National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

A/RES/68/171View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 69c Human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives, published in 2014.

What other versions does this mandate have?

20 versions · 1979–2018

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/72/181

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2018	A/RES/72/181	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights	2,976	25%Compare
2016	A/HRC/RES/33/15	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights	2,265	17%Compare
2016	A/RES/70/163	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights	2,291	23%Compare
2014	A/HRC/RES/27/18	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights	1,927	22%Compare
2014	A/RES/68/171	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights	2,111	32%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

17 reports · 2003–2019

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2019	A/74/226	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/72/181
2018	A/HRC/39/20	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/HRC/RES/33/15
2018	A/HRC/39/21	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/33/15
2017	A/72/277	National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/70/163
2016	A/HRC/33/34	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/27/18

What subjects does this mandate have?

5 subjects

Human Rights Advancement Human Rights Institutions Human Rights Violations Institution Building Principles

What’s in this document?

26 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General⁸ and the conclusions contained therein;

⁸A/68/208.

Reaffirms the importance of the development of effective, independent and pluralistic national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, in accordance with the Paris Principles;Error: Reference source not found

Recognizes the role of independent national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights in working together with Governments to ensure full respect for human rights at the national level, including by contributing to follow-up actions, as appropriate, to the recommendations resulting from the international human rights mechanisms;

Welcomes the increasingly important role of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights in supporting cooperation between their Governments and the United Nations in the promotion and protection of human rights;

Underlines the value of national human rights institutions, established and operating in accordance with the Paris Principles, in the continued monitoring of existing legislation and consistently informing the State about the impact of such legislation on the activities of human rights defenders, including by making relevant and concrete recommendations;

Recognizes the role that national human rights institutions can play in preventing and addressing cases of reprisals 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 appropriate, to recommendations made by international human rights mechanisms;

Also recognizes that, in accordance with the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action,Error: Reference source not found it is the right of each State to choose the framework for national institutions that is best suited to its particular needs at the national level in order to promote human rights in accordance with international human rights standards;

Encourages Member States to establish effective, independent and pluralistic national institutions or, where they already exist, to strengthen them for the promotion and protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, as outlined in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action;

Welcomes the growing number of States establishing or considering the establishment of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and welcomes in particular the growing number of States that have accepted recommendations to establish national institutions compliant with the Paris Principles made through the universal periodic review and, where relevant, by treaty bodies and special procedures;

Encourages national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights established by Member States to continue to play an active role in preventing and combating all violations of human rights as enumerated in the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action and relevant international instruments;

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;

Also recognizes the role played by national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Human Rights Council, including its universal periodic review mechanism, in both preparation and follow-up, and the special procedures, as well as in the human rights treaty bodies, in accordance with Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 of 18 June 2007⁹ and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/74 of 20 April 2005;¹⁰

⁹See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-second Session, Supplement No. 53 (A/62/53), chap. IV, sect. A.

¹⁰See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2005, Supplement No. 3 and corrigenda (E/2005/23 and Corr.1 and 2), chap. II, sect. A.

Welcomes the strengthening of opportunities for national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles to contribute to the work of the Human Rights Council, as stipulated in the Council review outcome document annexed to Council resolution 16/21 of 25 March 2011¹¹ adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 65/281 of 17 June 2011, and encourages national human rights institutions to make use of these participatory opportunities;

¹¹See Official Records of the General Assembly, Sixty-sixth Session, Supplement 53 (A/66/53), chap. II, sect. A.

Also 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, the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing and the ongoing intergovernmental process of the General Assembly on strengthening and enhancing the effective functioning of the human rights treaty body system;

Encourages national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles 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;

Requests the Secretary-General to focus in his next report to the General Assembly on the current participation of national human rights institutions compliant with the Paris Principles 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 and based on practices and arrangements agreed upon in Assembly resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, Human Rights Council resolutions 5/1 and 5/2 of 18 June 2007 and 16/21 of 25 March 2011 and Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/74 of 20 April 2005, while ensuring their most effective contribution;

Stresses the importance of the financial and administrative independence and stability of national human rights institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and notes with satisfaction the efforts of those States that have provided their national 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;

Urges the Secretary-General to continue to give high priority to requests from Member States for assistance in the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions;

Underlines the importance of the autonomy and independence of ombudsman institutions, encourages increased cooperation between national human rights institutions and regional and international associations of ombudsmen, and also encourages ombudsman institutions to actively draw on the standards enumerated in international instruments and the Paris Principles to strengthen their independence and increase their capacity to act as national human rights protection mechanisms;

Commends the high priority given by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to work on national human rights institutions, encourages the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in view of the expanded activities relating to national institutions, to ensure that appropriate arrangements are made and budgetary resources provided to continue and further extend activities in support of national institutions, and invites Governments to contribute additional voluntary funds to that end;

Encourages all United Nations human rights mechanisms and agencies, funds and programmes to work within their respective mandates with Member States and national institutions in the promotion and protection of human rights with respect to, inter alia, projects in the area of good governance and the rule of law, and in this regard welcomes the efforts made by the High Commissioner to develop partnerships in support of national institutions, including the tripartite partnership among the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the High Commissioner and the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights;

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 Paris Principles 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;

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

Encourages all Member States to take appropriate steps to promote the exchange of information and experience concerning the establishment and effective operation of national human rights institutions and to support the work of the International Coordinating Committee and its regional coordinating networks in this regard, including through support for the relevant technical assistance programmes of the Office of the High Commissioner;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the assistance necessary for holding international and regional meetings of national institutions, including meetings of the International Coordinating Committee, in cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner;

Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its seventieth session on the implementation of the present resolution.

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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