Annual Report of The National Council for Human Rights

Chapter Two - Cont.

The National, International, and Regional Framework for The Establishment of The National Council for Human Rights (NCHR)

• International changes and developments in the Middle East and the importance of political reform in the area:

The Middle East has been witnessing, in particular after the events of the 11th of September 2001 in the United States, many major developments and has been the focus of many intensive international initiatives and efforts to attach high importance to political reform programs, respect for democracy, sovereignty of law, good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms, and partnership with the civil society.

The national governments are assuming the leading role to conform to these international developments, to deal with them as the main pivots for interaction of international relations, to identify their patterns and trends, and to determine plans and programs to implement them, while preserving the Arab identity and culture of the peoples in the region.

Reform efforts have followed in the Arab countries to initiate these changes and to embark upon political reforms in conformity with the national conditions and needs, and to promote democracy and human rights systems in accordance with international standards contained in the regulatory international agreements.

Countries in the region seek to conform their national human rights systems to the international standards and to actively participate in related international efforts. They moreover, set out to establish supporting governmental and national human rights mechanisms to effectively enforce these rights and curb violations and non-conformity of practices, and to encourage the civil society to participate in this field.

Many states embarked upon the creation of ministerial offices and National Councils for Human Rights to boost efforts to promote respect for the human rights system and improve national conditions in such regard, with eight countries in the Arab world having established National Councils for Human Rights.

At the African level, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, adopted in Nairobi on 26 June 1986, intended to establish and improve national institutions charged with the promotion and protection of human rights. The Charter affirmed that promotion of these institutions is a function of the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, which was established under this Charter.

Africa has moreover witnessed a considerable increase in the number of national human rights institutions, and the first conference thereon was held at Yaoundé, Cameroon, in February 1996. A coordination committee for African institutions was formed for the convocation of the conference. The second conference was held at Durban, South Africa in July 1998.

The African Commission has supported the establishment of national institutions and called upon states and governments to establish them. Some of these committees were appointed as observers at the Commission.

Mauritius' plan of action stipulated the importance of setting a framework for cooperation between national human rights institutions to further exchange of information and experience between them, and, accordingly, support their activities.

In its 24th Ordinary Session held in October 1998, the Commission approved to grant national institutions affiliate status, subject to the following criteria:

1- Institutions shall be established by virtue of a law conforming to the Paris Principles.
2- Institutions of the states parties to the Charter shall be respected. Affiliate national institutions shall present a report on their activities once every two years and shall be ready to help the Commission to establish and protect human rights at the national and international levels, and to implement action and media programs.

These regional efforts, in which Egypt has participated throughout their various stages and the resulting conventions and resolutions at the African and Arab levels, prompted Egypt to establish the NCHR and participate with the regional groupings referred to, in their efforts to further the attempts of these mechanisms to exist at the national level and to establish groupings at the regional level to consolidate and boost the efforts to effectively enforce the international standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

• National Institutions for Promotion of Human Rights:

In its international efforts to enforce international legitimacy of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the United Nations undertakes many activities to develop the international mechanisms established by international conventions and the principal structures at the United Nations. The efforts of these mechanisms have unified to monitor implementation and promote observance, investigate violations in addition to the parallel and important role of disseminating awareness of and education on human rights issues.

The international system relies foremost on these institutions to further and promote these efforts and on the regional human rights system existing in Europe, Africa and America, which have made significant progress to establish legitimacy and provide regional, judicial mechanisms competent to settle matters by final and binding rulings.

At the international level, the role of national governments has gained great importance in view of their role in enforcing and promoting human rights, and in performing obligations arising under international conventions. This is due to the authorities they have in regulating relations among individuals, or between individuals and the state. Thus, the role of national governments revolves in this field around the following:

1- Introducing the appropriate legislations through established democratic institutions that protect human rights and fundamental freedoms within the unanimously agreed upon principles set forth under related international agreements.
2- Setting up an independent judicial authority to protect, monitor and check any violations at the individual level, and safeguard and protect these rights by binding rulings.
3- Disseminating and raising awareness of the culture of human rights within the framework of national culture and traditions and local identity.

In view of the increasing various practical difficulties for the effective enforcement of human rights principles at the national level, and to achieve the required coordination and proximity between the international and national efforts in such field, there is a pressing need to set up key national structures to protect and promote human rights.

The United Nations' interest to establish these institutions began in 1946. The Economic and Social NCHR requested the states parties to consider the extent it is beneficial to establish national human rights commissions in their territories to cooperate with the NCHR to promote the work of the Commission on Human Rights.

In 1960, the Economic and Social NCHR affirmed the importance of formation of national institutions and called upon governments to form and support these institutions to promote human rights.

With the build up of international efforts by issued international conventions during the sixth and seventh decades of the past century, the Commission on Human Rights invited the states parties in 1978 to study the structure, functions and work of these national committees, and held a seminar at Geneva in 1978 where a number of guiding principles on the functions of these national institutions were approved.

In 1990, the Commission on Human Rights called for a seminar with national legal institutions to boost effective cooperation between the United Nations and these institutions. The seminar ended in October 1991 proclaiming the principles of the status and functions of national institutions concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights. These principles may be summarized as follows:

1- Competence of national institutions concerned with the protection and promotion of human rights shall be established by virtue of constitutional or legislative provisions.
2- Opinions, recommendations and reports shall be presented on a consultative basis to governments, parliaments or any other body. Reports shall be prepared on the national status of human rights. Cases of violations shall be reported to governments with recommendations thereon. Adoption of international instruments shall be encouraged. Institutions shall participate in preparation of regular reports, and publications, and shall undertake to raise awareness and educate on human rights and efforts exerted in this regard.
3- The structure of these institutions shall incorporate various social powers and civil society organizations, and regulations to ensure good conduct of their business and independence of their members, who shall be officially appointed for a definite, renewable term.
4- Institutions shall independently review all internal matters within their competence, hear any person, directly address the public, convene meetings regularly and when so required, and establish relations with government agencies and non-governmental organizations.
5- Institutions may be charged with receiving complaints from individuals and with amicable settlement within the limits defined by law and subject to maintenance of confidentiality and to notifying the complainant of his rights and, in particular, the means of remedy available to him and assist his access to same, and present recommendations thereon to the competent authorities.

The second World Conference on Human Rights (Vienna, 1993) referred in its declaration to the important and positive role played by national institutions to promote and protect human rights, in particular, their capacity to present advice to the concerned authorities, and their role to deal with human rights violations, and to disseminate information on human rights and ensure education in such fields.

Resolutions of the United Nations' Commission on Human Rights that call upon states to set up national institutions pursuant to Paris Principles followed. The Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights set up a special program to present advice to states on establishing these institutions, and to provide technical assistance and train employees thereat. In 1988, during the meeting of the Commission, it approved the granting of special legal status to national institutions and an international coordination committee representing all world territories was established.

The world has witnessed a considerable increase in the setting up of these national institutions according to the Paris Declaration.

Moreover, international and regional groupings have been established for these committees to undertake to coordinate efforts and exchange experience on human rights issues. The world-wide spread of national committees have created an international parallel network that works side by side with international human rights mechanisms in the light of common standards and regulations that ensure effective national work to encourage all national powers to effectively serve national issues relating to the promotion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.