National Human Rights Institutions

A/HRC/RES/39/17View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 8 Follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

9 versions · 2018–2026

This is an older version — the most recent is A/HRC/RES/63/25

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2026	A/HRC/RES/63/25	National human rights institutions	3,386	—Compare
2025	A/RES/80/214	National human rights institutions	4,238	23%Compare
2024	A/HRC/RES/57/23	National human rights institutions	3,632	17%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/204	National human rights institutions	3,613	17%Compare
2022	A/HRC/RES/51/31	National human rights institutions	3,644	18%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

11 reports · 2020–2026

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2026	A/HRC/63/68	Activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (the Paris Principles) report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/57/23
2026	A/HRC/63/67	National human rights institutions report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/57/23
2025	A/80/286	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/78/204
2024	A/HRC/57/65	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/51/31
2024	A/HRC/57/66	Activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Paris Principles) report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/51/31

What subjects does this mandate have?

7 subjects

Consultations Financing Human Rights Advancement Human Rights Institutions Public-Private Partnerships Sustainable Development Technical Cooperation

What’s in this document?

29 operative paragraphs

Welcomes the most recent reports of the Secretary-General submitted to the Human Rights Council on national human rights institutions³ and on the activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national human rights institutions in compliance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles);⁴

³A/HRC/39/20.

⁴A/HRC/39/21.

Encourages Member States to establish effective, independent and pluralistic national human rights institutions or, where they already exist, to strengthen them to enable the effective fulfilment of their mandate to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, as outlined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, and to do so in accordance with the Paris Principles;

Stresses the importance of the financial and administrative independence and the stability of national human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, 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;

Also stresses 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, and calls upon States to promptly and thoroughly investigate cases of alleged reprisal or intimidation against members or staff of national human rights institutions or against individuals who cooperate or seek to cooperate with them and to bring perpetrators to justice;

Encourages national human rights institutions that are compliant with the Paris Principles to continue to participate in and contribute to, including where relevant by providing parallel reports and other information, the work of the Human Rights Council and its universal periodic review mechanism, the special procedures and the treaty bodies and all other relevant United Nations forums, and also encourages all relevant United Nations mechanisms and processes, including in the discussions on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its high-level political forum, to strengthen the independent participation of national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles, in accordance with their respective mandates;

Welcomes the important role of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, in close cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in assessing conformity with the Paris Principles and in assisting States and national institutions, when requested, to strengthen national human rights institutions in accordance with such principles, also welcomes the continuing number of national institutions seeking accreditation status through the Global Alliance, and encourages relevant national institutions, including ombudsman institutions, to seek accreditation status;

Encourages the Secretary-General and all United Nations human rights mechanisms and relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, working within their respective mandates, to continue to give high priority to requests from Member States for assistance in the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions, to work with Member States and national human rights institutions in the protection and promotion of human rights, and to strengthen United Nations system-wide coordination in support of national human rights institutions;

Recognizes the contribution that national human rights institutions have made to the promotion and protection, and prevention of violations, of human rights by exercising their mandates and functions consistent with the Paris Principles, and encourages them to continue to do so, including by:

Independently assisting, advising and engaging with the State, and other stakeholders, in the prevention of violations and abuses of human rights;

Encouraging the ratification, and ensuring the implementation, of international human rights treaties;

Promoting legal, policy and procedural reforms, including to promote and ensure the harmonization of national laws and practices with the international human rights instruments to which a State is a party, and their effective implementation;

Cooperating with the United Nations system, including by contributing, as appropriate, to follow-up actions to the recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms;

Conducting and promoting practical and relevant human rights training and education, and raising public awareness and advocacy about the promotion and protection of human rights and efforts to combat all forms of discrimination;

Working with non-governmental organizations devoted to promoting and protecting human rights and economic and social development, combating racism and protecting groups subject to particular vulnerabilities, marginalization or intersecting forms of discrimination, or specialized areas;

Preparing and publicizing reports on the national situation with regard to human rights, drawing the attention of the Government to situations in any part of the country in which human rights are violated, making proposals to put an end to such situations and, where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the Government;

Supporting transparent and meaningful engagement by States in regional and international human rights forums by making contributions, in accordance with their independent mandates, to the reports that States are required to submit to United Nations bodies and committees and to regional institutions pursuant to their treaty obligations;

Acknowledges that, in the performance of their key functions, in accordance with their mandates and with the Paris Principles, national human rights institutions are supporting the establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies, and in doing so can contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, including by:

Assisting States to adopt effective frameworks to promote and protect human rights, which are applied equally to protect the rights of all individuals, without discrimination on any grounds, including race, colour, gender, age, disability, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status;

Contributing to building the capacity of States to prevent and reduce discrimination and violence through effective national-level legislation, regulation, policies and programmes, including those that guarantee equal access, rights and opportunities for all, including equal access to justice and participatory decision-making;

Contributing to the progressive realization of economic, social and cultural rights for all;

Contributing to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women and gender-based violence;

Contributing to the fight against racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and other related intolerance, all forms of hate speech, and religious intolerance and its manifestations, including hate crimes and incitement to hatred, and fostering cohesive societies that respect and celebrate diversity and multiculturalism;

Contributing to addressing multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination that can increase the vulnerability to violence and discrimination of persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples, refugees and migrants, persons who are socioeconomically disadvantaged, persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities, and other individuals in vulnerable situations or belonging to marginalized groups;

Working with businesses to fulfil their responsibility to respect human rights in accordance with human rights law, and to support initiatives aimed at protecting victims of human rights abuses, including through the dissemination and implementation of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights;

Encourages all States and national human rights institutions to continue to take appropriate steps to maintain a legislative or policy framework compliant with the Paris Principles, and to promote cooperation, the exchange of information, the sharing of experience and the dissemination of best practices concerning the establishment and effective operation of national human rights institutions, including their contribution to the establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda;

Invites national human rights institutions to include in their cooperation the exchange of best practices on strengthening their liaison role between civil society and their Governments;

Requests the Office of the High Commissioner to continue and to strengthen its work with national human rights institutions, including through technical cooperation, capacity-building activities and advice, urges the High Commissioner to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made and budgetary resources are provided to continue and further extend activities in support of national human rights institutions, including through increased support for the work of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and its regional networks, and invites Governments to contribute additional voluntary funds to that end;

Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to convene, in close coordination with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, on the margins of the 2019 annual meeting of the Global Alliance, an intersessional, half-day consultation, open to all States, national human rights institutions, civil society organizations and other relevant stakeholders, with the objective of exchanging the experiences and practices of national human rights institutions in working to support the establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, and further requests the Office of the High Commissioner to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its forty-first session, a summary report on the consultation;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the Human Rights Council, at its forty-fifth session, a report on the implementation of the present resolution that includes examples of best practices among national human rights institutions, and a report on the activities of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

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