Introduction National human rights institutions must have a mandate to promote human rights under the Paris Principles. This chapter places promotion before protection, not because it is more important, but because the demands and immediacy of the protection mandate can overwhelm resources so that promotion is overlooked. It is important that this should not happen. Institutions must be able to attract and retain qualified communications and public education staff, and to manage media relations. Quick facts about how the promotional mandate is resourced in NHRIs An OHCHR survey shows that a number of NHRIs are not carrying out human rights education and research, despite having the mandate to do so. Many, particularly in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, have commented that they do not have enough resources or materials to do this work. The survey examined what these activities entail and how they may be undertaken. Its findings help to understand the range of possibilities that exist for promoting human rights and give general guidance on how these may be effectively realized.52 Learning objectives After reviewing this chapter, the reader will be able to: ■■ Explain why promotion is an important function for an institution and identify the guidelines that it should follow in carrying it out; ■■ Identify and describe the types of promotional activity that are typically undertaken by NHRIs; and ■■ Develop and justify a human rights promotion programme that responds to a country’s needs. OHCHR, “Survey of national human rights institutions”. 52 56