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
Federal Institute for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights (FIRM) (Belgium)
Yes *
Interfederal Centre for Equal Opportunity and the fight against racism and discrimination (Unia) (Belgium)
Commission for Protection against Discrimination (Bulgaria)
Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria
Ombudswoman of the Republic of Croatia
Commissioner for Administration and the Protection of Human Rights (Cyprus)
Public Defender of Rights (Czechia)
Danish Institute for Human Rights (Denmark)
Chancellor of Justice (Estonia)
Finnish Human Rights Centre
Parliamentary Ombudsman (Finland)
National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France)
German Institute for Human Rights
Greek National Commission for Human Rights
Office of the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights ** (Hungary)
Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission
National Guarantor for the Rights of Persons Detained or Deprived of Liberty ** (Italy)
Ombuds institution’s Office of the Republic of Latvia
The Seimas Ombudsmen’s Office (Lithuania)
Consultative Human Rights Commission of Luxembourg
Human Rights and Equality Commission ** (Malta)
Netherlands Institute for Human Rights
Commissioner for Human Rights (Poland)
Portuguese Ombudsman
People’s Advocate (Romania)
Romanian Institute for Human Rights
Slovak National Centre for Human Rights
Human Rights Ombudsman of the Republic of Slovenia
Ombuds institution of Spain
Equality Ombudsman (Sweden)
Institute for Human Rights (Sweden)
People's Advocate of the Republic of Albania
Ombudsman of the Republic of North Macedonia
Protector of Citizens of the Republic of Serbia
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.
Rights of the child
Freedom of information
Standing in front of constitutional court for review of legislation
Other
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
External channel for the reporting of irregularities under the Act on the Protection of Persons Who Report Irregularities
Chancellor of Justice(Estonia)
Corporate responsibility
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)
Irish Human Rights and
Equality Commission
Member of the Portuguese Council of state
Institute for Human Rights(Sweden)
Note: * highlights changes in mandate since the December 2022 update.