Foreword

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National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) are avital part of the country-

level human rights protection system. By raising awareness, providing advice,

monitoring and holding authorities to account, they have acentral role in

navigating the great human rights challenges of our day– tackling both

persistent concerns like discrimination and inequality, and novel issues such as

the rights implications of artif‌icial intelligence and of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This report, published 10 years after FRA’s f‌irst in-depth study on NHRIs,

looks at such bodies in the EU, as well as the Republic of North Macedonia,

the Republic of Serbia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

Ireland. It explores relevant developments, challenges to their effectiveness

and ways to maximise their impact.

NHRIs promote and protect rights nationally, but also ensure links to regional

and international human rights protection mechanisms. Strengthening NHRIs

would also help EU Member States deliver on the global 2030 Agenda. In

the EU context, they have great potential to contribute more– and more

explicitly– including for the upholding of the rule of law and EU values.

The f‌indings in this report underscore that, to fulf‌il their potential, NHRIs

need aclear mandate, independence, adequate resources, and, in their

memberships, to ref‌lect our societies’ diversity. They also need to comply

with the Paris Principles on the independence and effectiveness of NHRIs

endorsed by the United Nations.

The European Union Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy, which

addresses the situation outside the EU, commits to supporting NHRIs that

comply with the UN principles. We hope that the insights presented in this

report will encourage policymakers to stand up for NHRIS within the EU with

no less commitment.

Michael O’Flaherty

Director

Foreword