The unique position of National Human Rights Institutions: A mixed blessing?

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 28, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 904-946

  Smith, Anne ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ULSTER   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

CIVIL SOCIETY; HUMAN RIGHTS; NONGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION;

EID: 33751365270     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2006.0054     Document Type: Article

References (196)

1. International Council on Human Rights Policy, Performance and Legitimacy: National Human Rights Institutions 58-59 (2000); (2004).
2. Id.
3. For a typology of NHRIs see id. at 3.
4. See also Linda Reif, Building Democratic Institutions: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions in Good Governance and Human Rights Protection 13 Harvard Hum. Rts J. 1, at 5-13 (2000).
5. Some of these questions are drawn from the Humanitarian Accountability Project (HAP), Key components of Humanitarian Accountability, HAP Briefings 2. These and other questions are available at http:// www.hapinternational.org/en/.
6. Some examples include the Scottish Human Rights Commission, which has produced two consultation documents: Protecting our Rights: A Human Rights Commission for Scotland, 2001
7. and The Scottish Human Rights Commission, 2003.
8. For an analysis of the responses see The Scottish Human Rights Commission: Analysis of consultation responses, 2004, available at http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library5/social/hrcacr.pdf
9. The British Government announced in October 2003 its plans to establish a single equality body for Great Britain. See White Paper, Fairness for All: A New Commission for Equality and Human Rights (CEHR)(12 May 2004)(published by the Department of Trade and Industry). Following its announcement in October 2003, the British government set up a task force to explore and develop ways in which the new body would function, available at http://www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/equality/project/ task-force.htm.
10. In December 2003, the task force published a draft paper, A vision for the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, available at http:// www.womenandequalityunit.gov.uk/equality/project/minutes_reports.htm. It is anticipated the CEHR will begin its work in 2006, subject to the passage of the necessary legislation.
11. For example the Canadian government are reviewing the operation and structure of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. The author attended a meeting at the Department of Justice in Toronto in August 2004 where representatives from government, civil servants, academics and others discussed how to improve human rights commissions in Canada.
12. For example, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI). The CHRI is an independent, nonpartisan, international NGO mandated to ensure the practical realization of human rights in Commonwealth Countries.
13. The European Community lays down the principle of equal treatment irrespective of racial or ethnic origin in a directive which came into force on the 19 July 2003. It requires member states to "designate a body or bodies for the promotion of equal treatment." See Council Directive 2000/43, art. 13, 2000 O.J. (L 180) 25 (EC). Two further EU Directives also stipulate the establishment of bodies for the promotion, analysis, monitoring and support of equal treatment of all persons without discrimination on the grounds of sex, which must be in place by October 2005.
14. See Council Directive 2002/73, art. 8a, 2002 O.J. (L 269) 19 (EC). A similar body is to be established which implements the principle of equal treatment between men and women in the access to and supply of goods and services.
15. See Council Directive 2004/113, art, 12, 2004 O.J. (L 373) 42 (EC).
16. Benaifer Nowrojee, Human Rights Watch, Protectors or Pretenders? Government Human Rights Commissions in Africa (2001), available at http://www.hrw.org/reports/2001/africa/overview/factors.html.
17. See International Council on Human Rights Policy, supra note 1
18. National Human Rights Institutions: Impact Assessment Indicators, Draft Report for Consultation (2005)
19. Michelle Parleviet, International Council on Human Rights Policy, National Human Institutions and Peace Agreements: Establishing National Institutions in Divided Societies, Working Paper (2006), available at http://www.ichrp.org/paper_files/Michelle_Parlevliet_125_w_02.doc.
20. Sonia Cardenas, Adaptive States: The Proliferation of National Human Rights Institutions, Working Paper (2001).
21. Id. at 1.
22. International Council on Human Rights Policy, Performance and Legitimacy, supra note 1, at 1 (2004).
23. Cardenas, supra note 11, at 9.
24. Interview with Dr. Mohammad-Mahmoud Mohamedou, former Research Director, ICHRP, and Robert Archer, Executive Director, International Council on Human Rights Policy, in Geneva, Switzerland, (Nov. 2002).
25. Id.
26. Christine Bell & Johanna Keenan, Human Rights Nongovernmental Organizations and the Problems of Transition, 26 Hum. Rts. Q. 330, 334 (2004).
27. Interview, Mohamedou & Archer, supra note 15.
28. Interview with Brian Burdekin, Former Specialist Adviser, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in Belfast, N. Ir. (Oct. 2002).
29. Christine Bell, Peace Agreements and Human Rights 198 (2000).
30. Arlene Foster, Protestants Need Rights Explained to Them, Fortnight Magazine, Feb. 2003, at 12.
31. Id.
32. Kieran McEvoy, Law, Struggle and Political Transformation in Northern Ireland, 27(4) J.L. & SOC'Y 542, at 555 (2000).
33. Some of the decisions have been critical of the UK Government's human rights record in Northern Ireland. See McCann and Others v. United Kingdom, 324 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) at 97 (1995)
34. Brogan and Others v. United Kingdom, 145B Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) at 16 (1987)
35. Ireland v. United Kingdom, 25 Eur. Ct. H.R. (ser. A) at 79 (1978).
36. Paul Mageean & Martin O'Brien, From the Margins to the Mainstream: Human Rights and the Good Friday Agreement, 22 Fordham Int'L L.J. 1499, 1503 (1999).
37. Mick Fealty, Trevor Ringland & David Steven, A Long Peace? The Future of Unionism in Northern Ireland (2003).
38. Interview, Mohamedou & Archer, supra note 15.
39. National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, adopted 4 Mar. 1994, G.A. Res. 48/134, U.N. GAOR, 48th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/Res/48/134 (1994)[here-inafter Paris Principles]. The Paris Principles arose from the first International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights held in Paris in 1991. They were endorsed by the UNCHR in March 1992.
40. While the Paris Principles have helped to make the profile of NHRIs became more distinct, the issue has been raised as to whether the Principles should be adjusted or revisited, see International Council on Human Rights Policy, Performance and Legitimacy, supra note 1, at 107-10 (2000). There is a review of the Paris Principles in process by the OHCHR.
41. Paris Principles, supra note 27, ¶ B(2).
42. United Nations Handbook on National Human Rights Institutions: A Handbook on the Establishment and Strengthening of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (Professional Training Series No.4, 1995).
43. Id. ¶ 70.
44. Commonwealth Secretariat, National Human Rights Institutions: Best Practice 10-11 (2001).
45. Nowrojee, Human Rights Watch, Protectors or Pretenders, supra note 9. For example, the National Human Rights Commission of Indonesia, Komnas HAM, was created under a presidential decree, not an act of parliament, yet by its actions, it has gained credibility notwithstanding its lack of legal status.
46. For an excellent commentary on the role of NHRIs in protecting human rights see the cross-selection of contributions from present and former chairpersons of different NHRIs in The Protection Role of National Human Rights Institutions (Bertrand G. Ramcharan ed., 2005).
47. Paris Principles, supra note 27, ¶ C(2).
48. However, the Irish Human Rights Commission comes close; see The Human Rights Commission Act, no. 9, 2000 (Ir.), available at http:// www.oireachtas.ie/documents/bills28/acts/2000/a900.pdf.
49. For example, the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has investigatory powers, see S. Afr. Const. 1996 (Act No. 108 of 1996), ch. 9, § 184(2)
50. as does the Australian Human Rights and Equality Opportunity Commission (HREOC), see Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act, 1986, pt. II, div. 2 (Austl.).
51. Sarah Spencer, Access to Information Powers (Feb. 2002)(Unpublished paper presented at the Scottish Executive Conference, Establishing our Rights: Roles for Scotland's Human Rights Commission, Edinburgh, Scot., 17 Feb. 2002).
52. Interview with Burdekin, supra note 19.
53. Northern Ireland Act, 1998, c. 47, § 69(8), available at http:// www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1998/80047-j.htm (hereinafter NIA 1998).
54. The NIHRC lists a myriad of examples where its work has been frustrated to the lack of investigatory powers. See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness: Report to the Secretary of State Required by Section 69(2) of the Northern Ireland Act of 1998 at 35-41 (2001).
55. The NIHRC in a recent case against the Secretary of State on seeking access to the Juvenile Justice Center in Rathgael, Bangor, reached a settlement that allows the NIHRC access to the Center by 1 May 2005. This will enable the NIHRC to see if the recommendations contained in its report are being properly implemented. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, In Our Care: Promoting the Rights of Children in Custody (2002).
56. For example see Fair Employment and Treatment (Northern Ireland) Order 1998, art. 11
57. Sex Discrimination (Northern Ireland) Order 1976, art. 57
58. Race Relations (Northern Ireland) Order 1997, art. 46. The ECNI has different powers depending on whether the investigation is formal or informal.
59. The "Review of Powers" document refers to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness, supra note 41.
60. Under NIA 1998, supra note 40, § 68(2), 4(1), Sched. 7, the NIHRC had to submit a report on whether it needed greater powers to be effective after two years of its existence which it duly submitted in 2001. Four years later, the final response of the government is still awaited. The government has responded by producing two consultation papers. The first was in May 2002, when the government rejected most of the recommendations.
61. See Northern Ireland Office, The Government's Response to the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's Review of Powers Recommendations: A Paper for Consultation (May 2002), available at http:// www.nio.gov.uk_powers_recommendations.pdf. Since then, the NIHRC has withdrawn some of its earlier recommendations.
62. See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Response to the UK Government's Consultation Paper on the Review of Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Aug. 2002)
63. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, The Commission's Powers: A Supplementary Review (21 Apr. 2004). The second consultation paper was published in November 2005.
64. See Northern Ireland Office, The Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Consultation Paper 18-20 (Nov. 2005), available at http://www.nio.gov.uk/the_powers_of_the_northern_ ireland_humang_rights_commission.pdf. In responding to the government's paper, the Chief Commissioner stated:
65. NIHRC, Press Release, Human Rights Watchdog Welcomes Extra Powers (17 Dec. 2004), available at http://www.nihrc.org/ index.php?page=press_news_details&category_id=2&press_id= 211&Itemid=65. The NIHRC has formally responded in Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Consultation Paper on the Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Response of the Commission, (Feb. 2006). The government will next produce a summary of the responses received and in light of those responses, the government intends to legislate to enact proposals.
66. Anne Smith, Access to Intervene: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Northern Ireland Act 1998, 4 Eur. Hum. Rts. L. Rev. 423, 435 (2003).
67. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness, supra note 41.
68. Interview with Brian Burdekin, supra note 19.
69. The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, No. 10, Acts of Parliament, 1994, ch. 3, § 12(a).
70. Mandeep Tiwana, Needed; More Effective Human Rights Commission in India, 11 CHRI Newsletter 4 (2004), available at http:// www.humanrightsinitiative.org/pubiications/nl/newsletter_summer_2004/ news_letter_summer_2004.pdf.
71. See Uganda Human Rights Commissions Act, 1997, § 23.
72. Nowrojee, supra note 9.
73. Paris Principles, supra note 27, ¶ B(2).
74. For example: "In 2002, the Amendment to the Jammu and Kashmir Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA) stripped the SHRC of its ability to appoint its technical staff and transferred this power to the government." J & K State Human Rights Commission: The healing can begin here, Human Rights Feature Fortnightly, 28 Sept. 2005, available at http://www.hrdc.net/sahrdc/hrfeatures/HRF127.htm.
75. New National Party of South Africa v. Government of the Republic of South Africa, (5) BCLR 489 (CC) (1999).
76. The NIHRC received an annual budget of £750,000 in its first three years. It has now been agreed that the core annual budget for the next financial years will be £1.3 million for 2003-2004, £1.3 million for 2004-2005, and £1.35 million for 2005-2006. See Joint Committee on Human Rights, Work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Fourteenth Report), 2002-3, H.L. 132, at 19, ¶ 34, available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200203/ jtselect/jtrights/132/132.pdf.
77. Tony McGleenan, Investigating Deaths in Hospitals in Northern Ireland: Does this Comply with the European Convention on Human Rights? (Sept. 2004).
78. Memorandum from Christine Bell, Inez McCormack, The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission: Written Submission to the inquiry by the Joint Committee on Human Rights 6 (2003), available at http:// www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200203/jtselect/jtrights/132/ 132we05.htm.
79. Id.
80. Independent monitoring of a NHRIs activity is strongly recommended: "Commissions should evaluate their own performance and make the outcome public." Sarah Spencer & Ian Bynoe, A Human Rights Commission: The Options for Britain and Northern Ireland 56 (1991).
81. The government initially agreed to pay the costs for the review.
82. Interview with Peter Hosking, former member of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission, in Belfast, N. Ir. (July 2003).
83. NIA 1998, supra note 40, § 68(2), ¶ 4(1), Sched. 7.
84. Northern Ireland Office, The Government's Response, supra note 43, ¶ 21.
85. Nowrojee, Human Rights Watch, Protectors or Pretenders, supra note 9.
86. Id.
87. Interview with Orest Nowosad, OHCHR, in Geneva, Switzerland (Nov. 2002).
88. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness, supra note 41, at 11.
89. Northern Ireland Office, The Government's Response, supra note 43, ¶ 33.
90. In the 2005 consultation paper, the NIO had not changed its view on this particular issue, see id. at 8.
91. The JCHR is appointed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons and part of its remit is to examine whether, following the passing of the Human Rights Act 1998, there is a need to establish a UK Human Rights Commission. See Joint Committee on Human Rights, The Case for a Human Rights Commission: Interim Report (Twenty-second Report) 2001-2 H.L. 160, available at http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200102/ jtselect/jtrights/160/160.pdf
92. Joint Committee on Human Rights, The Case for a Human Rights Commission (Sixth Report), 2002-3 H.L. 67-1, available at http:// www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200203/jtselect/jtrights/67/67.pdf.
93. Joint Committee on Human Rights, Work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Fourteenth Report), supra note 54, ¶ 37.
94. National Human Rights Commission, Responding to Crisis Report (2003).
95. Nowrojee, supra note 9.
96. Terje Tvedt, Angels of Mercy or Diplomats: NGOs & Foreign Aid 90, at n. 2 (1998).
97. Michael Edwards, David Hulme, Too Close For Comfort? The Impact of Official Aid on Nongovernmental Organizations, 1(1) Current Issues in Comparative Education (1998), available at http://www.tc.columbia.edu/ cice/Archives/1.1/11edwards_hulme.pdf
98. However, this does not imply that NGOs who are dependent on donors do not experience problems. For further information on this issue, see International Council on Human Rights Policy, Deserving Trust: Issues of Accountability for Human Rights NGOs, Draft Report for Consultation 129-31 (2003), available at http://www.ichrp.org/paper_files/ 119_w_01.doc.
99. On this issue see Joint Committee on Human Rights, Work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Fourteenth Report), supra note 54
100. see also Hugh Corder, Saras Jagwanth, & Fred Soltau, Report on Parliamentary Oversight & Accountability (1999).
101. In the NIHRCs recent response to the British Government's consultation paper on the review of powers, it too supports this recommendation. See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Consultation Paper on the Powers of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, supra note 43, at 4.
102. Corder, Jagwanth & Soltau, supra note 75, ¶ 7.2.
103. Id.
104. Id.
105. Interview with Karthy Govender, member of the SAHRC, in Capetown, S. Afr. (Aug. 2002).
106. Appointment Procedures of National Human Rights Institutions, Paper for the Discussion of the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions 4 (13 Apr. 2006), available at http:// www.nhri.net/pdf/OHCHR_Appointments_Procedure_Paper_E.pdf.
107. National Human Rights Institutions Forum, news alert, Establishment of a national human rights institution in Angola (11 Aug. 2005), available at http://www.nhri.net/news.asp?ID=889.
108. The commission is still appointed by the Senate and given the blessing by the King.
109. Brice Dickson was appointed Chief Commissioner on 18 January 1999. The Commissioners and Chief Commissioner are appointed by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; see NIA 1998, supra note 40, § 68(2).
110. On the 16 June, a new Chief Commissioner, Monica McWilliams was appointed along with seven new Commissioners who will serve a term of three years, and whose positions took effect from September 2005. The appointments will supplement two current Commissioners, Lady Christine Eames and Kevin McLaughlin who were re-appointed in November 2004 for a further period of three years. The NIO stated that it was unable to proceed with the appointments as planned, due to the general and local elections which occurred on the 5 May 2005.
111. The first round of Commissioners appointed in March 1999 were Christine Bell, Margaret Ann Dinsmore, Tom Donnelly, Harold Good, Tom Hadden, Patricia (Paddy) Kelly, Inez McCormack, Frank McGuinness, and Angela Hegarty. In January 2001 Angela Hegarty resigned, all other existing Commissioners were confirmed in their positions and four new commissioners were appointed, one to replace her and an additional three to expand the membership of the Commission: Lady Christine Eames, Chris McGimpsey, Kevin McLaughlin, and Patrick Yu, each to serve for three years. In September 2002 Christine Bell and Inez McCormack resigned; in July 2003 Patrick Yu resigned; and shortly after two Commissioners, Frank McGuinness and Paddy Kelly, withdrew from active service. Chris McGimpsey resigned on 3 November 2003 as he was standing as a candidate for the Ulster Unionist party in the Assembly elections. Paddy Kelly resigned in July 2004 and a number of commissioners have finished their second term. Up until September 2005, following the recent re-appointment of two members to the board of the NIHRC, there were only two Commissioners, Lady Christine Eames and Kevin McLaughlin.
112. Debora McAleese, Human Rights Boss Raps Lack of Support, Government not Taking the Issues Seriously, Belfast Telegraph, 23 Feb. 2005.
113. In South Africa, a vacancy in the SAHRC is required to be filled as soon as practicable, in accordance with constitutional provisions. See Human Rights Commission Act, § 11(2)(b) (1994)(S. Afr.), available at http://www.polity.org.za/html/govdocs/legislation/1994/ act94-054.html?rebookmark=1.
114. Commonwealth Secretariat, supra note 32, at 29.
115. The Protection of Human Rights Act, supra note 47, § 4(1).
116. Akshaya Mukul, NHRC Member Resigns, The Times of India, 14 Jan. 2005, available at http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/ 990994.cms.
117. For further information on this issue and for other issues of the Nepalese human rights commission see Bipin Adhikari, Building Capacity of National Human Rights Institutions: The Case of Nepal (2004), available at http://www.nhrcnepal.org//publication/doc/books/ Building_Capacity_of_NHRIs-Nepal-case.pdf.
118. Interview with Helen Suzman, former member of the SAHRC, in S. Afr. (Aug. 2002).
119. Tiwana, supra note 48, at 5.
120. Interview with a member of the NIHRC, (name withheld for confidentiality reasons), in Belfast, N. Ir. (Apr. 2003).
121. Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Response to the 14th Report of the Joint Committee on Rights in the Session 2002-03, ¶ 4 (Mar. 2004), available at http://www.nihrc.org/dms/data/NIHRC/attachments/ dd/files/65/122.pdf.
122. Nowrojee, supra note 9.
123. Interview with Mohamedou & Archer, supra note 15.
124. Reenu Paul, National Human Rights Commission of India: A Human Rights Evaluation(Sept. 2003)(unpublished M.Sc. dissertation, London School of Economics)(quoting Dutta Ritwick), at 25, available at http:// www.nhri.net/pdf/National%20Human%20Rights%20Commission%20 of%.20India%20-full%20version.pdf.
125. There have been allegations of state collusion in the murder of Patrick Finucane. The Bloody Sunday inquiry was set up by the British government to establish the truth of the events in 1969 when thirteen civil right marchers were killed by British soldiers. See British House of Commons, Cory Collusion Inquiry Report: Patrick Finucane, H.C. 470 (Apr. 2004)(prepared by Peter Cory, Retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada), available at http://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/collusion/cory/ cory03finucane.pdf.
126. McAleese, supra note 86.
127. International Council on Human Rights Policy, Performance and Legitimacy, supra note 1, at 112 (2004).
128. It has been noted that some members of the Commission did not wish to disclose their disabilities or sexual orientation, see the report Stephen Livingstone & Rachel Murray, Evaluating the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions: The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission with Comparisons from South Africa 39 (Feb. 2005)(unpublished manuscript, on file with author).
129. Interview with Ulster Protestant Movement for justice, (names withheld for confidentiality reasons), in Ballymena, N.Ir. (Nov. 2002).
130. Interview with a representative from the Orange Order, in Belfast, N. Ir. (name withheld for confidentiality reasons), (Feb. 2003).
131. Angela Hegarty resigned in January 2001; all other existing Commissioners were confirmed in their positions and four new commissioners were appointed, one to replace Angela Hegarty and an additional three to expand the membership of the Commission: Lady Christine Eames (Church background); Chris McGimpsey (Ulster Unionist Party member); Kevin McLaughlin (disability sector); and Patrick Yu (ethnic minority background).
132. Interview with Edwin Poots, Democratic Unionist Party, in Belfast, N. Ir. (Jan. 2003).
133. Interview with Chrissie McAuley, Sinn Féin, in Belfast, N. Ir. (June 2003).
134. Nowrojee, supra note 9.
135. Reif, supra note 3, at 27.
136. Interview with Christine Bell, former commissioner, NIHRC, in Derry, N. Ir. (May 2003).
137. Interview with Brice Dickson, former Chief Commissioner, NIHRC, in Belfast, N. Ir. (April 2003).
138. Anselmo Lee, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA, Press Release, FORUM-ASIA Condemns the attack on the National Human Rights Commission Office in Sri Lanka (22 Oct. 2005), available at http://www.nhri.net/ news.asp?ID=920.
139. Bell, supra note 20, at 199.
140. Paris Principles, supra note 27, ¶ C(7).
141. The National Human Rights Commission of Togo (set up in 1987) included an elected representative of the Togolese Red Cross, elected representatives of women, youth, workers and traditional chiefs and two lawyers elected by the Bar Association. The NIHRC when first established included six members of the Committee on the Administration of justice. In Benin, Morocco, and Senegal, representatives from the NGO community are mandated members of the human rights commissions. See, e.g., Nowrojee, supra note 9
142. Brian Burdekin, Human Rights Commissions, in Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsman Offices: National Experiences Throughout the World 801 (Kamal Hossain et al. eds., 2001).
143. In Mexico, the National Commission on Human Rights has a Council composed of human rights experts which conducts studies and makes recommendations to the Commission. In Morocco the Human Rights Consultative Council serves as a forum for consultation on human rights between NGOs and the government.
144. The Australian national commission's charter mandates the commission to work with NGOs on different issues such as policy, projects and inquires. See Burdekin, Human Rights Commissions, supra note 115, at 821-22.
145. The Human Rights Commission Act, supra note 87, § 5, allows for the creation of standing committees composed of members of the South African Human Rights Commission and others.
146. See Barney Pityana, National Institutions at Work: The Case of the South African Human Rights Commission, in Human Rights Commissions and Ombudsman Offices: National Experiences Throughout the World 627, 629 (Kamal Hossain et al. eds., 2001).
147. Nowrojee, supra note 9.
148. Interview with an NGO, (name withheld for confidentiality reasons) in Belfast, N. Ir. (Nov. 2002).
149. Especially given the prestige of the Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ): one of Northern Ireland's foremost human rights groups and the winner of the Council of Europe's Human Rights Prize in 1998 for its work to place human rights and equality at the heart of the peace process.
150. Interview with Burdekin, supra note 19.
151. Interview with Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International, in Belfast, N. Ir. (Oct. 2002).
152. Interview with Ulster Protestant Movement for justice, supra note 103.
153. It was formerly know as the Danish Human Rights Centre.
154. Correspondence with Robert Archer via email (Dec. 2004).
155. Interview with Andre Keet, staff member, Education Department, SACHR, in Johannesburg, S. Afr. (Aug. 2002).
156. Interview with Faranaaz Veriava, former worker of the Provincial Office, SAHRC, in S. Afr. (Aug. 2002).
157. S. Afr. Const. 1996, supra note 37, ch. 9, § 184(3).
158. Interview with Veriava, supra note 127.
159. NIA 1998, supra note 40, § 70(2), provides that assistance may be granted (a) where the case raises an issue of principle; (b) where it would be unreasonable to expect the person to deal with the matter without assistance because of its complexity, or because of the applicant's position to another person involved, or for some other reason; (c) whether there are other special circumstances which make it appropriate for the Commission to provide assistance. The NIHRCs additional criteria specifies what it will take to be "special circumstances."
160. The NIHRC revised its criteria, see Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Annual Report 2003, Appendix 4 at 54 (2003), available at http://www.nihrc.org/documents/pubs/hrc/ann_report_2003.pdf.
161. The NIHRC has indicated that it may wish to recommend specific amendments to Section 70(2) in order to make it more clear and precise. See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness, supra note 41, at 12. Assistance can take different forms including providing formal legal advice, paying for the costs of solicitors and barristers in court proceedings or paying got expert evidence to be submitted to a court.
162. Written Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, Memorandum from Madden and Finucane, Solicitors' Memorandum Submitted to the Joint Committee on Human Rights (July 2002), available at http:// www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/jt200203/jtselect/jtrights/132/ 132we13.htm.
163. In the Matter of an Application by "E" of a Judicial Review [2004] NIQB 35 (N.Ir.), available at http://www.courtsni.gov.uk/NR/ rdonlyres/1475F1C5-0646-4639-BFB5-14E4D5705A1E/0/j_j_KERF4184.htm.
164. One former commissioner, Paddy Kelly, stated that "we can never be certain that the letter by the chief commissioner and signed by three other commissioners did not adversely affect the applicant's case." However Brice Dickson said: "the solicitors for the applicant are on record as saying my letter was irrelevant to the outcome of the case and I agree with that." Body still reeling from Holy Cross affair, Irish News, 1 July 2004, at 10.
165. Joint Committee on Human Rights, Work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Fourteenth Report), supra note 54, at 16.
166. Stephen McCaffery, Commission chief 'will stay' in post, Irish News, 23 July 2003, at 1.
167. For example, the Nigerian Human Rights Commission intervened when passports of human rights activist were confiscated by government. The Uganda Human Rights Commission has been successful in highlighting police brutality, prison conditions, arbitrary arrests and abuses by security forces.
168. In the Matter of an Application by "E" of a Judicial Review, supra note 132, ¶ 63.
169. See Written Evidence to the Joint Committee on Human Rights, supra note 131:
170. See also Sinn Féin, Press Release, Human Rights Commissioner's Disgraceful Comments Influenced Holy Cross Judgement (16 June 2004), available at http://www.sinnfein.ie/news/detail/5270.
171. Interview with former commissioner, SAHRC. (name withheld for confidentiality reasons), in S. Afr. (Aug. 2002)
172. Interview with Dene, Smuts, MP, S. Afr. (Aug. 2002).
173. NIA 1998, supra note 40, Sched. 7, ¶ 5(1).
174. Interview with David Feldman, former Legal Adviser to the JCHR, in London (Nov. 2002).
175. On the work of the NIHRC see Joint Committee on Human Rights, Work of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (Fourteenth Report), supra note 54. The NIHRC produced a response to this report in March 2004, see Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Response to the 14th Report of the Joint Committee on Rights, supra note 95. For the inquiry to establish a UK Human Rights Commission, see Joint Commitee on Human Rights, The Case for a Human Rights Commission (Sixth Report), supra note 68.
176. Interview with Kevin McNamara, MP, Labour, in London (Nov. 2002). In the House of Lords the NIHRC has quite a high profile, albeit a negative
177. This language has been widely challenged, in particular by women's rights organizations. As a result, concepts of "empowerment" or "agency" (emphasizing the importance of actions that a supposed "victim" takes herself) are becoming more common and have replaced reference to "victims" in the terminology used by some, but not all, NGOs. See International Council on Human Rights Policy, Deserving Trust: Issues of Accountability for Human Rights NGOs, supra note 74.
178. Dawn Oliver, Law, Politics and Accountability, Public Law 238, 246 (1994).
179. It has been pointed out that 83 percent of the killings and a higher proportion of injuries have been perpetrated by Republican and Loyalist paramilitary groupings. See Marie-Therese Fay, Michael Morrissey & Marie Smyth, Northern Ireland's Troubles: The Human Costs (1999).
180. Good Friday Agreement, 10 Apr. 1998, Ir-U.K., Strand 3, ¶ 4 of the Human Rights Section, available at http://www.nio.gov.uk/agreement.pdf.
181. This issue was also debated in the NI Assembly in September 2001 where Esmond Birnie of the UUP argued that the NIHRC should have addressed the constitutional issues of NI instead of remaining silent and refereed to the particular circumstances of N1 as deaths from non-state actors and does not include socioeconomic rights. See Nothern Ireland Assembly, Official Report (2001-2002).
182. Nationalists too have criticized the NIHRC's handling of the Bill of Rights process and some of the draft Bill of Rights provisions, especially those which could potentially endanger equality legislation in Northern Ireland. See Christopher McCrudden, Not the Way Forward. Some Comments on the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission's Consultation Document on a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, 52 N. Ireland Legal Q. 372 (2001). After considerable discussion on the controversial issues, the NIHRC has made a number of changes to the 2001 draft provisions in Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Making a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: A Consultation by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission 14 (Sept. 2001)
183. its latest thinking is in the most recent document: Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Progressing a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: An Update (Apr. 2004).
184. John Hucker, Bringing Rights Home: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions, in Human Rights Protection: Methods and Effectiveness 29, 34 (Frances Butler ed., 2002).
185. See Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act 1976, No. 49, Acts of Parliament, 1976 (India). This Act requires all Indian organizations and individuals that seek to receive foreign contributions to receive clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs, in the form of either registration or prior permission. The fact that this Act existed long before the NHRC was established (created in 1993), it has been reported that the NHRC should have condemned this long ago. Such condemnation is imperative as it has also been noted that the Ministry of Home Affairs uses the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, id., as a political tool against the disfavored NGOs; see Paul, supra note 98, at 37.
186. There is an audit of the Paris Principles regarding the financial independence being carried out by the umbrella body of International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions supported by the OHCHR.
187. Interview with Bairbre de Brún., Sinn Féin, in Belfast, N.Ir. (Nov. 2003).
188. Interview with a former commissioner, (name withheld for confidentiality reasons), NIHRC in Belfast, N.Ir. (May 2003).
189. Interview with Dickson, supra note 111.
190. See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Report on Effectiveness, supra note 41, at 15-19.
191. In the NIHRCs fifth annual report, it is reported that the "Commission is not always provided, at least unprompted, with information on legislation and policy originating within the UK government but intended to apply in Northern Ireland." See Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, Fifth Annual Report 35 (2004).
192. Interview with an NGO, supra note 119.
193. J & K State Human Rights Commission, supra note 52.
194. When Patrick Yu resigned the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen expressed his "serious concern" especially on the "stated grounds of resignation which appear to give troubling implications for specific equality and rights aspects of the Good Friday Agreement." Statement by Minister Cowen on resignation of Mr. Patrick Yu from NIHRC, Press Release, Government of Ireland, Department of Foreign Affairs (8 July 2003), available at http:// www.foreignaffairs.gov.ie/Press-Releases/20030708/1237.htm.
195. Kofi Kumado, Working with NGOs, Paper to the British Council Conference on the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions, 26 Oct.-1 Nov. 2003, Belfast and London, at 7.
196. Id. at 9.