Support is available to all NHRIs within Council of Europe member states.
Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights
Which NHRIs can request support?
Brief presentation
The Commissioner for Human Rights is an independent and impartial non-judicial institution established in 1999 by the Council of Europe to promote awareness of and respect for human rights in the 46 member states of the Council of Europe, in accordance with Resolution (99)50. The Commissioner focuses on encouraging measures to achieve tangible improvement in the promotion and protection of human rights. The activities include three major interrelated areas:
- Country work (addressing human rights issues in member states through dialogue with authorities, including through country visits and ad hoc missions, memoranda, letters and statements);
- Thematic work (on subjects central to the protection of human rights in Europe and focusing on the Commissioner’s priorities, through the publication of statements, “shout out” opinion pieces, other thematic documents);
- Awareness raising activities (organisation of and participation in events, media work, speeches, lectures etc.).
Furthermore, the Commissioner has the right to intervene as a third party in the proceedings of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) and to address communications (Rule 9 observations) to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in the context of the supervision of the execution of the Court’s judgments.
To conduct this work, the Commissioner co-operates with a broad range of international and national organisations, as well as with human rights monitoring mechanisms and human rights defenders. As regards cooperation with NHRIs specifically, the Commissioner is mandated to “facilitate the activities of national ombudsperson institutions and other human rights structures.” Independent and effective national human rights structures (such as NHRIs, Ombudsman institutions, equality bodies, national prevention mechanisms and others) are essential partners, including for the Commissioner’s dialogue with member states. The Commissioner seeks to support their work in a variety of ways, as further explained below.
Scope of the action
The Commissioner for Human Rights can consider the situation of any NHRI or national human rights structure under threat located in one of the 46 member states of the Council of Europe.
The Commissioner carefully examines all threats of which the Office is made aware. Based on the available information and appropriate contacts with the relevant NHRI or human rights structure, a decision is made by the Commissioner on a case-by-case basis as to whether support can be provided and of what type.
Support to NHRIs under threat
☑ Public support
☑ Private and diplomatic engagement
☑ Policy recommendations
☐ Legal opinions
☑ In-country missions
☐ Funding and direct support
☑ Other actions
Contacts
NHRIs are encouraged to first contact the Adviser to the Commissioner for Human Rights with whom they have established contact regarding country-related work.
They can also contact the Adviser responsible for cooperation with NHRIs:
Examples of support
Over the years, Commissioners have reacted to an increasing number of instances of NHRIs facing threats of various kinds in the Council of Europe area. They have for example issued public statements (including reactions in the media when appropriate) about heads of NHRIs facing death threats by non-state actors, as well as inappropriate criticism by politicians and judicial harassment. They have also regretted the abrupt dismantling of certain human rights structures.
Commissioners have sent letters to national governments and parliaments about seemingly unjustified budget cuts or expansion of mandates without corresponding resources and addressed parliaments about irregular dismissals of heads of NHRIs or amendments to legislation that would weaken national human rights structures.
During country visits and missions, and in other bilateral meetings and interactions with relevant national officials, such as Ministers, Commissioners have raised challenges faced by NHRIs, and formulated policy recommendations to address these.
Broader engagement with NHRIs, beyond threats
In its 4th Summit Reykjavik Declaration, the Council of Europe recognised the key role of NHRIs in bolstering human rights and the rule of law.
The Commissioner for Human Rights believes that effective implementation of existing international and Council of Europe standards related to NHRIs and other human rights structures bolsters their effectiveness and independence and increases their resilience in the face of threats. The Commissioner works to encourage all member states to ensure that their national human rights structures are in line with these standards (including the UN Paris Principles, the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers’ Recommendations CM(2021)1 on the development and strengthening of effective, pluralist and independent NHRIs and CM(2019)6 on the development of the Ombudsman institution and European Commission against Racism and Intolerance revised General Policy Recommendation Nr 2 on Equality Bodies to combat racism and intolerance at the national level).
The Commissioner monitors the situation of NHRIs and other human rights structures. Commissioners have made policy recommendations to member states about measures to strengthen them, including on their mandate, independence, and funding.
The Commissioner maintains close contacts with NHRIs about relevant human rights developments at the domestic level and meets them regularly during country visits. He seeks to encourage implementation of their recommendations. He holds bilateral meetings at other opportunities, including in Strasbourg.
The Commissioner co-operates with national human rights structures networks, such as ENNHRI, IOI, EQUINET, ENOC etc. This includes meetings, participation in annual conferences and the organisation of joint events.
Commissioners have regularly organised roundtables with NHRIs to share knowledge about specific human rights issues and discuss challenges that NHRIs may face in promoting them. For instance, such workshops have been held on: protecting human rights while countering terrorism; family reunification for asylum seekers and refugees; algorithmic discrimination; and, most recently, on artificial intelligence and human rights.
Finally, the Commissioner conducts awareness raising work about the important role of human rights structures in defending the rule of law, democracy and human rights in Europe:
- Paris Principles at 25: Strong National Human Rights Institutions Needed More Than Ever – Commissioner for Human Rights (coe.int);
- Tapping the full potential of Equality Bodies for a fairer Europe – Commissioner for Human Rights (coe.int);
- Observations of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights ahead of the 4th Council of Europe Summit.
Relevant sources and materials
- The website of the Commissioner for Human Rights includes a specific webpage on the Commissioner’s work related to NHRIs, including country visit reports covering NHRIs, as well as statements and letters about the situation of NHRIs, and roundtables with NHRIs: National human rights structures – Commissioner for Human Rights.
