6. The role of national institutions and civil society 6.1 National human rights institutions National human rights institutions (NHRIs) such as human rights commissions and ombudsmen (also known in some countries as public defenders or public protectors) have been established by government in many countries. They are a repository of knowledge and expertise on human rights issues and usually perform functions such as monitoring human rights violations and problems, advising governments on legislative and other matters, and carrying out programmes of human rights education. While their structure and functions vary from one country to another, they play an extremely important role in promoting and protecting human rights. They can also make a significant contribution to the preparation and implementation of a national action plan and should participate in both the national coordinating committee and wider consultative activities. In countries that do not have NHRIs, their establishment is normally a key objective of the plan (see section 8.5.6). Where national plans have been developed to date in countries that have NHRIs, the latter have usually been closely involved in the planning process. South Africa, where the impetus for drafting a plan came from the human rights commission, is a good example. In some cases, such as the Philippines, NHRIs may be called upon to take a leading role in coordinating the implementation of the plan. Where this happens, it should still be clearly recognized that the commitments in the plan impose obligations on governments to take appropriate action and that responsibility for ensuring achievement of the plan’s objectives cannot be transferred to non-governmental bodies. Given their status of independence from government, it is normally difficult for NHRIs to take responsibility for supervising the implementation of the plan. The role of NHRIs should be essentially to monitor implementation, to provide expertise and to make recommendations to government regarding appropriate action. This general point notwithstanding, there may be areas in which an NHRI itself will be the implementing body for one or more areas of the plan, such as human rights education for the general public. In addition, some national plan objectives may aim at the better functioning of NHRIs. Where the activity of NHRIs under the plan goes beyond their normal functions, government should ensure that adequate resources are made available. 6.2 Who constitutes civil society? “Civil society” may generally be regarded as all organizations and individuals who are not directly associated with government. Reflecting the strengthening of democratic institutions around the world over the past two decades, civil society has assumed an increasingly important role in contemporary public policy-making. Improvements in information technology and transport have facilitated this development. The public is now much better informed, better able to organize and better able to express its views. 51