Towards better monitoring and reporting
Graphic: Monitoring team from the NHRC at an election polling station
NHRIs from across the region are set to take part in a new training program that will explore good practice in monitoring human rights situations.
From documenting the conditions of prisons and police holding cells to assessing the challenges facing women and girls and other vulnerable groups, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) play a critical role in monitoring the human rights situation of their countries.
Effective NHRI monitoring holds a State accountable for its international human rights commitments.
It can also help drive positive change by identifying risks of violation before they occur and then proposing targeted recommendations to address those risks.
"Monitoring is a process of continuing oversight and review. By keeping the State's performance under scrutiny, monitoring seeks to deter human rights violations and encourage change that prevents human rights violations."
To assist NHRIs in this vital work, the APF will begin a new blended learning course for NHRIs in the Asia Pacific region, starting next month.
The course aims to strengthen the capacity of NHRIs to monitor and report on the human rights situations in their countries, with a focus on:
- Approaches to conducting monitoring exercises and formulating recommendations, including methods to select and prioritize human rights topics
- Adapting NHRI monitoring reports for national and international purposes
- Addressing the government and parliament on recommendations and follow-up on national and international reporting.
The blended learning course will include four weeks of online learning (14 August-8 September 2017), followed by a three-day workshop in Bangkok, Thailand (9-11 October 2017).
Participants who ave complete the course will have the opportunity to apply for a re-grant of up to EUR 15,000 to implement aspects of learning from the course within their respective NHRIs.
Further details are available at: https://www.humanrights.dk/projects/nhrieu-capacity-project.
Date: 17 July 2017
This course is being delivered in partnership with the Danish Institute for Human Rights and is funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights, as part of the EU NHRI Project.
Image credits
- Monitoring team from the NHRC at an election polling station - National Human Rights Commission of Nepal
- NHRI monitoring team visit a prison, Jordan - APF/Michael Power
- EU logo - EU