2. the national human rights institution mandate c. There has been much discussion on legislation on sexually transmitted infections, including HIV/AIDS. Such legislation should respect the human rights of infected and affected persons, including their right to privacy, while encouraging testing and preventive precautions. d. NHRIs can also look into criminal legislation to ensure that there are provisions in place prohibiting harmful practices such as female genital mutilation and other violations of reproductive rights. NHRIs should similarly work to ensure that criminal laws are human rights compliant and do not contain provisions that discriminate or work against achieving reproductive rights for all. Examples of discriminatory legislation are laws that criminalize same sex activities between consenting adults and laws that restrict access to sexual and reproductive health services for unmarried couples and adolescents. Other laws, such as laws criminalizing sex work, can also have negative impacts with respect to the enjoyment of reproductive rights and other human rights. e. A country’s ability to fulfil human rights, including reproductive rights, depends to a large degree on its budgeting, as for example necessary sexual and reproductive health can only be secured if sufficient funds are allocated to this area. On that account, a NHRI should review the public budgets and budgeting processes to ensure a human rightsbased approach, see further below in Chapter 4. f. An important part of human rights is the right to effective remedies in case of violations. A NHRI should assess whether there are legislation and regulations in place to provide effective and accessible remedies to persons whose reproductive rights have been violated. For instance, if a woman has not been provided with reproductive health services, e.g. with respect to natal care, there should be easily accessible means of complaining with the potential for remedies such as compensation. g. Some countries have a parallel system of customary law, being metered out by traditional leaders according to cultural and/or religious values. Customary law can be much more important to people than the laws created by parliament and enforced in the courts of law, not least regarding reproductive rights, such as marriage law. Consequently, when reviewing existing law, a NHRI should include customary law. This will normally entail some research as customary law is rarely documented in the same way as formal law. In order to be culturally sensitive, such a review should focus on ensuring that customary law does not go against recognized tenets of human rights and that it does not promote harmful practices, but without diminishing its value as a legitimate source of law. h. In addition to looking at the contents of legislation and other regulation, a NHRI should look at the processes used when enacting legislation, regulations and policies. According to the 39