The fourth edition of the NHRI Academy kicked off today in Poznan, Poland. Jointly organised by ENNHRI and OSCE / ODIHR with the support of the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights and the Poznan Human Rights Centre, the event takes place from 29 May to 2 June and gathers staff from 27 European NHRIs.

The NHRI Academy provides practical training on how to address some of the challenges that NHRIs face in their daily work, and to reinforce the central place of NHRIs in the protection and promotion of human rights at national level.

“We are the voice of human rights and our work gets more difficult as they get questioned, because speaking on behalf of the marginalized and stigmatized doesn’t bring us friends” said GANHRI Chair Beate Rudolf in the opening of the Academy. The participants to the Academy were welcomed by Katarzyna Gardapkhadze, OSCE/ODIHR First Deputy Director, Beate Rudolf, GANHRI Chair and Aleksandra Gliszczynska-Grabias, Senior Researcher at the Poznan Human Rights Centre.

Debbie Kohner, ENNHRI Secretary General, emphasised ENNHRI’s role of supporting and strengthening the NHRIs in their work: “we provide solidarity and support to NHRIs to enable them to be strong and effective”. Omer Fisher, Head of the Human Rights Department at the OSCE/ODIHR, presented ODIHR’s work to support NHRIs.

The Academy continues this week with sessions dedicated to the promotion of human rights in challenging contexts and the role of NHRIs in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Academy also fosters the exchange of good practices and the development of professional, long-lasting networks for NHRIs in the wider OSCE region.

Photo: Participants at the NHRI Academy 2017