Gianni Magazzeni, OHCHR

“National institutions must address the critical and urgent gaps in human rights protection if they want to be credible and effective,” says Gianni Magazzeni, who has headed up the National Institutions Unit of the OHCHR since 2007.

This was the key message he shared with participants at last year’s annual meeting of the Asia Pacific Forum, as well as with national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in different parts of the world.

“If NHRIs are unable or unwilling to address issues such as the prevention of torture, disappearances, summary executions, arbitrary detention or the protection of human rights defenders then they become disconnected from the needs of the most vulnerable in their society.”

According to Gianni, providing support for NHRIs to undertake this ‘core’ protection role – especially new institutions and those operating in conflict or post-conflict situations – has been the top priority of his office in recent times.

“The OHCHR is not in a position to have large field offices everywhere so we understand the need to help develop strong and sustainable human rights protection mechanisms at the national level,” he says.

“NHRIs are probably the most important element but certainly not the only one – the judiciary, the police and prisons administration, the academic community, NGOs and the media are all vital to the promotion and protection of human rights.

“However, having effective and credible national institutions is probably the key benchmark for assessing the success of the work we do.”

Accreditation

Last year’s decision by the International Coordinating Committee’s to strengthen its accreditation process for NHRIs has been a very positive development, he says.

“It is now much more rigorous, transparent and open to input from NGOs and civil society. Accreditation is no longer simply assessed on legal compliance with the Paris Principles, it now looks at the effectiveness of the institutions,” says Gianni.

“You can have beautiful laws but this can be of little consequence if the national institution is not performing as it is expected to.”

The new accreditation process also seeks to strengthen the engagement between national institutions and the international human rights system, through the UN Human Rights Council’s Treaty Body system, Special Procedures and the Universal Periodic Review mechanism.

“We expect that national institutions should participate in these important discussions, to link their national realities to the international human rights system, and then to follow-up and ensure that the recommendations of the international community are implemented domestically,” he says.

“This is a very important role that NHRIs, and especially A-status institutions, need to perform in order to fully comply with the Paris Principles.

“It will increasingly become a key issue that national institutions will be required to address in their statement of compliance they present to the ICC sub-committee on accreditation, as well in the general review of their performance.”

Pacific workshop

Over the last year the OHCHR has provided technical assistance to a wide range of countries at various stages along the path to establishing national human rights institutions, including Bahrain, Cambodia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Palau, Uruguay and Mauritius.

“Towards the end of the 1990s there were just over a dozen NHRIs operating – today there are well over 100 in all parts of the world,” says Gianni.

“More and more countries are now willing to take the bold step of setting up national institutions. Of course, there remain significant barriers in some countries but the process is certainly going in the right direction.”

Later this year, the OHCHR, in partnership with the APF, will host a regional workshop for Pacific Island countries on establishing NHRIs. Currently there is just one national institution in the region.

“We will draw on the relevant concrete experience of successful institutions in the Asia Pacific region, such as the Maldives Human Rights Commission, to explore ideas about the possible path forward for establishing national human rights institutions in small island states.”

APF partnership

In undertaking these and other projects, Gianni says that cooperation with the APF is a crucial factor in delivering successful outcomes.

“The partnership we have with the APF is a most important one for us. I don’t think there is anything that the OHCHR could do on its own in the Asia Pacific region that it cannot do in cooperation with the APF.

‘We believe that this partnership is the most effective way to provide support and services to national institutions, governments, civil society and others that are trying to make progress in human rights protection and promotion in this very important area of the world.”