Role of national human rights institutions in lawmaking and supporting human rights defenders the focus of fifth NHRI Academy in Helsinki

Representatives of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from the OSCE region developed their knowledge and skills in promoting and protecting human rights during the fifth NHRI Academy organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI). The Finnish Human Rights Centre hosted this year’s NHRI Academy, which took place from 4 to 8 June in Helsinki.

The aim of the annual NHRI Academy is to support NHRIs by training their staff in topical human rights and NHRI-related topics. The curriculum of this year’s Academy focused on topics such as NHRI involvement in lawmaking through legislative review and on working with and supporting human rights defenders, including those working on women’s rights, human rights of LGBT persons and minority rights. The 27 participants – 17 women and 10 men – were also trained in mainstreaming gender into their work, and developed action plans to be implemented after the training.

“This year’s Academy is a milestone for ODIHR, as it is the fifth time we successfully organized this training for NHRIs, together with our ENNHRI partners,” said Katarzyna Gardapkhadze, ODIHR’s First Deputy Director, adding that over 120 NHRI staff members have been trained so far by ODIHR through the Academy. “We will continue to support the development of strong and independent NHRIs in the OSCE region.”

“The Academy provided me an opportunity to learn from peers in other countries and to share and discuss methods for working more closely with human rights defenders on human rights issues in our countries,” said Saba Brachveli, Chief Specialist at the Public Defender’s Office in Georgia.

The event was also marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between ODIHR and ENNHRI on 6 June, which formalizes co-operation between the two institutions in the field of NHRIs.

“This document provides us with a strong shared basis to continue and expand our co-operation with ENNHRI in supporting and strengthening independent NHRIs in the OSCE region,” Gardapkhadze said.

“The NHRI Academy is an excellent example of how ENNHRI supports its members together with ODIHR and helps ensure the implementation of OSCE human dimension commitments,” said Lora Vidovic, ENNHRI Chair and Ombudswoman of Croatia. “The signing of the memorandum is a natural continuation of our ongoing and deepening co-operation with ODIHR.”