CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCING NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS In some countries, the law may say that the NHRI must protect and promote human rights which are contained in ratified international treaties. Constitutions and NHRI enabling laws will vary from country to country, and should be read carefully. Some countries do not have a constitutional basis for their NHRIs, but only a legislative base. A NHRI created in this manner complies with the Paris Principles. HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION ACT, 1994 South African Human Rights Commission “WHEREAS the Constitution provides that the Human Rights Commission shall, inter alia, be competent and obliged to promote the observance of, respect for and the protection of fundamental rights; to develop an awareness of fundamental rights among all people of the Republic” (emphasis added). In some countries, NHRIs are created by decree, ordersin-council, proclamations or other executive instruments that do not require the approval of the country’s elected representatives. NHRIs created by such executive instruments do not meet international standards. According to the ICC’s General Observations, the creation of an institution by an instrument of the Executive is not adequate to ensure permanency and independence. For details on enabling laws and compliance with the Paris Principles, see Chapters 7 and 10. Generally speaking, human rights laws should be given a broad, liberal and purposive interpretation. NHRIs can provide a central role in building a culture of human rights, while reinforcing the rule of law. And while this cannot be used to “read in” rights that do not exist, a broad reading of an NHRI law can be used to interpret a set of existing rights more expansively and in a way that is more consistent with the achievement of human rights. For example, in some jurisdictions the right to be free from discrimination on the grounds of sex has been read broadly to include the rights of women who are pregnant and breastfeeding. 1.2.4 International human rights law This Toolkit deals primarily with obligations arising from treaties and focuses on the UN system, although there will be some reference to regional systems. Many human rights norms have been codified by the United Nations over the past fifty years and given force through a range of covenants, conventions, protocols and other instruments. These human rights norms are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, as States re-affirmed at the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights. States have also accepted the establishment of international bodies to supervise national compliance with international human rights law. Thus, the promotion and protection of human rights has become an objective in the international community and this has direct implications for UNCT staff in the field. In many cases, treaty bodies3 have identified NHRIs as key implementing mechanisms for facilitating the national application of international human rights. TWO SOURCES OF CONVENTIONAL OR TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS OBLIGATIONS The UN system has general application internationally, subject to individual state ratifications or accessions, declarations and reservations. Regional systems for human rights protection apply within territorial limitations, e.g. the African, the InterAmerican and the European human rights systems. There are three general sources of international law: (1) treaty or conventional law, (2) customary international law, and (3) general principles of law. For the purposes of this Toolkit, we will focus on treaty or conventional law. Upon ratifying a treaty or convention, States undertake certain legal obligations. Annex 1: Table of UN Instruments and International Law provides an overview of the key UN instruments listed according to their thematic relevance. (See the end of Chapter 1) Information on treaty bodies can be found in Chapter 3, section 3.6.1 3 5