ENNHRI was established in 2013 to meet a clear need: an official network for European NHRIs. Prior to this, European NHRIs had been working together in a more informal grouping. Its success laid the foundations for ENNHRI as it is today. 1994: the first meeting of European NHRIs takes place.…Read More

The first edition of ENNHRI’s flagship capacity building event for NHRI staff took place in Budapest. It continues to this day as a joint initiative with OSCE/ODIHR, and its 10th edition took place in June 2023. Each year staff have been trained on how to use their mandates to work…Read More

ENNHRI’s first third-party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights was in the case Big Brother Watch & others v. the United Kingdom (UK). This concerned surveillance regimes in the UK. This was followed in 2019 by a third-party intervention in the same case before the Grand Chamber. The…Read More

In its Conclusions, the Council of the European Union recognised that independent NHRIs (and equality bodies) play a crucial role in protecting and promoting fundamental rights, while aiding awareness raising and contributing to the compliance of national policies with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. NHRIs were identified as being…Read More

The European Commission’s first report on the state of the rule of law in the European Union recognised an NHRI in compliance with the Paris Principles as an indicator for a healthy national rule of law situation. It states that NHRIs “play an important role as rule of law safeguard…Read More

The Fourth Summit of the Council of Europe was a major moment for NHRIs. Its Reykjavik Declaration called for the facilitation of more meaningful engagement with NHRIs. This also recognised the added value of NHRIs for implementing European Court of Human Rights’ judgments and strengthening Council of Europe work on…Read More