UN Recognizes Role of Agents in Matrix of Human Rights Governance Networks
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
To realize its vision for the global governance of human rights, the United Nations must promote and cooperate with national human rights institutions. To this end, on November 12, 2009, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recognizing the leading role that the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights plays in the UN’s effort to govern national human rights policies.
The major international human rights treaties cover a broad range of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights. Most of these treaties created treaty body committees that have assumed responsibility for monitoring the progress that nations have made in implementing the human rights contained in the treaties. National governments are responsible for filing periodic reports with each treaty body committee disclosing the status of their implementation efforts. Also, national governments are responsible for participating in the new Human Rights Council’s universal periodic review process, pursuant to which they must explain the steps that they have taken to realize human rights in their countries.
The Geneva-based United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (“UNOHCHR”) is responsible for coordinating the work of the various human rights treaty body committees and for facilitating the national review processes. The UNOHCHR has also assumed responsibility for interpreting the various provisions of the human rights treaties and for promoting and protecting human rights. As the UNOHCHR has expanded its portfolio of responsibilities, it has begun to rely on non-governmental actors at the national and regional levels. These cooperative relationships, while effective for the UN, have raised the UN’s involvement in domestic policies to a level that threatens national sovereignty. For instance, in advance of a nation’s periodic human rights reporting obligations, the UNOHCHR secures investigative and reporting assistance from the applicable national human rights institution (“NHRI”) and one or more international or regional non-governmental human rights organizations. Further, after the UNOHCHR publishes its recommendations on further actions that it expects the reporting nation to take toward the realization of human rights, the applicable NHRI monitors the government’s compliance with the recommendations.
The International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (the “ICC”) is central to the UNOHCHR’s reliance on NHRIs. The ICC is the international association that coordinates the activities of NHRIs. The UNOHCHR’s National Institutions Unit is responsible for working with the ICC to establish and strengthen NHRIs.
During the past two years, the ICC has formalized and strengthened its operational structure and has undertaken efforts to increase the number of accredited NHRIs. Presently, there are four regional groups within the ICC that coordinate the efforts of NHRIs, including the European Group of National Human Rights Institutions, the Network of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Americas, the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, and the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions. The UNOHCHR serves as the ICC secretariat. In July of 2009, in an effort to assess and enhance the work of NHRIs, the UNOHCHR conducted a Survey on National Human Rights Institutions. At the same time, the 22nd Session of the ICC convened at UN headquarters in Geneva. In 2010, the UNOHCHR is organizing a workshop on enhancing these regional NHRI arrangements.
Only accredited NHRIs can join the ICC. The ICC Sub-Committee on Accreditation (“SCA”) has the mandate to review and analyze accreditation applications and to make membership recommendations to the 16-member ICC Bureau (four NHRI representatives from each region). In order for the SCA to recommend an NHRI for ICC membership, the applicant NHRI must adhere to the Principles relating to the Status of Human Rights Institutions (the “Paris Principles”). The Paris Principles are generally considered as the international minimum standards for NHRIs. They lay down a broad normative framework for NHRI status, mandate, composition and methods of operation. The primary requirement set by the Paris Principles is that NHRIs be official state-funded bodies that derive their mandate and powers from a constitutional or a legislative text and have a specific competence to promote and protect human rights. According to the Paris Principles, the composition of NHRIs should be pluralistic and bring together representatives of social forces involved in the promotion and protection of human rights, such as NGOs, social and professional organizations, leading proponents of religious and philosophical thought, universities and qualified experts The mandate of NHRIs should be “as broad as possible.” The Annex to the UNOHCHR’s Fact Sheet No. 19 on NHRIs contains the Paris Principles.
As of December 2008, based on the SCA’s recommendations, the ICC had accredited 64 NHRIs as being in compliance with the Paris Principles. The SCA’s report from its March 2009 session contains a review of the latest applications for accreditation, a copy of the SCA’s Rules of Procedure, and a copy of the SCA’s General Observations regarding the accreditation process and requirements.
This commentator has described the role of UN agents as the managers of a Matrix of Human Rights Governance Networks. The recent strengthening of the organizational structure of the ICC, its relationship with the UNOHCHR, and the NHRI accreditation process evidence a trend toward greater UN involvement in domestic policies that poses a significant threat to national sovereignty.
Jim Kelly is the President of Solidarity Center for Law and Justice, P.C., a public interest civil and human rights law firm based in Atlanta, Georgia. The opinions expressed herein are his own.
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