Strengthening the impact of national human rights institutions in the Americas

In recent years human rights have been under extraordinary pressure in the Americas. Indigenous peoples continue to be at great risk throughout the region, violence against women remains prevalent and attacks against human rights defenders are widespread. This poses a tremendous task for the national human rights institutions of the region, who often find themselves on the frontline of the crisis.

The Network of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the American Continent (RINDHCA), one of the four regional networks collaborating with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), works to support the efforts of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) in the Americas. So far, the work of the network has been limited, partly due to lack of leadership and facilitation of regional
activities. This is about to change.

A new office in Panama

The Danish Institute of Human Rights has supported the network in establishing a permanent secretariat located in Panama. In 2019 the Government of Panama granted permission to establish the office and a director has been hired. This is the culmination of more than three years of consultations and advocacy coordinated under the auspices of the NHRI.EU project.

“Many Latin American countries are going through turbulent times and human rights defenders in a number of countries are risking their lives to create change. The national human rights institutions in the region are doing a remarkable job to protect and promote human rights but they need the support and coordination that a strong regional secretariat can offer,” says Cecilia Bernuy, Director of RINDHCA Secretariat.

Mobilising change in the region

One of the main challenges for the new regional secretariat is to coordinate

and organise activities that facilitate knowledge exchange amongst national human rights institutions in order to increase their impact by suggesting common solutions to regional human rights problems. In 2020 the Institute will continue to work alongside the regional secretariat on the development of a new strategy to increase the impact and outreach of the network.

READ THE ANNUAL REPORT: This article was first published in the Annual Report 2019 of the Danish Institute for Human Rights.