National human rights institution

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A National Human Rights Institution ( NHRI ; English National Human Rights Institution ) is an independent institution which holds the job in the country, the human rights to protect, monitor and promote. The creation of such institutions was promoted by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights . In Germany this task is carried out by the German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR), in Austria it is partly the Ombudsman Board . There is no national human rights institution in Switzerland (the Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights (SKMR) , which has been a pilot project since 2011, does not meet the requirements).

Paris principles

The Paris Principles were adopted in 1991 at a conference of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Even if the focus and structure of the principles differ from country to country, there is a fixed core of regulations. Part A.3 of the Paris Principles was adopted in 1993 by the UN Human Rights Council. This component includes u. a. six criteria for the establishment of national human rights institutions:

  • Independence from the government
  • Independence by law or the constitution of a country (financially and legally)
  • Competence of own research in the respective country without the need for approval by a state authority and without the possibility of objection from the respective state
  • the right to work independently and in parallel with state institutions
  • adequate financial and human resources
  • clearly defined, broad rights, including the right to protect and promote universal human rights

Human rights institutions that meet all the criteria are given a so-called A status by the UN Human Rights Council. Institutions that only partially meet the criteria are given B status. A-status institutes have the right to attend meetings of the UN Human Rights Council.

National human rights institutions in German-speaking countries

The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) publishes an overview of the national human rights institutions and their accreditation status every year. In 2018, four institutions were accredited in German-speaking countries: the German Institute for Human Rights with A status, the Ombudsman's Office in Austria with B status and in Switzerland the Federal Commission for Women's Issues and the Federal Commission against Racism with C status. The Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights is not on the list.

No NHRI in Switzerland

Efforts have been made in Switzerland since 2001 to create a national human rights institution. As a result of these efforts, the Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights (SKMR) was opened in 2011 as a pilot project , which, however, does not meet the requirements of an NHRI according to the Paris principles.

The SCMR was evaluated in 2015, and based on the positive result, the Federal Council made the fundamental decision on June 29, 2016 to create its own national human rights institution on a legal basis. A consultation process in summer 2017 was again largely positive. The creation of an NHRI was rejected by only a few actors, including the SVP , the FDP , the Center patronal and the trade association, the latter in contrast to economiesuisse and the Swiss employers' association .

As a result, on November 1, 2017, the Federal Council named the creation of an NHRI as one of its goals for 2018: “In terms of human rights policy , the Federal Council will adopt the dispatch on the federal law on the financing of a national human rights institution in 2018. The task of this institution is to further strengthen human rights in Switzerland; it is intended to support the authorities, civil society organizations and businesses in the field of human rights. "

But in September 2018 the project suffered a setback. Federal Councilor Ignazio Cassis (FDP), in charge as head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA), expressed doubts about the need to create a separate law for an NHRI and announced the development of a more modest solution “à la Suisse”.

No new proposal was presented by the EDA until May 2019. The SKMR pilot project will exist until the end of 2020. Given the current situation, it is more than uncertain whether Switzerland will be able to establish a national human rights institution by the beginning of 2021. The human rights information platform humanrights.ch commented on the situation at the end of February 2019 with reference to Switzerland's human rights strategy: "Should the Federal Council and Parliament actually fail to finally create an independent national human rights institution after 17 years of suffering, the credibility of the will suffer overall strategy strong. "

On May 14, 2019, the Advisory Board of the SKMR asked the Federal Council in an open letter to present a resolution by the 2019 summer break. Otherwise, the Advisory Board sees a great risk that after the liquidation of the SCMR at the end of 2021, no NHRI can be opened as a successor institution. The credibility of Switzerland and its human rights policy will suffer greatly as a result. National Councilor Yvonne Feri (SP), who is also a member of the SKMR Advisory Board, submitted an interpellation to parliament on May 8, 2019. The interpellation calls on the Federal Council to disclose its plans for a successor solution for the SCMR.

See also

Portal: United Nations  - Overview of Wikipedia content on the topic of United Nations

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ ICC web pages , including a listing of over 100 institutions
  2. ↑ a b c Paris Principles | Asia Pacific Forum. In: asiapacificforum.net. Retrieved September 10, 2017 .
  3. ↑ GANHRI: GANHRI's 2018 accreditation list. February 21, 2018, accessed February 6, 2019 .
  4. ↑ GANHRI: Accreditation Chart 2018 (PDF) February 21, 2018, accessed on February 7, 2019 (English).
  5. ^ Creation of a national human rights institution in Switzerland - state of affairs. In: humanrights.ch. September 21, 2018, accessed February 7, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Another additional loop for the National Human Rights Commission - with what intention? In: humanrights.ch. September 19, 2018, accessed February 7, 2019 .
  7. ↑ Swiss Confederation: Consultation Report “National Human Rights Institution”. (PDF) 2018, accessed on February 7, 2019 .
  8. ↑ Swiss Federal Chancellery: Objectives of the Federal Council 2018 (PDF) November 1, 2017, accessed on February 7, 2019 .
  9. ^ Daniel Gerny: Cassis is on the brakes at the new human rights center. In: nzz.ch. April 9, 2018, accessed February 7, 2019 .
  10. ^ Tagblatt: Waiting for the human rights center. May 13, 2019, accessed May 14, 2019 .
  11. ↑ humanrights.ch: Report of the Federal Council on Switzerland's human rights foreign policy 2015 - 2018. February 18, 2019, accessed on February 26, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Our right: Repeal the SKMR before the successor institution stands? May 14, 2019, accessed May 15, 2019 .
  13. ^ Yvonne Feri: On the situation and the future of the Swiss Competence Center for Human Rights. Swiss Federal Assembly, May 8, 2019, accessed on May 15, 2019 .