2. the national human rights institution mandate According to the Paris Principles, NHRIs shall cooperate with United Nations and its various agencies, regional institutions and other NHRIs. Part of such cooperation is the provision of information in connection with examination of states by the various United Nations human rights committees and the regional institutions and the monitoring of the follow up as outlined above. NHRIs can utilize international cooperation to further reproductive rights in other ways: 1. Some of the United Nations human rights committees can receive individual complaints, as set out in the annexes. The various regional bodies can also receive such complaints. Consequently, assuming that the country in question has made the relevant declaration, signed the relevant optional protocol or refrained from making invalidating reservations, a NHRI can help bring individual cases before such bodies, thus contributing to the creation of international jurisprudence within the field of reproductive rights. 2. Both the United Nations and the various regional mechanisms have Special Procedures, such as the working groups, special rapporteurs and independent experts established by the United Nations Human Rights Council or the relevant body of the regional human rights mechanisms. None of these are specifically focused on reproductive rights but for example the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health includes reproductive health, and the Special Rapporteur has done work in this field, as touched more upon in the next chapters and in greater detail in Annex 1. The present and the former Rapporteur on violence against women (VAW), its causes and consequences have considered reproductive rights, including issues relating to HIV/AIDS, and the connection between domestic and other violence against women and reproductive rights. In 2010 the Special Rapporteur on the right to education prepared a report on the right to sexuality education. Special Rapporteurs normally do country visits. When visiting a country the Special Rapporteur will normally want to visit the NHRI in that country. Briefing the Special Rapporteur on the situation of reproductive rights can be a very good way to put this issue on the agenda. In many cases Special Procedures will be prepared to consider individual matters and take urgent actions. Therefore, if a NHRI has become aware of a particularly egregious human rights violation and has the impression that it is not being resolved, it can inform the relevant Special Procedure and ask him or her to look into the matter. 61

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents