48. The UN Human Rights Council has underlined the value of NHRIs, established
and operating in accordance with the Paris Principles, in this context, namely
with respect to the work of NHRIs in continuously monitoring existing legislation
and informing the state of its impact on the activities of human rights defenders,
including by making relevant and concrete recommendations.63
49. Furthermore, participating States should ensure that public officials, including
law enforcement officers, the judiciary and other officials receive training on the
states’ obligations to respect, protect and fulfil the rights of human rights defenders, including the right to defend human rights.64
50. The UN Human Rights Committee has noted that states should adopt educative
and other measures to raise awareness about the Covenant not only among public
officials, but also among society at large.65 Participating States should also adopt
such measures with regard to other international standards concerning the protection of the rights of human rights defenders, including the present Guidelines.66
Legality, necessity and proportionality of limitations of fundamental rights in
connection with human rights work
51. International human rights standards allow for the imposition of restrictions or
limitations on certain rights within strictly defined parameters. These rights
include the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, assembly and association
(Articles 19, 21 and 22 of the ICCPR; Articles 10 and 11 of the ECHR; and Articles
13, 15 and 16 of the ACHR); freedom of movement (Article 12 ICCPR, Article 2 of
Protocol No. 4 to the ECHR; and Article 22 of the ACHR); and the right to respect
63 Para. 16. See also para. 2 of the “Declaration of Committee of Ministers on Council of Europe action to
improve the protection of human rights defenders and promote their activities”, which recommends giving
NHRIs or strengthening their competence to receive, consider and make recommendations for the resolution of
complaints by human rights defenders about violations of their rights. The Principles relating to the Status of
National Institutions or so called “Paris Principles” were adopted by UNGA Resolution 48/134 of 20 December
1993. The Paris Principles set out standards concerning the role, composition, status and functions of national
human rights institutions and guarantees for their independence. The International Coordinating Committee
for National Human Rights Institutions (ICC), established in 1993 to promote and strengthens NHRIs, reviews
and accredits national human rights institutions in compliance with Paris Principles. The Principles are available at: <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/StatusOfNationalInstitutions.aspx>.
64
See UN Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/22/6, para. 12.
65 UN Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31, “The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant”, UN Doc. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13, 26 May 2004, para. 7. Concerning the importance of measures to promote supportive and enabling environments for the prevention of human
rights violations, including human rights education and training and other measures, see also the UN Human
Rights Council Resolution on the role of prevention in the promotion and protection of human rights, A/HRC/
RES/24/16, adopted on 27 September 2013, para. 3.
66 See also Article 14 of the UN Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, which stresses that states have
“the responsibility to take legislative, judicial, administrative or other appropriate measures to promote the
understanding by all persons under its jurisdiction of their civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights”.
According to Article 15 “[t]he State has the responsibility to promote and facilitate the teaching of human rights
and fundamental freedoms at all levels of education and to ensure that all those responsible for training lawyers, law enforcement officers, the personnel of the armed forces and public officials include appropriate elements of human rights teaching in their training programme.”
Guidelines on the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
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