The ICC Bureau recently met in Morocco to begin discussions on a draft three-year strategic plan to guide the work of the International Coordinating Committee (ICC) of NHRIs.

The meeting of the ICC Bureau, held in Rabat from 1 – 2 November, considered a number of strategic actions which the ICC could pursue under five key categories including:

• maintaining and strengthening the accreditation process for NHRIs
• enhancing NHRI engagement with the international and regional human rights systems
• building partnerships and engaging with external stakeholders
• communication and sharing knowledge
• strengthening the work and functioning of regional organisations of NHRIs.

The outcome of these discussions, including a draft strategic framework for the ICC, will be provided shortly to all regional coordinating committees of NHRIs to distribute to their member institutions.

Feedback and input will be sought from ‘A-accredited’ NHRIs prior to the ICC 23 meeting, to be held in Geneva from 22-26 March 2010.

The APF was represented at the ICC Bureau meeting by its four elected member institutions – India, Jordan, Malaysia and New Zealand. The APF Secretariat also attended the meeting.

Rights of women and girls

Pip Dargan, representing the APF Secretariat, presented a report on the campaign for the independent participation of NHRIs at the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW).

“Currently NHRIs do not have standing in their own right in the CSW, with the result that NHRIs can only attend the CSW as part of their country’s government delegation if they are invited,” said Ms Dargan, who is coordinating the advocacy initiative.

In her presentation, she highlighted some of the positive steps that NHRIs, primarily from the Asia Pacific region, were able to make as a result of their active involvement at this year’s meeting of the CSW in March.

“However, to build on that progress, it is important that our advocacy in next year’s annual session is more international in its scope and involves NHRIs from all four of the ICC’s regions: Africa, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific and Europe.”

The 54th session of the CSW, to be held in New York from 1-12 March 2010, will focus on a global 15 year review of implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995) and its contribution to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals.

In preparation for this coming session, the ICC Chairperson, Ms Jennifer Lynch, supported by Ms Dargan, will be in New York from 14-17 December to hold discussions with high level UN officials and several key Permanent Missions to the United Nations from all four regions.

In addition, the ICC delegation will seek to gather further information regarding the recent decision of the General Assembly to establish a new UN Gender Agency which will amalgamate the four existing gender bodies.

New ICC Chairperson

The ICC Bureau warmly welcomed the APF nomination of Rosslyn Noonan, Chief Commissioner of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, as the next ICC Chairperson.

The African Network of NHRIs nominated the Kenyan National Human Rights Commission to be the incoming Deputy Chairperson of the ICC.

The formal endorsement of these nominees to the positions of ICC Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson will take place at the ICC General Assembly, during ICC 23, in March next year.

Read more

• ICC Bureau Meeting: agenda and some background papers
• Report on NHRI engagement with CSW (for ICC Bureau Meeting)
• APF Regional Report (for ICC Bureau Meeting)