NARRATIVE REPORT 2009 - The ICHRP

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International Council on Human Rights Policy - Narrative Report 2009 areas. The development of a strategic plan, succeeding the project-based approach the Council has followed to date, could assist the organisation to communicate its work more clearly and achieve more calculable and significant impacts on policy. In parallel, the Board and Secretariat are developing an approach to communications that, in addition to redesigning a new database (linked to the website) and increasing staff capacity in this area, will see the production of new, short, accessible documents that complement the research reports and summaries that the Council already produces. A first innovation was made in 2009, when the Council started a new series of Discussion Papers. Other initiatives will take form in the course of 2010-2011 and will include the introduction of web-based discussion forums, the first of which opened in early 2010 on the subject of NGO Accountability. Substantively, the Council’s programme has continued to progress strongly. ICHRP produced three important reports in 2009 – on corruption, on plural legal systems, and on sexuality – as well as a book on climate change co-published with Cambridge University Press. In 2010 it expects to produce up to six significant reports: a second report on corruption; reports on migration and human smuggling, on social control policies, on privacy and new technology, and on technology transfer in the context of climate change; and a new short publication on macro-economic policy and human rights that will be based on a Colloquium the Council prepared in 2009 and held in conjunction with Realizing Rights in January 2010. In addition, during 2010 the Council may publish one or more Discussion Papers on sexuality, health and human rights, as part of a two year programme of work associated with research undertaken by the World Health Organization. The Board Review and the DFID/Finland evaluation both wrestle with the vexed question of measuring effectiveness and impact. Whereas the DFID/Finland evaluation focused on ICHRP’s impact on specific government policies, the Board has looked for more general evidence of impact on a range of relevant audiences, reflecting the Council’s own approach. In this context, recent reports have undoubtedly had influence. Corruption and Human Rights, first published by ICHRP in February 2009, was reprinted in a new edition co-published with Transparency International in the second half of the year. Bolstered by a second report (2010) that will focus on the culture and policies of anti-corruption institutions, the Council’s work has already influenced discussion of human rights and corruption. ICHRP is closely involved in preparations for the 14 th International Anti-Corruption Convention in Bangkok (October 2010), which will give additional attention to human rights, and the Council’s own follow-up programme, to include several thematic and regional meetings, will continue through the year. Sexuality and Human Rights (July 2009) laid a foundation for further detailed policy work on this contested subject, and led to an association with the World Health Organization that is generating an ambitious programme of meetings and publications on the basis of research that WHO commissioned in 2008-2009. Finally, though it is too soon to evaluate the impact of When Legal Worlds Overlap (November 2009), which deals with another complex and contested area of policy, the arguments this report develops are already being taken up and applied by academics and by operational organisations such as UNIFEM, the World Bank and the British Council. (All three reports are described in more detail in the body of this narrative report.) ICHRP is a small organisation with seven permanent staff and a global mandate. It can be proud of its achievements, not least those accomplished in 2009, and hopeful that the innovations piloted in 2009-2010 will enable it under a new Director to produce even better work that can be communicated more effectively to a wider audience.
International Council on Human Rights Policy - Narrative Report 2009 THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY Established in 1998, the International Council on Human Rights Policy (ICHRP) researches problems and dilemmas that confront organisations of all kinds working in the field of human rights. It is independent, and is international, interdisciplinary and consultative in its approach. It draws attention to its research findings but is not an advocacy organisation. 1 Created by a group of experienced human rights activists after the end of the Cold War, the Council was administered during its start-up in 1996-97 by Interights. Council members were appointed and met for the first time in Cairo in June 1997. The Council moved to Geneva in 1998 and was recognised by the Swiss authorities as a not-for-profit Foundation under Swiss law in July of that year. It has enjoyed Special Consultative Status with the United Nations’ Economic and Social Council since 2003. Governance The Council is directed by an Executive Board, which takes advice annually from the Council’s members. Acting under the Board’s instructions, the Council’s research programme and other activities are organised by a Secretariat based in Geneva. The International Council has an advisory role. Members are appointed by the Executive Board and serve for a maximum of six years. They meet annually to identify and discuss emerging international human rights issues and recommend themes for research. After Cairo, the Council has met in Lima, Geneva (3 times), Jakarta, Guadalajara, Lahore, Budapest, Bangkok and Kampala. The Council may include up to 30 members; it currently has 25. The Executive Board has overall responsibility for management of the Council's affairs and meets at least three times a year. The Board (rather than the Secretariat or the Council) approves themes for research and sets the research programme. The Executive Director is a non-voting member. Board members are also Council members and are subject to the same six-year limit on service. The Board is chaired by Ms Hina Jilani and has six members. Council and Board members are listed in Appendices II & III. Board Review In mid 2009 the Board initiated a review of the Council’s operations, which will examine the Council’s mandate, its research methodology, its dissemination and outreach, its influence, its governance, and the role played by Council Members. In the initial phase of the review, the Board determined that no fundamental change should be made to the Council’s mandate, but that the Council should innovate in its research methodology and should consider adopting a strategic plan; that the Secretariat should put greater emphasis on outreach and dissemination and should produce more short policy-focused documents; and that the Council Meeting and the role of Council members should be reinvigorated. The Board was assisted in its review by an independent impact evaluation commissioned by DFID and the Foreign Ministry of Finland, which became available in December 2009. Staff In October 2009, the Council’s first Executive Director, Robert Archer, stepped down after 12 years. Following interviews in January and February 2010, Maina Kiai was appointed to succeed him. He will take up his responsibilities from July 2010. 1 The Council’s Mission Statement can be found in Appendix I. 1
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NARRATIVE REPORT 2009 - The ICHRP

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