The role of national human rights systems in the implementation of international human rights standards and recommendations

Purpose

This project aims at showcasing and better understanding how national human rights systems, defined as a comprehensive set of actors, processes and frameworks at country level, not only to roll out and coordinate national human rights policies, but also contribute to following up on international obligations and recommendations.

Together with consultative partners in Morocco, Mongolia and Costa Rica, the project will generate insights and policy recommendations feeding into the UN Treaty Body Review 2020.

The difference we make

The project is spearheaded by the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, and directly takes inspiration in the research agenda and conceptual framing put forward by the Danish Institute for Human Rights on national human rights systems and the “domestic institutionalisation of human rights”. As such, the DIHR is associated to be project in view of contributing expertise for the production of an analytical policy brief and taking part in a summative conference planned in December 2020 in Geneva.

This objective is to continue accumulating an ever more comprehensive understanding of the strengths and weaknesses affecting different national human rights systems, and specifically in its engagement with international and regional actors. As such, it decrypts the dynamics created by international human rights recommendations by focusing on national monitoring and implementation strategies.

It does so by exploring the set up and practices of three national systems (Morocco, Costa Rica and Mongolia), through a participatory exploration of state-level practices conducted together with the NHRIs and governmental human rights focal points in the three countries, as well as coalition of NGOs where possible.

The project is analytical and also practice-oriented, aiming at presenting the solutions developed by different actors and notably how they have organised themselves and interacted with others in view of deepening their country’s engagement with international human rights actors.

Partners

This project is orchestrated by the Geneva Academy, and involves multiple consultation partners in the three countries selected as case studies.

In Morocco, this includes contributions from the Conseil National des Droits de l’Homme (the independent NHRI) and the Délégation Interministérielle des Droits de l’Homme (governmental human rights focal point).

This research project is supported by the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Office of the United Nations and to the other International Organizations in Geneva.