23 1 NHRI MODELS AND LEGAL FRAMEWORK 1.2 LEGAL FRAMEWORK NHRIs operate within the mandate established in their founding laws. NHRIs with broad, unrestricted mandates conferred by law can address the full range of human rights, including women’s rights. Other institutions have more limited mandates, and most of these are restricted to anti-discrimination and equality rights. In the OSCE region, three features appear to have implications for the extent to which NHRIs address women’s rights and gender equality: whether the NHRI has been given additional responsibilities without adequate resource allocation; whether the NHRI mandate extends to the private sector; and whether other specialized institutions have been created by the state to assume specific responsibility for gender equality or anti-discrimination issues. Additional NHRI responsibilities and limited resources NHRIs with broad mandates to address the full range of human rights issues may face challenges if they are also called upon to take on additional responsibilities, often without corresponding increases in resources. Two recent United Nations treaties, the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment15 and 15 The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT) obliges each State party to “…set up, designate or maintain at the domestic level one or several visiting bodies for the prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) are required to conduct regular visits to places of detention with a view to protecting persons held in such places from torture and ill-treatment. OPCAT, 2002, Art. 3 – 4 and 17. survey results 71% of NHRIs stated that they have a general mandate to protect all human rights, whereas 11% reported that their mandate was restricted to a specific type of rights, e.g., equality rights and anti-discrimination. 19% of NHRIs reported that their legislation specifically authorizes them to address gender issues and/or equality (in addition to their general human rights mandates).