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February
2024

NHRI accreditation status and mandates - update 2024

The 2024 update on NHRIs accreditation status and mandates also covers their engagement in the monitoring of fundamental rights compliance in the use of EU funds at national level. Moreover, the update also shows how NHRIs make use of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights in their work when advising government or in education, training and awareness raising activities. Since its 2020 report 'Strong and effective national human rights institutions – challenges, promising practices and opportunities', the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) has been regularly tracking the accreditation status and mandates of NHRIs.

Since FRA’s December 2022 Update, some NHRIs have had a change in the tasks covered by their mandates. While the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission now covers one new task, reporting on trafficking in human beings (EU directive), hate crimes were removed from its mandate. The Portuguese Ombudsman started covering equal treatment and monitoring of forced returns. Moreover, membership in the Portuguese Council of State is a new task covered by the mandate. The mandate of the Ombuds institution of Spain now also covers promotion and protection of human rights, national preventive mechanisms under OPCAT and maladministration.

Moreover, in 2023 the mandates of eight NHRIs changed to include monitoring of forced returns. The NHRIs concerned are the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria, the Cyprus Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights, the Czech Public Defender of Rights, the Ombuds institution of the Republic of Latvia, the National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty of Italy, the Portuguese Ombudsman, the People’s Advocate of the Republic of Albania and the Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia.

Some NHRIs saw their mandate under the category ‘other mandates’ expanded. In Austria, the Ombudsman Board reported a new mandate as Chair of the Pension Committee under the Pensions for Victims of Children’s Homes Act. The Greek National Commission for Human Rights has a new mandate in the context of monitoring compliance of the use of EU funds with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, a “horizontal enabling condition” under the Common Provisions Regulation for eight major EU funds.

Mandates may also be reduced, as the case of Unia in Belgium demonstrates. Its previous role as national mechanism under the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) was removed from its mandate. Other changes are rather of a structural nature: in Sweden, the Institute for Human Rights established an advisory body consisting of representatives from various human rights organisations thus contributing knowledge and experiences from civil society and the work of other actors to the Institute.

Table 2 – Tasks included in mandates of National Human Rights Institutions as of 1 December 2023

2023 Update of Annex III from report ‘Strong and effective national human rights institutions – challenges, promising practices and opportunities’

NHRI (or nearest equivalent)

Promotion and protection of human rights

Ombuds institutions

with a mandate

on maladmin- istration

National preventive mecha- nisms under

OPCAT

National monitoring mecha- nisms under

CRPD

Equality bodies with a mandate on equal treatment

Monitoring of forced returns (EU Returns Directive)

Reporting on trafficking in human beings (EU directive)

Protecting freedom of movement and mobility rights in the EU

Other mandates[4] Other mandates are shown in Table 3.

Austrian Ombudsman Board

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

Yes

Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (FIRM) (Belgium)

Yes

Yes *

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunity and the fight against racism and discrimination (Unia) (Belgium)

 

 

 

Yes

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

Commission for Protection against Discrimination (Bulgaria)

Yes

Yes *

 

Yes

Yes

 

 

Yes

Yes

Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

Yes

 

Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Cyprus)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

Public Defender of Rights (Czechia)

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

 

Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark)

Yes

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

Chancellor of Justice (Estonia)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

Finnish Human Rights Centre

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

Parliamentary Ombudsman (Finland)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France)

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

Yes

German Institute for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

Yes

Greek National Commission for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes *

Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights **
(Hungary)

Yes

 

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission

Yes

 

 

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

Yes

 

National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty **
(Italy)

 

 

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

Ombuds institution’s Office of the Republic of Latvia

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

Yes

The Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office (Lithuania)

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consultative Human Rights Commission of Luxembourg

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

Human Rights and Equality Commission ** (Malta)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Netherlands Institute for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

Commissioner for Human Rights (Poland)

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

Portuguese Ombudsman

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes *

Yes *

 

 

Yes

People’s Advocate (Romania)

Yes

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Romanian Institute for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Slovak National Centre for Human Rights

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ombuds institution of Spain

Yes

Yes *

Yes

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equality Ombudsman (Sweden)

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

 

Institute for Human Rights (Sweden)

Yes

 

 

Yes

 

 

 

Yes

 

People's Advocate of the Republic of Albania

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Ombudsman of the Republic of North Macedonia

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes *

 

Yes

 

Yes

Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

Yes

 

Yes

Note:  * highlights changes in mandate since the December 2022 update; ** highlights NHRIs that have not provided answers to the survey.

Source: FRA, December 2023.

Table 3 – Other tasks included in mandates of National Human Rights Institutions as of 1 December 2023

List of ‘Other mandates’ shown in Table 2 above and specified by the NHRI.

NHRI (or nearest equivalent)

Rights of the child

Freedom of information

Standing in front of constitutional court for review of legislation

Other

Austrian Ombudsman Board

 

 

 

Establishing and chairing the Pension Committee under the Pensions for Victims of Children`s Homes Act

Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunity and the fight against racism and discrimination (Unia)
(Belgium)

 

 

 

 

Commission for Protection against Discrimination
(Bulgaria)

 

 

 

Hate crime

Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria

Yes

 

Yes

 

Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia

 

Yes

 

External channel for the reporting of irregularities under the Act on the Protection of Persons Who Report Irregularities

Chancellor of Justice
(Estonia)

Yes

 

Yes

 

Finnish Human Rights Centre

Yes *

 

 

Corporate responsibility

National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France)

 

 

 

  • Corporate responsibility; LGBTI rights *
  •      National commission for the implementation of international humanitarian law *

Greek National Commission for Human Rights

 

 

 

Compliance of EU funds with Fundamental Rights Charter, Member of the National Council against Racism and Intolerance, of the National Accessibility Authority, of the Special Committee for the Compliance with Fundamental Rights at the Ministry for Migration and Asylum, of the Monitoring Committee for the national programmes of EU migration funds

Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights

(Hungary)

Yes

Yes

Yes

 

Irish Human Rights and

Equality Commission

 

Yes

 

 

Ombuds institution’s Office of the Republic of Latvia

Yes

 

 

 

Portuguese Ombudsman

 

 

Yes

Member of the Portuguese Council of state

Institute for Human Rights
(Sweden)

 

Yes

 

 

People's Advocate of the Republic of Albania

Yes

 

 

 

Ombudsman of the Republic of North Macedonia

Yes

 

 

 

Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia

Yes

 

 

 

Note:  * highlights changes in mandate since the December 2022 update.

Source: FRA, December 2023.