequently, on 22 September 2011 the ICC presented a statement during the event, which was welcomed by States and NGOs alike.

Overall, NHRI participation in the General Assembly and its Committees has however remained minimal.

ii) Despite the practices highlighted above of NHRIs’ independent participation in various UN open-ended working groups, as at June 2015 suitable modalities for Paris Principles compliant NHRIs’ independent participation in the Open-ended Working Group on the human rights of older persons (open-ended working group) remain to be determined.67

The open-ended working group has invited NHRIs and their regional coordinating bodies and the ICC to participate as panelists to each of its sessions, thereby allowing the open-ended working group to draw, to some extent, on NHRIs' expertise.

At the same time, the General Assembly, in all its subsequent resolutions relating to the work of the open-ended working group, sent an unequivocal message of the value of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs’ contributions in their independent capacity by

“Not(ing) with appreciation the work of the open-ended working group on Ageing, established by the General Assembly in paragraph 28 of its resolution 65/182, and recognizes the positive contributions of Member States, as well as relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations, inter-governmental and relevant non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions, and invited panelists, during the four working sessions of the working group” (Emphasis added)

and

“Noting with appreciation the work of the Working Group, and recognizes the positive contributions of Member States, as well as relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, intergovernmental and relevant non-governmental organizations, national human rights institutions and invited panelists, during the first five working sessions of the Working Group”.68 (Emphasis added).

Furthermore, in its NHRI-related resolutions, the General Assembly has

“welcomed the contributions of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs to the work of the United Nations, including (...) the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on Ageing” (Emphasis added)

and

“encouraged national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to continue to participate in and to contribute to the deliberation in all relevant United Nations mechanisms and related processes”.69

67 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, entitled Follow up to the World Assembly on Ageing, A/RES/65/182, dated 4 February 2011. Operational Paragraph 30 reads: “Invites States and relevant bodies and organizations of the United Nations system, including relevant human rights mandate holders and treaty bodies and the regional commissions, as well as inter-governmental and relevant non-governmental organizations with an interest in the matter, to make contributions to the work entrusted to the open-ended working group, as appropriate.”

68 General Assembly resolution A/RES/68/134 OP 44; and General Assembly resolution A/RES/69/146 OP 46.

69 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly, A/RES/68/171, OP 14 and 15.



However the process is only the poorer for not inviting NHRIs to participate in their independent capacity as experts in the area of human rights and ageing. The process would undoubtedly benefit from receiving expert independent human rights information from NHRIs.

iii) The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global inter-governmental body exclusively dedicated to the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women. Established in 1946, the CSW is a functional Commission of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

CSW at present does not provide for formal independent participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs in their independent capacity.

In the absence of NHRI-specific participation arrangements, some NHRIs have sought to participate in the work of CSW as part of their respective Government or an NGO delegation, whilst other NHRIs in light of NHRIs' status as independent state institutions have felt it would not be appropriate to be associated with either the official Government or NGO delegations.

As a result, the CSW's ability to draw on the unique expertise NHRIs can offer to its work has been limited.

This in turn also appears to be in contrast to both the practice of other UN bodies and mechanisms which allow for NHRIs’ independent participation as well as to the calls from the Secretary-General, the General Assembly, the ICC and CSW itself towards greater roles for NHRIs in the work of CSW.

In a joint statement to the 54th session of CSW, 11 NHRIs encouraged Member States to support a resolution enabling the independent participation of NHRIs in the work of CSW, and in doing so to draw on existing practice in other UN bodies in including the Human Rights Council.70

In the Amman Declaration and Program of Action, adopted at the 11 th International Conference of NHRIs in 2012, NHRIs from all regions in the world requested the ICC to

“Continue its advocacy for the independent participation of A-status NHRIs at the UN CSW, as encouraged by UN Human Rights Council Resolution 20/14, and encourage(d) the ICC, its regional NHRI coordinating committees, and NHRIs to engage, together with their respective governments where appropriate, at the 57th session of CSW (4 to 15 March 2013) focused on the „Elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and girls”

whilst NHRIs resolved to

“Monitor and encourage the implementation of the recommendations of treaty bodies and special procedures, resolutions of UN intergovernmental bodies, including the General Assembly, Human Rights Council, Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) and the Commission on Population and Development; and recommendations accepted by States in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR)” (Emphasis added).71

Acknowledging the important role that NHRIs can play in its work, CSW Agreed Conclusions referred to the role of NHRIs each year CSW has adopted Agreed Conclusions.72

70 Statement available at: http://www.asiapacificforum.net/support/issues/working-with-others/un/commission-on-the-status-of-women

71 Amman Declaration and Program of Action, available at http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/InternationalConference/11IC/Session%209%20Development%20and%20adoption%20of%20Amman%20Declar/FINAL%20Amman%20Declaration%20and%20PoA.pdf.

72 See CSW 2014 Agreed conclusions, para. 39 and 42. Available at: http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/58/csw58_agreed_conclusions.pdf

19

http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/headquarters/attachments/sections/csw/58/csw58_agreed_conclusions.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/InternationalConference/11IC/Session%209%20Development%20and%20adoption%20of%20Amman%20Declar/FINAL%20Amman%20Declaration%20and%20PoA.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/InternationalConference/11IC/Session%209%20Development%20and%20adoption%20of%20Amman%20Declar/FINAL%20Amman%20Declaration%20and%20PoA.pdf

The Secretary-General has welcomed the engagement of NHRIs in the work of CSW and further encouraged NHRIs to seek for independent participation rights.73 This call was supported by Human Rights Council and the General Assembly, which in its resolution 68/171 of December 2013 welcomes

“the contribution of national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to the work of the United Nations, including of the Commission on the Status of Women...”.74

iv) The General Assembly has regularly called on NHRIs to contribute to the post 2015 development agenda. In resolution 68/171, it has explicitly encouraged Paris Principles compliant NHRIs “to continue to participate in and to contribute to deliberations in all relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes in accordance with their respective mandates, including the discussions on the post-2015 development agenda” (Emphasis added).75

NHRIs are uniquely placed to act as a bridge between stakeholders and ensure that national development processes and outcomes are planned, implemented and monitored in a participatory, transparent and accountable manner based on disaggregated human rights data.

The ongoing negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda provide a historic opportunity to confirm the contributions NHRIs may have to promoting implementation of the new Sustainable Development Goals by designing modalities for their participation in national, regional and global implementation and follow-up and review mechanisms, including the High Level Political Forum.

Already, and encouraged by the General Assembly's call, NHRIs collectively through the ICC have sought to contribute to the post 2015 development process in a variety of ways. The ICC has submitted an open letter to the Secretary-General in support of the Secretary-General’s Synthesis Report.76 At the General Segment of the 28th session of the Human Rights Council, the ICC presented an oral statement and submitted a contribution to the inter-governmental negotiations on Follow up and Review mechanisms, in May 2015.77

Addressing the ICC 28th General Meeting on 12 March 2015, Human Rights Council President Joachim Ruecker highlighted the value of NHRI contributions to the post 2015 development agenda, and beyond, noting that

“In 2005, at the World Summit, we acknowledged that peace and security, development and human rights are the three pillars of the United Nations, which are mutually reinforcing and interlinked. There will not be sustainable development without human rights, and there won’t be the realization of human rights without sustainable development. While this may seem apparent to all of us, in reality, we are still suffering from our “block” thinking. If we, however, truly strive for universality of human rights, we must start to allow common thinking and start to create synergies, where possible and where necessary. NHRIs can advocate a greater understanding, awareness and respect for interdependencies of human rights. I therefore strongly encourage the ICC and individual NHRIs to continue their work on building these synergies between human rights and development. The experience of NHRIs in contributing to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals can be very useful in this regard.”78

73 Report of the Secretary-General to the Human Rights Council A/HRC/27/39, entitled National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights , dated 30 June 2014, para. 113.

74 See General Assembly Resolution A/RES/68/171, adopted on 18 December 2013, OP 14; and Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/RES/20/14, dated 16 July 2012, OP 15.

75 Ibid. OP 15.

76 http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=162&RootFolder=%2FEN%2FNews%2FLists%2FNews&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fnhri%2Eohchr%2Eorg%2FEN%2FPages%2Fdefault%2Easpx

77 http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=182&RootFolder=%2FEN%2FNews%2FLists %2FNews&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fnhri%2Eohchr%2Eorg%2FEN%2FPages%2Fdefault%2Easpx

78 http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/AnnualMeeting/28/Reports%20of%20the%20UN%20SecretaryGeneral/ 20150312_Speech_President_Ruecker_ICC_28_General_Meeting_Opening_Ceremony.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/GeneralMeeting/28/Reports%20of%20the%20UN%20SecretaryGeneral/20150312_Speech_President_Ruecker_ICC_28_General_Meeting_Opening_Ceremony.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/GeneralMeeting/28/Reports%20of%20the%20UN%20SecretaryGeneral/20150312_Speech_President_Ruecker_ICC_28_General_Meeting_Opening_Ceremony.pdf

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=182&RootFolder=%2FEN%2FNews%2FLists%2FNews&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fnhri.ohchr.org%2FEN%2FPages%2Fdefault.aspx

http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/News/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=182&RootFolder=%2FEN%2FNews%2FLists%2FNews&Source=http%3A%2F%2Fnhri.ohchr.org%2FEN%2FPages%2Fdefault.aspx




UNDP Assistant Secretary General Magdy Martinez Soliman also addressing the ICC 28 th General Meeting the same day, further noted that

“The successful implementation of the new development agenda will require a strong accountability framework at the international and national levels. National Human Rights Institutions have an essential role to play in operationalising a human rights-based approach both in the planning phase and after the adoption of the agenda, particularly in terms of promoting, protecting and monitoring the implementation of human rights across the post-2015 framework of goals and targets.”

Effective engagement by NHRIs, particularly in strengthening integration, implementation and review in the work of the High Level Political Forum after 2015 would however be maximised if NHRIs are formally recognised as critical stakeholders in the Forum, and provided with meaningful space and support in order to effectively contribute to inform debates and monitor policy-development, at global and national levels.

Reprisals

Whilst the UN has continuously encouraged NHRIs to engage at an international level, the international community at large has been concerned by reported acts of reprisals or acts of intimidations against NHRIs, their members and staff as a result of their mandated activities including their engagement with international human rights mechanisms.

The General Assembly has taken a strong political stance and has condemned any form of reprisals or other acts of intimidation.

In resolution 68/171, the General Assembly

“Recognizes that national human rights institutions and their respective members and staff should not face any form of reprisal or intimidation, including political pressure, physical intimidation, harassment or unjustifiable budgetary limitations, as a result of activities undertaken in accordance with their respective mandates, including when taking up individual cases or when reporting on serious or systematic violations in their countries.”

The Human Rights Council has further addressed the issue of reprisals. In resolution 27/18 of October 2014, the Council

“Stresses the importance of financial and administrative independence and the stability of national human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and notes with satisfaction the efforts of those Member States that have provided their national human rights institutions with more autonomy and independence, including by giving them an investigative role or enhancing such a role, and encourages other Governments to consider taking similar steps;

Recognises that national human rights institutions and their respective members and staff should not face any form of reprisal or intimidation, including political pressure, physical intimidation, harassment or unjustifiable budgetary limitations, as a result of activities undertaken in accordance with their respective mandates, including when taking up individual cases or when reporting on serious or systematic violations in their countries;

Recognises the role that national human rights institutions can play in preventing and addressing cases of reprisal as part of supporting the cooperation between their Governments and the United Nations in the promotion of human rights, including by contributing to follow-up actions, as

21

appropriate, to recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms; and

Emphasizes that any cases of alleged reprisal or intimidation against national human rights institutions and their respective members and staff or against individuals who cooperate or seek to cooperate with national human rights institutions should be promptly and thoroughly investigated, with the perpetrators brought to justice.”

In doing so, the General Assembly and Human Rights Council have made it clear that effective participation of NHRIs at UN level requires that they can operate in a safe and enabling environment, at both national and international levels.

UN treaty bodies have collectively and individually addressed the issue of reprisals, by appointing focal points on reprisals within their Committees, and have resolved to dedicate their Annual Chairperson's Meeting in June 2015 to the matter.

In implementing the above-outlined provisions of the General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions, it will equally be important, and a shared responsibility for the broader UN system, to develop a common approach to most effectively address and respond to the issue of reprisals and other acts of intimidation.

Conclusion

The contribution of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs to UN human rights processes and mechanisms continues to grow as the value that they bring to these processes increases. There is not a uniform approach to the participation of NHRIs within all UN processes. NHRI participation in UN human rights processes has been incremental and to date their participation has been welcomed as valuable.

UN human rights processes outside of the Human Rights Council processes stand to benefit from the contribution of NHRIs. In line with the positive experiences of NHRI participation the UN General Assembly ought to specifically recommend relevant UN processes and mechanisms to consider and include where relevant suitable modalities for the participation of NHRIs.

While the above contributions and opportunities may differ in nature and scope, collectively they demonstrate that the UN General Assembly has demonstrated that human rights processes falling under its auspices benefit from NHRI participation.

STRENGTHENING NHRI PARTICIPATION

The ICC is of the view that the General Assembly as the United Nations' principal deliberative organ has a historic opportunity to recommend NHRI participation in relevant UN mechanisms and processes that are associated with the promotion and protection of human rights.

As outlined in General Assembly resolution 68/171, this process should be guided by the following provisions:

That Paris Principles compliant NHRIs may participate independently in relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes in line with their mandates;

That Paris Principles compliant NHRI participation be based on existing practices and arrangements; and

That the Secretary-General provides support to national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles as they engage with UN mechanisms and processes, with a view to ensuring their most effective contributions.



Participation in relevant UN mechanisms and processes

The ICC encourages the General Assembly to recommend NHRI participation in relevant UN processes and mechanisms, and in accordance with their respective mandates.

This would ensure that Paris Principles compliant NHRIs are active participants in those UN mechanisms and processes that are associated with the promotion and protection of human rights and that would benefit from the independent information that NHRIs can provide.

As already identified by the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council in their respective resolutions on NHRIs, mechanisms that would benefit from NHRI participation include the Commission on the Status of Women, the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the post-2015 development agenda and the High Level Political Forum, and the Working Group on Ageing.

NHRI participation would assist the United Nations in its efforts in further mainstreaming human rights as central pillar of and across the United Nations, and increase the UN's ability to respond to human rights situations in all regions.

NHRIs can advocate a greater understanding, awareness and respect for interdependencies of human rights in all in all areas of the UN's work and help ensure that the UN's work is based on human rights.

This is not only to give practical meaning to the vision of World Leaders at the 2005 World Summit which acknowledged that human rights are central to the work of the UN, next to peace and security, and development, all of which are interrelated and mutually reinforcing.

It is also relevant in the context of the 2013 Secretary-General's Human Rights-up Front initiative for the UN system which heralds a new approach of the UN. It reaffirms the importance and centrality of human rights to the UN and renews the UN's commitment to uphold the responsibilities assigned to the UN by the Charter, the Security Council and the General Assembly, whenever there is a threat of serious and large-scale violations of international humanitarian law. A central aspect of the Human Rights up Front Initiative is the crucial need for immediate preventive action, and the responsibility of the UN system to respond immediately to human rights violations. NHRIs can have an effective role in supporting the UN in this important endeavour.

The inextricability of human rights from all aspects of life and thereby the work of the UN is accepted. However, this is yet to be realised in daily practice.

The space for NHRIs within the UN system will continue to grow as NHRIs are an integral part of any effort to effectively promote and protect human rights. It is however crucial to determine the most suitable and acceptable modalities for their participation within the UN system.

The proposed participation of NHRIs in relevant UN mechanisms and processes would help maximise the UN's ability to effectively draw on the unique expertise that NHRIs can offer to all areas of the UN's work, whilst keeping with developing UN practice of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs’ engagement with UN mechanisms and processes, which has been supported and further encouraged by the United Nations at General Assembly and Human Rights Council level.

It would allow the General Assembly to establish a more coherent approach for UN engagement with NHRIs, thus contributing to enhanced consistency, predicability and legal certainty in terms of NHRI participation.

23

Finally, by making the UN more accessible to Paris Principles compliant NHRIs who work to represent rights-holders within their respective jurisdictions, the UN would increase its linkages to the people at national and local levels. This would be in implementing the UN's fundamental principle, and very raison d'être, as stipulated in the Charter itself and its opening words: “We, the peoples”.

Participation based on existing practices and arrangements

By drawing on existing practices and arrangements at the Human Rights Council, relevant UN mechanisms and processes would benefit from the extraordinary experience of its premier human rights body in engaging with NHRIs, which has been consistently welcomed by the Secretary-General, the General Assembly, and the Council, as well as States, civil society and NHRIs themselves.

These include the following principles for NHRI participation:

That NHRIs participate in their independent capacity at NHRIs, with specific arrangements for accreditation, seating and speaking, which are distinct from those applicable to member states, NGOs and other stakeholders; and

That NHRI participation is extended to Paris Principles compliant NHRIs (A status).

These existing practices and arrangements could inform as a matter of principle relevant UN mechanisms and processes to determine suitable modalities for NHRI participation in their work, in line with these bodies’ specific mandates and working methods.

NHRIs' most effective contributions

By encouraging the Secretary-General to support the participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs, the General Assembly will help ensure NHRIs' most effective contributions to UN mechanisms and processes.

This assistance should be manifold and, to be most effective, and may include practical arrangements by the Secretariat and through UN field offices, including facilitating NHRIs' access to information and documentation in a timely and appropriate manner, and to promote increased awareness among Secretariat officials of NHRIs and their mandates.

It may also require developing appropriate and effective mechanisms to ensure that NHRIs, their members and staff and others who contribute to their work can operate in a safe and enabling environment free from reprisals and other acts of intimidation.

CONCLUSION

Paris Principles compliant national human rights institutions (NHRIs) are increasingly being recognised as critical and unique actors in the human rights framework and by the United Nations.

NHRIs are not adversaries of government, they are independent State institutions that are established to support States in the promotion and protection of human rights. This implicitly means that NHRIs are beholden to speak out on matters of concern and not to merely state what the State wish to hear.

NHRIs are responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in-country and what takes place within the UN is closely monitored. Where matters impact on human rights and where these emanate from the Human Rights Council or other UN bodies, NHRIs in terms of their mandates are duty-bound to create awareness, conduct advocacy and carry out follow-up if these actions will support the promotion and protection of human rights.

Whilst the clear role that NHRIs have to play in UN processes and mechanisms that are associated with the protection and promotion of human rights has been increasingly accepted by Member States; the



discussion now needs to move to the requisite modalities of their participation.

This September the General Assembly will have a monumental opportunity to send out a clear indication that NHRIs are welcome to contribute in their independent capacity as NHRIs in those areas of UN work that would benefit from their specific independent human rights expertise.

Their recognition as invaluable contributors to UN mechanisms and processes should not impinge on their status as independent institutions and should be in accordance with the various General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions move beyond the ad hoc nature to ensure that participation is coherent thus allowing for enhanced NHRI contributions.

Furthermore UN mechanisms and processes would largely benefit from the extensive information and expertise that NHRIs can offer on specific human rights issues beyond participation in expert panels.

Crucially, this debate will take place against the backdrop of the new Sustainable Development Goals. Whilst it is yet to be determined which modalities will apply to monitoring and follow-up, NHRIs are uniquely placed to independently monitor, at a country level, progress that is made in achieving these goals.

As NHRIs work to represent rights-holders within their respective jurisdictions, by welcoming NHRI participation in its work, the UN will increase its linkages to the people at national and local levels and make human rights more tangible for all.

The ICC recognises that given that NHRIs are distinct from Member States and NGOs, the consideration for granting participation rights will take into account this distinction and it will thus be necessary to create different modalities for participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRIs within UN mechanisms and processes.

This process should be guided by the General Assembly resolution 68/171 taking into account independent participation by Paris Principles complaint NHRIs in accordance with their mandates; which is based on existing practices and arrangements; and which will be supported by the Secretary General to ensure the most effective contributions to the relevant UN mechanisms and processes.

Recommendations

Against this background, and based on the provisions of General Assembly resolution 68/171, the ICC therefore recommends that the General Assembly in its next resolution on NHRIs:

Decides that national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles participate independently in relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing and the sustainable development process post-2015 including the High Level Political Forum, in accordance with their mandates;

Requests relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes, including the Commission on the Status of Women, the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Open Ended Working Group on Ageing and the sustainable development process post-2015 including the High Level Political Forum, to make arrangements to enable national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to participate independently in their work in accordance with their mandates, based on practices and arrangements agreed upon in Assembly resolution 60/251, Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 and 16/21 and

25

Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/74; and

Further request the Secretary-General to provide support to national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles as they engage with relevant UN mechanisms and processes, with a view to ensuring their most effective contributions.



ANNEXURE B: ICC CHAIRPERSON’S LETTER TO MEMBERS ON THE UNGA NHRI RESOLUTION

INTERNATIONAL COORDINATING COMMITTEE OFNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FOR THE PROMOTION ANDPROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS (ICC)

Office of the ICC ChairpersonMabedle Lourence Mushwana

Johannesburg, 03 September 2015

Per Email

Dear ICC members,

RE: ICC Position Paper and Advocacy on NHRI participation at the United Nations

Member States led by Germany as the main sponsor will in October and November 2015 be negotiating a United Nations General Assembly resolution on national human rights institutions (NHRIs). The focus of this resolution will be the participation of Paris Principles compliant NHRI with relevant United Nations (UN) mechanisms and processes.

This resolution may have a significant impact on broadening Paris Principles compliant NHRIs’ participation rights in relevant UN mechanisms and processes that have not yet formalised modalities for NHRI participation.

On 13 May 2015 in my capacity as ICC Chairperson I sent all ICC members a letter outlining proposals for ICC engagement in the process as stated below:

1. Undertaking an assessment of current A status NHRI participation in New York UN processes;2. Submitting an ICC contribution to OHCHR NIRMS to inform the development of the Secretary-

General's report;3. Developing proposals for future A status NHRI participation more broadly within the UN system;4. Coordinating ICC advocacy by ensuring ICC representation at key meetings in New York to inform

the decision-making process; and5. Supporting ICC members in their advocacy with their respective state representations at New York

and capital levels

In May 2015 the ICC undertook a membership-wide consultation, to seek and receive members' views about extending NHRI participation in relevant UN mechanisms and processes and my proposals for ICC engagement in the process.

From 8 to 12 June 2015, the ICC conducted a mission to the UN Headquarters in New York led by myself and with the delegation comprising the ICC Secretary, ICC Regional Chairs, Regional Coordinators and ICC staff, to undertake consultations with a variety of partners and stakeholders in relation to the prospective NHRI resolution initiative, including the Executive Office of the Secretary-General, the Office of Legal Affairs and the Department for Conference Management.

27

Advice received includes that:

There are no legal impediments to enabling NHRIs to participate independently in relevant UN mechanisms and processes;

The General Assembly could be encouraged to adopt a resolution which would confirm that NHRIs compliant with the Paris Principles may participate independently in those relevant UN mechanisms and processes that have not yet formalised NHRI participation modalities; and

A critical mass of States' support from across all regions will be required to ensure the success of such initiative.

The present ICC Position Paper was developed in consultation with the ICC Bureau to assist ICC members in their advocacy with States. It builds on feedback received from both ICC-wide consultations and advice from partners and stakeholders.

The paper provides background information about the evolution of NHRI participation and their current participation in UN fora, and sets out ICC proposals for strengthening NHRI participation in relevant UN human rights mechanisms and processes. Due to its scope, the paper is available in English only.

The paper contains the following six (6) key messages:

NHRI cooperation with the UN is a requirement under the Paris Principles; and effective NHRI engagement with the UN can help translate international human rights standards into lived realities on the ground;

UN Member States - individually and collectively at General Assembly and Human Rights Council level - have continuously acknowledged and further encouraged the positive contributions of Paris Principles compliant national human rights institutions across the work of the UN;

NHRIs have welcomed this acknowledgment and increasingly contribute to relevant UN mechanisms and processes;

NHRIs enjoy participation rights with a number of UN bodies, whilst in other relevant bodies suitable and acceptable modalities for NHRI participation remain to be determined. These include: the Commission on the Status of Women, the Conference of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Working Group on Ageing, and the post 2015 development agenda processes including the High-Level Political Forum;

Owing to their unique status and established practice at the UN Human Rights Council, NHRIs that comply with the Paris Principles should be granted independent participation rights, that are distinct from those of states and NGOs, and should enable NHRIs' most effective contributions; and

As the UN celebrates its 70th anniversary, the General Assembly has a historic opportunity to maximise the UN's ability to draw on the unique expertise that NHRIs can offer to all areas of its work, thereby strengthening its responses to human rights situations everywhere.

The ICC Position Paper has been transmitted to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which has welcomed the paper as an important contribution to inform the development of the Secretary-General's report. The final report will be available in mid-September and will form the basis for member states' consultations on the NHRI resolution.

It is now important to secure broad cross-regional State support for ICC-endorsed proposals before negotiations are expected to start at the General Assembly in October.



I thus wish to encourage you to actively engage with your respective State representatives at both capital and New York levels, to advocate for support for ICC proposals towards strengthening NHRI participation in UN mechanisms and processes.

I will also transmit the ICC proposals to key stakeholders including the President-elect of the General Assembly, the President-elect of the Economic and Social Council, the President of the Human Rights Council, and UNDP Administrator to equally seek for support for this important initiative.

Should you require any further information please do not hesitate to contact my office. Further information will also be made available on the ICC webpage http://nhri.ohchr.org

Yours sincerely,

Adv. Lourence Mabedle MushwanaICC Chairperson andChairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission

29