Introductory on the ICC's 19th Session (30 March 2007)

Dear Colleagues, Please find attached below the report of the last ICC meeting of NIs held in Geneva from 21 to 23 March. Included in the document are the statements from the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Maria Francisca Ize-Charrin. They provided policy guidance on NIs in line with OHCHR Plan of Action as well as details on concrete achievements in this field.

The ICC decided to establish a permanent representative in Geneva in order to follow up closely the work of the Human Rights Council, the HR Treaty Bodies as well as other mechanisms of the HR Council. The ICC representative would work closely and coordinate activities with OHCHR. The ICC agreed to recognize the right to speak to regional coordinating committees in the HR Council - however only on behalf of Category A Paris Principles compliant NIs - in keeping with CHR resolution 2005/74.

Furthermore, as already indicated by Fabrizio on Monday at the MM, the ICC has been quite strict on the issue of accreditation and compliance with the Paris Principles. The ICC recommended status A re-accreditation for Bolivia , Indonesia , Malawi , and Peru. It deferred consideration of Afghanistan , the Philippines , and Portugal to October 2007 when a further review of Sri Lanka and Nigeria will also take place. It confirmed status B for Burkina Faso , Jordan , and status C for Puerto Rico and Romania . It decided review status for Nepal and suspended the accreditation of Fiji : both cases will be taken up also in October 2007.

As you will see, the focus of the ICC meeting was very much on the protection function of NIs. Indeed, the discussions centered on issues such as torture prevention, rule of law, and human rights defenders. We had special rapporteurs, members of Treaty Bodies and HR NGOs such as Amnesty International, APT, etc. addressing the ICC of NIs. Thus, the OHCHR priorities on the role of NIs is changing considerably and is now stressing their critical role in connection with the rule of law. I am pleased to report that the reaction of NIs has been positive and we have been able to learn a great deal already on the on-going protection work of NIs on torture prevention which will be fed shortly into OPCAT.

New initiatives are also forthcoming with UNCTs on NIs in order for OHCHR also to effectively exercise its leadership role on NIs and enhance their contribution at the country level with respect to action on good governance, rule of law and human rights. This is very much in line with a decision by the PC late last year in the context of the rule of law.

Finally, I look forward to developing a much closer cooperation between staff in the field (including OHCHR offices, HR Components of UN Peace Missions and Regional Representatives), geographic desk officers and colleagues in TCB and SPB on issues concerning the establishment and strengthening of national human rights institutions - especially on the contribution NIs can make in the UN HR system and on the applications of HR norms at the national level. With my best wishes, Gianni Magazzeni, Senior Human Rights Officer, Coordinator, National Institutions Unit, CBB, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.