UNDP-OHCHR TOOLKIT Just under 40% of the respondents indicated that other organizations with human rights mandates existed in the country. Examples include: human rights institutions at the state or territorial level (e.g. two NHRIs from the Americas) or with particular geographic responsibility (e.g. a European NHRI); ombudsmen and public mediators (e.g. four from Africa and one from Europe); and specialized agencies for rights of particular groups (e.g. two from the Asia Pacific, one from Africa and two from Europe). FIGURE 2: INSTITUTIONAL TYPE 5 7 30 58 Commission 58% Hybrid 7% Ombudsman 30% Other 5% 2.3 NHRIs vs. Classic Ombudsman Offices There should be no confusion between a “classic” ombudsman and a NHRI. “Classic” ombudsman offices, such as the Danish Ombudsman Office, deal only with maladministration and citizen’s complaints against government.3 Ombudsman offices that deal only with citizen complaints about maladministration, without an express mandate to address human rights matters, are not NHRIs, even though human rights issues may be the underlying issue at stake. That said, some Ombudsman offices take the position that they can handle human rights matters in practice, even if human rights institutions exist separately in the same country. In such cases, the institutions should be encouraged to work together in a complementary fashion and develop a memorandum of understanding or other working relationships to avoid duplication or confusion. 2.4 Models of NHRIs According to a recent survey, NHRI structures vary considerably. Human rights commissions are in the majority, although ombudsmen institutions are also popular, especially in the Americas, where 6 of 9 respondents were ombudsman institutions. The ombudsman model is also common in Eastern Europe and in CIS countries. In Europe survey respondents had a variety of institutional models. Examples include Germany, Norway and Slovakia, which are human rights institutes or centres. OHCHR, Survey of National Human Rights Institutions: Report on the Findings and Recommendations of a Questionnaire Addressed by NHRIs Worldwide. 2009. www.nhri.net Source: OHCHR, NHRI Survey 2009. 2.4.1 Human Rights Commissions “Commission style” models share the following attributes: 11 They are State-sponsored, with the explicit mandate to protect and promote human rights; however, some may focus only on a specific area, such as women’s rights. 11 They are typically headed by a number of members, full and/or part-time, who are decision-makers. 11 Investigation is a core function, and many can receive individual complaints. 11 Many have the authority to make recommendations only, following investigation (the more typical model), while some have quasi-jurisdictional competence, i.e., can make decisions that are enforceable directly through the courts or specialised tribunals. Human rights commissions tend to have sufficient numbers of members to assure pluralism. Members may be full or part-time, although as a rule, the Chief Commissioner is a full-time position. Historically, the Ombudsman style of institution emerged in countries like Sweden, and was structured to offer citizens recourse against the government and public administration. The Danish Ombudsman, for example, has general jurisdiction over the public administration, but the law makes no reference to human rights issues in its enabling legislation. That does not mean that human rights issues are excluded, just that this is not the specific focus of its work. 3 22