Some days ago, there was talk by the government, more precisely by the Ministry for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties, about the setting up of a National Human Rights Institution (NHRI) in Malta.
An article about the subject appeared in Times of Malta on May 31.
Some months back, the same subject was also brought to the forefront by the Ombudsman, after the same office published a proposal about the setting up of an NHRI in Malta.
An NHRI is an institution whose aim is to monitor, promote and protect fundamental human rights.
The capacity of an NHRI is to primarily protect the human rights of the following specific groups: children; national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities; refugees; indigenous persons; lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons; migrant workers; persons with disabilities, including those with HIV/AIDS; and women.
NHRIs also have the responsibility to promote and monitor the effective implementation of human rights standards at the national level.
Such institutions are set up with the aim of having the capacity to bring the rhetoric of human rights law and international instruments to reality, that is, to translate the words on paper into actions.
Very often, the existence of a particular law or international instrument aimed at protecting certain rights is not enough unless that law or instrument also provides the basis for the existence of such institutions as NHRIs, which ensure that these rights are effectively realised.
A perceived or actual lack of independence will only undermine the work of an NHRI
The World Conference on Human Rights, in 1993, encouraged the establishment and strengthening of NHRIs. It reaffirmed its position about the importance of NHRIs and the role they played in the promotion and protection of human rights, in particular, in remedying human rights violations, in the dissemination of information and in educating the public about the role of NHRIs and human rights.
Since then, NHRIs have become more prominent in the human rights arena.
The roles and functions, as well as the principles upon which NHRIs are to be based, are set out in the Paris Principles.
These were adopted following negotiations at a conference convened in Paris and were instigated and supported by the UN Commission on Human Rights. The principles were later adopted by the UN’s General Assembly on December 20, 1993.
Although they are not legally binding, the fact that international consensus about them had been reached, raised their status.
According to the Paris Principles, NHRIs are to be established: with a broad human rights mandate; be independent from government and guaranteed by the Constitution; are composed of pluralist representation; secured by official appointment; receive sufficient resources in order to be able to function; and have a range of monitoring and advisory functions.
NHRIs support the basic institutions and principle of democracy and should form an integral part of any democratic society. It is for this reason that one of the basic requirements, as stated in the Paris Principles, for the setting up of an NHRI is independence, that is, complete autonomy from any ministry or government.
In order to guarantee this requirement, an NHRI should be accountable to Parliament. Only by being accountable to Parliament can an NHRI aim at being as independent as possible and, thus, be able to engage and be empowered to engage with both State and non-State actors.
The independence of an NHRI is crucial to its capacity to be able to seek information from, and about, all sectors particularly where there are alleged violations.
This could also mean investigating the government, or one of its entities, in spite of the fact that it would be funded by thegovernment to function.
The aim of the Paris Principles is to prevent, or, at least, try to discourage, states from establishing ‘window dressing’ institutions only designed to satisfy domestic critics or impress international bodies.
The Paris Principles are there to not allow governments to undermine the role of NHRIs by involvement into cases of alleged violation of human rights. The Paris Principles are a practical guide for the setting up of an NHRI based on the joining of core human rights principles with a clear outline of the powers and functions for NHRIs.
A perceived or actual lack of independence will only undermine the work of an NHRI.
In view of the prevailing climate around us, such as the resurgence of far right movements in Europe and within the European Union, human rights become even more vital to defend and protect. NHRIs are there to defend and protect such rights.