National Human Rights Institutions Pathways for Pacific States

34PluralismThe OHCHR handbook emphasises that for an NHRI to beeffective, its members and staff should reflect the communitythey are mandated to serve and be people withexpertise, integrity and credibility in the eyes of both theGovernment and the public. The Paris Principles refer toa pluralistic membership and stipulate appointment ofpeople who can be representatives of:• Non-governmental organisations, trade unions andsocial and professional organisations (such asassociations of lawyers, doctors, journalists andeminent scientists).• Trends in philosophical or religious thought.• Universities and qualified experts.• Members of Parliament.• Government departments (if included, these representativesshould participate in an advisory capacity only).Each state must consider how best to reflect the pluralismof its own society. In the Paris Principles, there is noprescribed or ideal number of members. Across the AsiaPacific region the number of members in NHRIs varieswidely and includes full-time and part-time members. TheParis Principles emphasise that appointment processesshould be transparent and include consultation with civilsociety and parliamentary representatives. Pluralism canalso be obtained by proactive employment policies thatresult in a diversity of staff reflecting the community inwhich the NHRI is operating.In practice the means for securing pluralism vary widelyeven in large states. To help ensure pluralism, some NHRIshave established one or more advisory groups to assistwith particular work programmes.THE PACIFIC CONTEXTIn practice, independence ultimately depends on the qualityof appointments and the relationships between theNHRI and the Government. The possible tensions notedearlier need skilled navigation, an understanding of theshared goal of human rights promotion and protection,and a commitment to mutual respect. In Tuvalu, Governmentrepresentatives indicated it was preferable for NHRIsto be independent as complaints were likely to be againstthe Government and an institution too closely alignedwith it would cause confusion.In small Pacific states the concept of independence has anumber of practical implications. With a small, sometimestiny, pool of people available to be considered for selection,it is inevitable that those seeking appointment andthose making the appointments will be well known to oneanother, from the same village or island and/or related.Multiple roles mean that a person employed in the publicsector, running a private business and on the board of alocal community group may effectively represent public,private and civil society interests at the same time. In addition,they may have a village or island leadership role ortitle in their own right and belong to a particular churchor religious group. Conflicts of interest are inevitable andfrequent.In small Pacific states more work is needed to ensurethese interests can be harnessed as strengths and notperceived as weaknesses that undermine perceptions of,or actual, independence. Where conflicts do arise, transparencyand accountability will be important so that anyconflicts of interest are dealt with openly.The requirement for pluralist representation and diversitycan also cause difficulties given the small numbers ofavailable people and workforce fragility due to pressuresfrom internal and external skills competition. Movementof workers between civil society, private and governmentsectors is also frequent.SUGGESTIONS:• Consider country exchanges of personnel such asOmbudsmen, members and staff of existing regionalNHRIs and the Asia Pacific Forum of National HumanRights Institutions, relevant United Nations personnel,civil society leaders and others who can assist in