CHAPTER 3: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF NHRIS women’s human rights.23 In 2005, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights affirmed the importance of NHRIs, in cooperation with other human rights mechanisms, in the protection and promotion of the human rights of women.24 For NHRIs, women’s human rights engage not only legal standards but also monitoring the effect given to legal provisions, which provide indicators of progress. The Millennium Development Goals, for example, are important tools in creating the links between women’s ESC rights and measures of progress towards equality through human development and good governance. A discussion of the links between human rights and development is found in Chapter 5 3.7.1.2 NHRIs and Rights of Persons with Disabilities Similarly, there are various state obligations, laws, and norms that address the rights of persons with disabilities. According to the UN Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, “discrimination on the basis of disability” means any distinction, exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural and civil domain, or any other field. 3.7.1.3 IDPs, Refugees, Stateless Persons and Migrants Many NHRIs have the role and responsibility to ensure that these persons receive human rights protections just as other persons under the jurisdiction of the State. This can often be especially challenging since many countries significantly proscribe the rights of migrants and refugees, and even of internal migrants. 3.8 NHRIs and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights NHRIs have a responsibility to promote all rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, and this responsibility spans promotion and protection. Since this is one of the more difficult areas of human rights protection, it merits particular attention for UNCT staff seeking to support NHRIs. Making ESC rights a reality can present significant challenges in practice for NHRIs. First, not all NHRIs clearly have ESC rights in their jurisdiction, and even if they do, it is not always easy to tackle these complex rights that may require long term approaches and “positive” State action, usually in the area of program development and spending. Legal standards are set out in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), and in many other human rights instruments that are relevant to this area, such as the Optional Protocol of the ICESCR (See Chapter 1, and Annexes). CESR General Comment No. 10 (par. 4) sets out the roles that NHRIs play in protecting and promoting these rights: 11 Promoting educational and information programs designed to enhance awareness and understanding of ESC rights, both within the general public and among particular groups, such as the public service, the judiciary, the private sector and the labour movement; 11 Scrutinising existing laws, administrative acts, draft bills, and other proposals to ensure that they are consistent with the requirements of the ICESCR; 11 Providing technical advice or undertaking surveys in relation to ESC rights; 11 Identifying national benchmarks for measuring the progressive realisation of ESC rights; 11 Conducting research and inquiries to ascertain the extent of realisation of particular ESC rights, at the national level, or in relation to specific vulnerable communities. CESCR “The role of national human rights institutions in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights.” 14/12/98. E/C.12/1998/25, CESCR General Comment 10. NHRIs can have a role in activities in this regard, including: advocacy and awareness-raising, training and capacitybuilding, partnership-building, practice development and knowledge networking. Opportunities for integrating human rights with human development occur in all UNDP areas of practice and throughout the programme cycle. Some of these opportunities are discussed in the next sections. Montreal Principles. 23 See OHCHR, National institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights. Human Rights Resolution 2005/74. 24 45