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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 ** |
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 ** |
|
|
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) |
|
|
|
|
Commission for Protection against Discrimination |
|
|
|
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 |
Yes |
|
Yes |
|
Finnish Human Rights Centre |
Yes * |
|
|
Corporate responsibility |
National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (France) |
|
|
|
|
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 |
|
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.