4. International relations 4.1. Background The universality that characterizes human rights is reflected in the constant and intense consolidation of a web of international relations among the various community actors whose mission is the promotion and defense of those rights. For this reason, and since the Ombudsman has taken on a human rights Ombudsman dimension since its inception, a dimension that is gradually reinforced by the attribution to this State body of other powers, such as that of Institution the development of its activity spreads to the international level, which is evidenced by its membership in a wide range of international organizations, both universal and regional, which share the culture of respect for human rights. 4.2. International activity The achievement of the Ombudsman’s mission at the international level is based on collaboration with various institutions or organizations. Of these, it should be emphasized that the Ombudsman cooperates with the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Human Rights Council, bodies which have been conceived under the aegis of the United Nations and which are mandated by national human rights institutions The human rights situation of each community (be it understood as a country, a region or, even, globally). This State body is also a member of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (current denomination of the International Committee for the Coordination of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights), the organization responsible for the accreditation and reaccreditation of the National Institutions of Human Rights. Human Rights and its statutes of conformity – total or partial – with the Paris Principles. This State body is also part of the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions which, under the aegis of the aforementioned Global Alliance, closely monitors the activity of the national human rights institutions of Europe, Training and other support. Still in the European continent, the Ombudsman’s cooperative relations with the various mechanisms under the influence of the Council of Europe, the European Network of Ombudsmen and the Agency for Fundamental Rights of the European Union deserve special mention. 92 |