From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

Benchmark 8
Benchmark 8 Support NHRIs to Integrate Internal Displacement into Their Work
Support NHRIs to Integrate Internal
Displacement into Their Work
Is there a national human rights institution
(NHRI) that gives attention to the issue of
internal displacement?
“Building strong human rights institutions at the country
level,” UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan observed
in 2002, “is what in the long run will ensure that human
rights are protected and advanced in a sustained manner.” 1
Establishing and strengthening national human rights institutions
(NHRIs) therefore are among the most important
ways to improve the national protection response,
including for internally displaced persons.
NHRIs are administrative bodies established and funded
by governments, through legislative or executive action,
that are intended to serve as independent mechanisms
for advancing human rights in a country. Over the past
thirty years, there have been efforts, often with the support
of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights (OHCHR), to establish and strengthen
NHRIs around the world. At present, 110 countries have
established NHRIs, which vary significantly by country;
for example, their names differ—some are called commissions,
others office of the ombudsman, still others
office of the public defender.
Whatever they are called, NHRIs are expected to operate
independently of the government. In reality, while
some are completely independent of their governments,
others are quasi-governmental institutions and still
others are arms of the state. To be internationally accredited,
NHRIs must meet the criteria for independence
spelled out in the Principles Relating to the Status and
Functioning of National Institutions for the Protection
and Promotion of Human Rights (Paris Principles),
1 United Nations, Strengthening of the United Nations: An
Agenda for Further Change, A/57/387 (2002), para. 50
(www.un.org/largerfreedom).
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which were endorsed by the UN Commission on
Human Rights in 1992 and by the General Assembly
and Vienna World Conference in 1993. 2 NHRIs are
individually ranked according to their compliance with
the Paris Principles, with category A being the highest
ranking. That NHRIs can play a valuable role in promoting
and protecting the rights of IDPs has been recognized
by various UN resolutions. 3
The document, Addressing Internal Displacement:
A Framework for National Responsibility identifies a
number of ways for NHRIs to engage with internal displacement
issues, including the following:
—monitoring IDP conditions to ensure that
IDPs enjoy the same rights as others in the
country, that they do not face discrimination in
seeking to access their rights, and that they receive
the protection and assistance they require
—conducting inquiries into reports of serious
violations of IDPs’ human rights, including
individual complaints by IDPs, and working to
ensure an effective response by the authorities
—following up on early warnings of displacement
and ensuring that authorities take necessary
actions to prevent displacement
—advising the government on the development
of national laws and policies to ensure protection
of the rights of IDPs
—monitoring and reporting on the government’s
implementation of national laws and
policies regarding internal displacement.
2 See Anna-Elina Pohjolainen, The Evolution of National
Human Rights Institutions: The Role of the United Nations,
Danish Institute for Human Rights, 2006 (www.nhri.net/
pdf/Evolution_of_NHRIs.pdf).
3 See, for example, UN Commission on Human Rights,
Resolution 2004/55 (20 April 2004), paras. 18 and 21; and
UN Commission on Human Rights, Resolution 2003/51,
23 April 2003, paras. 18 and 21.