from those that handle individual complaints; and those working on all human rights, including economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights, from those ­focusing on specific issues, such as discrimination. We can equally place institutions within the Hispanic, Francophone or Commonwealth tradition; or organise them by continent: multi-member institutions that receive complaints in most of Africa and Asia, single-member Defensores del Pueblo in Latin America, Ombudsman in European Nordic countries, advisory institutions in Europe, and so on. In short, there are as many typologies of NHRIs as papers written about them. These distinctions are important to keep in mind. Clearly, measurements of ­performance and impact should take account of the structure and mandate of the institutions under review. Furthermore, NHRIs operate in a range of conditions and with different ­levels of resources. In judging what a given institution can realistically achieve, ­assessments need to take such factors into account as well. The Paris Principles The Paris Principles are the principal source of normative standards for ­national human rights institutions. Adopted by NHRIs at an international workshop held in Paris in 1991, they marked the beginning of serious international co-­operation and standardisation of NHRIs. Both the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and the General Assembly later endorsed them. The Paris Principles are broad and general. They apply to all NHRIs, ­regardless of structure or type. They provide that a national institution should be ­established in the national Constitution or by a law that clearly sets out its role and powers and that its mandate should be as broad as possible. They state that national institutions should be pluralist and should co-­operate with a range of social and political groups and institutions, including nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), judicial institutions, professional bodies and government departments. The Principles state that NHRIs should have an infrastructure that allows them to carry out their functions. Particular importance is attached to the need for adequate funding to allow the institution “to be independent of the government and not be subject to financial control which might affect this independence”. The various functions of national institutions are described in the Principles as “responsibilities”, suggesting that these are things that institutions are obliged to do. The Principles provide that NHRIs should make recommendations and ­proposals to governments on various matters relating to human rights, ­including ­existing and proposed laws, human rights violations, and the national human rights ­situation in general.  Available at: www.ohchr.org/english/law/parisprinciples.htm  Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions