A/HRC/41/30
26.
It was reiterated that the role of national human rights institutions could not be
confined to Goal 16 and that they should work across the 2030 Agenda.
27.
The representative of OHCHR referred to its publications that could be useful for
national human rights institutions, such as its guidance note on a human rights-based
approach to data5 and its guide on human rights indicators. 6
Panel II – How the work of national human rights institutions can
better support the establishment and maintenance of inclusive societies:
exchanging experiences and best practices
B.
1.
Statements by the panellists
28.
The panellists were the Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights,
the People’s Advocate of Albania, a member of the Commission on Human Rights of the
Philippines and a representative of OHCHR. A member of the Committee on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights moderated the panel discussion. 7
29.
The moderator reminded the audience that the Committee on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights had adopted general comment No. 10 (1998) on the role of national human
rights institutions in the protection of economic, social and cultural rights, and that it had
been working closely with such institutions.
30.
The Chair of the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights stressed that
national human rights institutions were playing a key role in the implementation of and
follow-up to the 2030 Agenda. They were at the core of the Sustainable Development
Goals’ web of accountability by contributing to the compilation, dissemination and use of
data on human rights and Sustainable Development Goal indicators and by cooperating
with national statistical offices. She noted that the Commission had signed a memorandum
of understanding with the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, with the support of
OHCHR. She added that the Constitution of Kenya underscored the duty of State organs to
ensure the protection of vulnerable groups within society. In that regard, the Commission
and the National Bureau of Statistics had prepared a preliminary list of population groups
that were at risk of exclusion.
31.
The People’s Advocate of Albania noted that the European Network of National
Human Rights Institutions had collected data on the human rights-based approach to
poverty at the national level, including in the context of national action plans for the
Sustainable Development Goals. These data were the basis for publications, to be launched
in the current year, in which it was recommended that attention should be given to the
“missing poor”8 and that national statistical officers should be trained in methodologies to
address shortcomings in national data collection from a human rights perspective. The
People’s Advocate of Albania added that, in follow-up to the Marrakesh Declaration on
“Expanding the civic space and promoting and protecting human rights defenders, with a
specific focus on women: The role of national human rights institutions”, adopted in
October 2018, the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions had included
the Sustainable Development Goals in its Regional action plan to promote and protect
human rights defenders and enable democratic space. 9
32.
The People’s Advocate of Albania referred to the adoption by the parliament of
Albania, in 2017, of a resolution upholding the Sustainable Development Goals, stressing
the important role of independent institutions in achieving the Goals. She pointed out that
the lack of public awareness about the Goals and the lack of data were two major
5
6
7
8
9
“A human rights-based approach to data: Leaving no one behind in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development”.
Human Rights Indicators: A Guide to Measurement and Implementation (United Nations publication,
HR/PUB/12/5).
The summary follows the order in which the panellists took the floor.
This term refers to people living in poverty who are not captured in poverty estimates.
Available at http://ennhri.org/IMG/pdf/ennhri_regional_action_plan_hrds.pdf.
7
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