OSCE/ODIHR Opinion on the Draft Amendments to the Act on Establishment of the Slovak National Centre for Human Rights rights and in the area of non-discrimination”. While the inclusion of a cooperation aspect is welcome, the Draft Amendments could be strengthened in several ways. The importance of cooperation between NHRIs and civil society organization has recently been highlighted in the Marrakesh Declaration.30 General Observation 1.7. on ensuring pluralism of the NHRI states recommends, inter alia, “[p]luralism through procedures enabling effective cooperation with diverse societal groups, for example advisory committees, networks, consultations or public forums”. 31 Including civil society organizations explicitly within the ambit of §1 (4) of the Draft Amendments is recommended. 32 Additionally, diverse advisory committees as mentioned in General Observation 1.7. consisting of civil society representatives, human rights defenders, but also possibly representatives from the private sector, could add to the pluralism of the institution, increase cooperation and advice the Director and the Board on various issues. 23. In this respect and with respect to the mandate and the functions of the SNCHR in general, it would be crucial to define the relationship between the SNCHR and other institutions, in particular, the Public Defender of Rights (the Ombudswoman), the division of competences between them and ways in which they should cooperate. For the sake of accessibility to the public and accountable use of public resources, overlapping of mandates of various entities should be avoided as far as possible. Any individual complaints procedure should ensure that complaints are handled fairly, quickly and effectively through processes which are clear and readily accessible to the public.33 24. Also the additional explicit references to the independence of the institution in § 1 of the Draft Amendments are positive for the overall role of the NHRI, as too § 1 (8) of the Draft Amendments, which states that if the SNCHR conducts an investigation, the subject under investigation has an obligation to cooperate with the SNCHR. However, it would be preferable to include a stronger cooperation clause which does not only cover investigations but sets out a general duty to cooperate in all areas of the SNCHR’s mandate.34 25. The inclusion of more human rights functions, which are not confined to the area of non-discrimination, is also to be welcomed. For example, the provision in the existing law that the Centre “provides legal assistance to victims of discrimination and manifestations of intolerance” has now been broadened to “provides legal aid” (§ 1 (2) (d) of the Draft Amendments). Similarly, the existing law limited the mandate of the Centre to preparing and publishing ‘reports and recommendations on issues related to discrimination’ whereas it is now broader in providing that the Centre ‘prepares and publishes independent reports and recommendations’ (§ 1 (2) (f)) of the Draft 30 13th International Conference of International Human Rights Institutions Marrakesh Declaration “Expanding the civic space and promoting and protecting human rights defenders, with a specific focus on women: The role of national human rights institutions” (10-12 October 2018), available at <https://nhri.ohchr.org/EN/ICC/InternationalConference/13IC/Background%20Information/Marrakech%20De claration_EN_%2012102018%20-%20FINAL.pdf> 31 Op. cit. fn 9, SCA General Observation 1.7. 32 See also op. cit. fn 9, General Observation 1.5 on cooperation with other human rights bodies. 33 See op. cit. fn 9, General Observation 2.10 regarding specifically the handling of complaints by NHRIs, which should a fortiori be applicable to other complaints-handling mechanisms. 34 See e.g. Section 12.1 of UNMIK Regulation NO. 2000/38 on the Establishment of the Ombudsman Institution of Kosovo “12.1 All persons and entities subject to the jurisdiction of the Ombudsperson are obliged to provide the Ombudsperson with preferential assistance.” 9