rights defenders and the authorities or other parts of society.413 NHRIs can also perform an important role in monitoring the implementation of the present Guidelines, including in carrying out the baseline review mentioned above. 272. Participating States should ensure that NHRIs have a strong mandate in accordance with the Paris Principles, as well as the necessary resources to perform this role effectively and independently. Participating States have committed to facilitate the establishment and strengthening of independent national institutions in the area of human rights and the rule of law.414 In this vein, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has urged participating States “to establish national human rights institutions in accordance with the Paris Principles, to take the appropriate measures to ensure their independence and all steps necessary to promote their working in partnership with and as advocates for other representatives of civil society.”415 The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has also called on member states of the organization to “consider giving or, where appropriate, strengthening competence and capacity to independent commissions, ombudspersons, or national human rights institutions to receive, consider and make recommendations for the resolution of complaints by human rights defenders about violations of their rights”.416 273. T he OSCE Parliamentary Assembly has recommended that Parliamentary Dele- gations to the OSCE enhance their engagement with human rights defenders and NHRIs in their respective states.417 Similarly, PACE has emphasized that parliamentarians have a major responsibility in shaping the political context and the working environment of human rights defenders and monitoring human rights developments.418 More specifically, PACE has called on national parliaments of Council of Europe member States to, inter alia, ensure that legislation relating to defenders and their work is in conformity with international standards; adopt and 413  See report of the UN Special Rapporteur to the Human Rights Council, UN Doc. A/HRC/22/47, 16 January 2013. In its General Observations, the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (ICC) reminded that “National Institutions are established by States for the specific purpose of advancing and defending human rights at the national level”. Furthermore, it stressed that – as an essential requirement of the Paris Principles – NHRIs should develop, formalize and maintain working relationships with a range of human rights bodies and institutions, including civil society and non-governmental organizations. “The importance of formalizing clear and workable relationships with other human rights bodies and civil society, such as through public memoranda of understanding, serves as a reflection of the importance of ensuring regular, constructive working relationships and is key to increasing the transparency of the NHRI’s work with these bodies.” See International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, “ICC SCA General Observations as adopted in Geneva in May 2013”, pages 6 and 21-22. 414  Copenhagen 1990, para. 27. 415  OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, “Resolution on strengthening OSCE engagement with human rights defenders and national human rights institutions”, para. 15, Kyiv Declaration and Resolutions adopted at the sixteenth annual session, Kyiv, 5 to 9 July 2007, pp. 28-30, <http://www.oscepa.org/publications/ declarations/2007-kyiv-declaration/250-kyiv-declaration-english/file>. 416  Op. cit. “Declaration of the Committee of Ministers on Council of Europe action to improve the protection of human rights defenders and promote their activities”, para. 2 (v). 417  OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, “Resolution on strengthening OSCE engagement with human rights defenders and national human rights institutions”, para. 20. 418  PACE Resolution 1660 (2009), para. 3. Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders 127