OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Act on the Independent National Human Rights Institution of Iceland IV. ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1. International Standards on National Human Rights Institutions 11. NHRIs are independent bodies with a constitutional and/or legislative mandate to protect and promote human rights. They are considered to constitute a “key component of effective national human rights protection systems and indispensable actors for the sustainable promotion and protection of human rights at the country level”.3 Thus, NHRIs link the responsibilities of the State stemming from international human rights obligations to the rights of individuals in the country. Although part of the state apparatus, NHRIs’ independence from the executive, legislative and judicial branches ensures that they are able to fulfil their mandate. 12. The main instrument relevant to NHRIs at the international level are the United Nations Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Paris Principles”).4 While they do not prescribe any particular model for NHRIs, these principles outline minimum standards in this respect, including a broad human rights mandate, autonomy from government, guarantees of functional and institutional independence, pluralism, adequate resources and adequate powers of investigation, where applicable. The ensuing recommendations are also based on the General Observations of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (hereinafter “GANHRI”),5 formerly the International Coordinating Committee for National Human Rights Institutions (ICC), developed by its SubCommittee on Accreditation of NHRIs, which serve as interpretive tools of the Paris Principles.6 13. The need for effective, independent, and pluralistic NHRIs has also been reiterated by numerous resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly and the UN Human Rights Council.7 3 4 5 6 7 See UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Report to the UN General Assembly (2007), A/62/36, par 15, available at https://www.iom.int/jahia/webdav/shared/shared/mainsite/policy_and_research/un/62/A_62_36_EN.pdf. The UN Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (hereinafter “the Paris Principles”) were defined at the first International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in Paris (7-9 October 1991), and adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993, available at http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/StatusOfNationalInstitutions.aspx. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institution (GANHRI), formerly known as the International Coordinating Committee for National Human Rights Institutions (ICC), was established in 1993 and is the international association of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from all parts of the globe. The GANHRI promotes and strengthens NHRIs in accordance with the Paris Principles, and provides leadership in the promotion and protection of human rights. Through its Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA), it also reviews and accredits national human rights institutions in compliance with Paris Principles. The GANHRI may also assist those NHRIs under threat and encourage the reform of NHRI statutory legislation and the provision of technical assistance, such as education and training opportunities, to strengthen the status and capacities of NHRIs. See http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/Pages/default.aspx. The latest revised General Observations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation, as adopted by the ICC Bureau (hereinafter “General Observations”) at its meeting in Geneva on 6-7 May 2013, are available at http://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/AboutUs/ICCAccreditation/Documents/SCA%20GENERAL%20OBSERVATIONS%20ENGLISH.pdf. See e.g., UN General Assembly, Resolution no. 70/163 on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, A/RES/70/163, adopted on 17 December 2015, available at http://www.un.org/en/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/70/163; Resolutions nos. 63/169 and 65/207 on the Role of the Ombudsman, Mediator and Other National Human Rights Institutions in the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, A/RES/63/169 and A/RES/65/207, adopted on 18 December 2008 and on 21 December 2010 respectively; Resolutions nos. 63/172 and 64/161 on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, A/RES/63/172 and A/RES/64/161, adopted on 18 December 2008 and 18 December 2009 respectively; and Resolution no. 48/134 on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, A/RES/48/134, adopted on 4 March 1994 – all available at http://www.un.org/en/sections/documents/general-assembly-resolutions/index.html. See also the Resolution no. 27/18 on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights of the UN human Rights Council, A/HRC/RES/27/18, adopted on 7 October 2014, available at http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/dpage_e.aspx?si=A/HRC/27/L.25. 6