As state-mandated bodies, NHRIs play a crucial role in the national human rights promotion and protection framework. However, often the role of NHRIs is inadequately recognised by authorities or is conflated with that of civil society.

This section outlines ways to communicate NHRIs’ unique mandate, role, and position nationally.

Setting out the relevant standards

The Paris Principles and CM Recommendation on NHRIs set out standards which highlight NHRIs’ unique mandate, role, and position nationally, including:

• NHRIs must be formally entrenched in law or the Constitution and in this way be distinguished from an agency of state, a non-government organization, or an ad hoc body. NHRIs are established by States for the specific purpose of promoting and protecting human rights at the national level.
• A mandate to promote and protect all human rights based on a broad understanding and definition that is inclusive of all rights set out in international, regional, and national instruments.
• NHRIs’ role as a bridge between civil society and the state. The Paris Principles call for NHRIs to be pluralist (i.e. representative of all sections of society) both in their composition and through their cooperation with national human rights actors, including civil society organisations and other human rights defenders.
• NHRIs’ role as a bridge between the national and international levels. The standards call for NHRIs to be specifically mandated to encourage and advise states on the implementation of international human rights standards. Furthermore, they clarify the role of NHRIs to cooperate with and report to international human rights mechanisms.
• While NHRIs are established by States, they are independent of government. Their independence is periodically assessed through an international accreditation process which considers their alignment with international standards on independent and effective NHRIs. As independent institutions, they are also a vital part of the national system of checks and balances.

Examples of key messages

When communicating with national authorities, some key messages you might use are:

• NHRIs work on current, societally important issues – ones that people and state authorities care about.
• NHRIs, as part of the state, support/are partners of national authorities. Both parties work towards common goals and have a responsibility towards the people in the country.
• NHRIs are part of national checks and balances and international accountability systems. They help authorities meet obligations – they are critical friends and not opponents.
• At the same time, while NHRIs support authorities to understand the law, they will speak out if authorities’ actions are not in compliance with human rights standards. They have been created by the government to hold it to account, and have a clear legal basis in national law to do so.
• NHRIs are trusted and independent experts on human rights. They have intimate knowledge of international human rights standards, and their broad mandate lets them see the big picture across all human rights topics. At the same time, their pluralist make-up means they represent the societies they serve in all their diversity. This means NHRIs have an understanding of what people need/care about: this knowledge can be very helpful for state authorities.
• NHRIs address all human rights for all people in the country.
• NHRIs act as bridges in two ways:
  • They link civil society and other national bodies working on human rights but remain distinct and independent from both.
  • They apply international human rights standards nationally and promote these. They also provide international and regional human rights mechanisms with an evidence-based picture of the human rights situation on the ground.
• NHRIs advise state authorities: they do not decide or implement the decisions of state or international authorities.

As NHRIs and those working on human rights, we are aware of and convinced by the value and necessity of what we do. However, that may not be the case with national authorities. How can we go about explaining the value of human rights?

Approaches and methods

When communicating with national authorities, consider the following approaches and methods:

• Craft messages from the perspective of your target audience – they resonate more.
• Use concise messages and language accessible to non-experts. Avoid unclear jargon or briefly unpack it. See “Expressing ourselves differently” for ideas.
• Focus on communicating what you do rather than what you are. Provide concrete examples of impact, link to current issues, and show that NHRI advice prevents violations before they occur.
• Highlight overlaps with the policy agenda, while maintaining independence.
• Show NHRIs’ collective impact (e.g., ENNHRI), but explain formal recognition clearly.
• Explain the EU’s recognition of strong, independent NHRIs as a rule-of-law indicator.
• Underline the role of independent NHRIs in checks and balances and the rule of law.
• Note that recognition reinforces the need to cooperate with NHRIs for both rule-of-law and EU benchmarks.
• Where possible, coordinate messaging with other actors for greater impact.
• Show NHRIs as collaborators, not blockers.
• Bring in voices with lived experience for a human perspective.
• List shared issues and obligations with state authorities.
• Use visuals (e.g., infographics) to explain concepts like an NHRI’s role.

Expressing ourselves differently

Below are some key terms that may not be clear to national authorities. The table presents alternative terms to these and/or suggestions for unpacking what they mean.

Although these alternatives may not capture the exact meaning experts understand, what matters is the perspective of the person we are trying to reach. If the ideas are conveyed and understood, then we have communicated effectively.