Introduction

National human rights institutions (NHRIs or national institutions) and the international human rights system have a history of engagement but too often it has been one sided. Although national human rights institutions are the creations of their own domestic laws and processes, their existence is closely connected with the international human rights system that has nurtured and promoted them for many decades, especially since 1993. The international system now looks to the institutions to play significant roles through engagement with its mechanisms and processes. Yet, national institutions have often been slow to respond to this expectation and few make more than sporadic, ad hoc contributions. This chapter examines the relationship. It discusses the importance of international engagement by national institutions and describes the opportunities and procedures for engagement that are available if national institutions are prepared to use them. It argues that the international human rights system now needs their support and contribution and that it is in the interests of the institutions themselves to respond positively.

National Institutions Are Products of the International System

Although the first national institutions were established in the late 1970s and 1980s, their growth in numbers and strength can be traced directly to the strong endorsement they received from the Second World Conference on Human Rights in 1993: