National Human Rights Institutions

National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are independent public bodies that fight for the furthering of human rights in their country. We support other human rights institutions in building the capacity to fulfil their mandates

NHRIs play an increasingly important part in safeguarding human rights in their respective countries. They monitor and report on the human rights situation, they advise parliaments and governments, deal with complaints from citizens whose rights have been violated, train authorities, provide public information and much more to strengthen and protect the human rights of people in their country.

The UN system rely increasingly on the input of NHRIs when accessing the human rights situation of a given country. The critical role of NHRIs have also been recognised in The 2030 Agenda, as fully independent and well-functioning (A-status) NHRIs has been chosen as an indicator for SDG 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions.

As the only NHRI with a significant international mandate, the Danish Institute for Human Rights plays a crucial role in developing the capacity and influence of other NHRIs.

For more than 20 years we have worked to enhance the recognition and roles of NHRIs both on national and international level. We work to ensure that human rights institutions remain independent and credible and we support new or weak NHRIs and provide capacity development to build their organisations to ensure that they can fulfil their mandate. Read more about our work with NHRIs.