A national human rights institution (NHRI) is an independent state-based institution with the responsibility to broadly protect and promote human rights in a given country. The growth of such bodies has been encouraged by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which has provided advisory and support services, and facilitated access for NHRIs to the United Nations (UN) treaty bodies and other committees. There are over one hundred such institutions, about two-thirds assessed by peer review as compliant with the United Nations standards set out in the Paris Principles. Compliance with the Principles is the basis for accreditation at the UN, which, uniquely for NHRIs, is not conducted directly by a UN body but by a sub-committee of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) called the Sub-Committee on Accreditation. The secretariat to the review process is provided by the National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms Section of the OHCHR.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the national human rights institution (NHRI) for Northern Ireland. It came into existence on 1 March 1999, having been created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom through section 68 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, in compliance with a commitment made by the UK Government in the Belfast Agreement of 10 April 1998. Its powers were amended by the Justice and Security Act 2007.
The Department of Justice is a department of the Government of Ireland. It is led by the Minister for Justice. The department's mission is to maintain and enhance community security and to promote a fairer society in Ireland.
Human rights education (HRE) is the learning process that seeks to build up knowledge, values, and proficiency in the rights that each person is entitled to. This education teaches students to examine their own experiences from a point of view that enables them to integrate these concepts into their values, decision-making, and daily situations. According to Amnesty International, HRE is a way to empower people, training them so their skills and behaviors will promote dignity and equality within their communities, societies, and throughout the world.
The Human Rights Commission is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is a non-departmental public body in Great Britain, established by the Equality Act 2006 with effect from 1 October 2007. The Commission has responsibility for the promotion and enforcement of equality and non-discrimination laws in England, Scotland and Wales. It took over the responsibilities of the Commission for Racial Equality, the Equal Opportunities Commission and the Disability Rights Commission. The EHRC also has responsibility for other aspects of equality law: age, sexual orientation and religion or belief. A national human rights institution, it seeks to promote and protect human rights throughout Great Britain.
The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) is a national human rights institution (NHRI) operating in accordance with the UN Paris Principles. The DIHR was originally established as the Danish Centre for Human Rights by a parliamentary decision on 5 May 1987. From January 2003 until January 2013, the DIHR was part of the Danish Centre for International Studies and Human Rights. DCISM closed at the end of 2012, and the DIHR was again created as a separate organisation.
The Paris Principles were defined at the first International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights held in Paris on 7–9 October 1991. They were adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Commission by Resolution 1992/54 of 1992, and by the UN General Assembly in its Resolution 48/134 of 1993. In addition to exchanging views on existing arrangements, the workshop participants drew up a comprehensive series of recommendations on the role, composition, status and also functions of national human rights institutions (NHRIs). These built on standards previously adopted by the 1978 Geneva Seminar on National and Local Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’, which produced the ‘Guidelines on the Structure and Functioning of National and Local Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights’. The 1993 Paris Principles regulate to the status and functioning of national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights known as National Human Rights Institutions.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland is a non-departmental public body in Northern Ireland established under the Northern Ireland Act 1998. "The Commission is responsible for implementing the legislation on sex discrimination and equal pay, race relations, sexual orientation, age, religious or similar philosophical belief, political opinion and disability. The Commission’s remit also includes overseeing the statutory duties on public authorities to promote equality of opportunity and good relations under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998."
The Scottish Human Rights Commission (SHRC) is the national human rights institution for Scotland. It was established by the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act and started its work in 2008. The Commission is independent of the Scottish and UK Government, and of Parliament.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea is the independent commission for protecting, advocating and promoting human rights. This commission, by law, is guaranteed the independent status regarding all human rights issues in South Korea. According to judgment of Constitutional Court of Korea in year 2010, NHRCK is an independent agency inside executive branch of South Korean government.
The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process. Commonly referred to as the UPR, it was established by General Assembly resolution 60/251 of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of all 193 UN Member States. It is intended to complement, not duplicate, the work of other human rights mechanisms, including the UN human rights treaty bodies. This is the first international human rights mechanism to address all countries and all human rights. The Working Group on the UPR, which is composed of the HRC's 47 Member States and chaired by the HRC President, conducts country reviews.
The Irish Human Rights Commission (IHRC) was a public body, state-funded but independent of government, that promoted and protected human rights in the Republic of Ireland. It was established on 23 July 2001 under the Human Rights Commission Act 2000. It was dissolved in 2014.
The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), formerly known as the 'International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions', is a global network of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) – administrative bodies set up to promote, protect and monitor human rights in a given country. The GANHRI, whose full legal title is the "Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions", coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations human rights system, and is unique as the only non-UN body whose internal accreditation system, based on compliance with the 1993 Paris Principles, grants access to UN committees. Institutions accredited by the Subcommittee for Accreditation (SCA) of the GANHRI with "A status", meaning full compliance with the Paris Principles, are usually accorded speaking rights and seating at human rights treaty bodies and other UN organs, mainly to the Human Rights Council. The GANHRI representative often presents statements on behalf of individual NHRIs or the regional groups.
The National Commission on Human Rights is the national human rights institution (NHRI) of Indonesia. As with other NHRIs, its principal functions are the protection and promotion of human rights.
The Saskatchewan Human Rights Commission is a body within the Government of Saskatchewan whose mission is "To promote and protect the individual dignity, fundamental freedoms and equal rights of Saskatchewan citizens." It enforces the Saskatchewan Human Rights Code.
The Alberta Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is a quasi-judicial human rights body in Alberta, Canada, created by the provincial government.
The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) is a membership international not-for-profit association (AISBL) under Belgian law. In 2013 it established its Permanent Secretariat in Brussels bringing together National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) from across the wider European region. Formerly known as European Group of National Human Rights Institutions, ENNHRI has been actively working in the field of promotion and protection of human rights in wider Europe for 15 years. ENNHRI essentially assists in the establishment and accreditation of European NHRIs, coordinates the exchange of information and best practices among its members, facilitates capacity building and training, engages with international and regional mechanisms for protection and promotion of human right and intervenes on legal and policy developments in Europe.
Human rights in Ireland are protected under the Irish Constitution and European provisions. Since 2014 the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission has overseen human rights in the republic. Human rights issues in the country that have raised concern include abortion rights, child abuse, and human trafficking.
MR and DR v An t-Ard-Chláraitheoir [2014] IESC 60, [2014] 3 IR 533 is a reported Irish Supreme Court case decision. The Court held that the Civil Registration Act 2004 only allows the birth mother to be on the birth certificate. It was decided that children born through surrogacy will have the name of their birth mother on their birth certificate and not the mother who is going to raise them.
