A/HRC/38/25 Annex I Draft Principles on Parliaments and human rights1 Acknowledging the crucial role of parliament in ensuring Government’s compliance with its international human rights obligations and in translating these into national legislation and policies; Recognizing that parliament’s main functions of, inter alia, ratifying human rights treaties, scrutinizing legislation and overseeing the work of the executive in fulfilling its human rights obligations, are crucial in order to support and ensure the Government’s own primary responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights; Recognizing parliament’s fundamental role in the creation and maintenance of effective functioning of bodies and institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as in considering and approving national budgets bearing in mind human rights implications; Recognizing the significant contribution that parliament can make in connection with the work of international and regional human rights mechanisms, including the Universal Periodic Review (UPR); Taking note of General Assembly resolutions 65/123, 66/261, 68/272 and 70/298, which welcome the contribution of parliaments to the work of the Human Rights Council (HRC); Taking note of Human Rights Council resolutions 22/15, 26/29, 30/14 and 35/29 on the contribution of parliaments to the work of the HRC and its UPR; Taking also note of General Assembly resolution 48/134 (Paris Principles) in enhancing the effective functioning of national human rights institutions as well as the Belgrade Principles on the relationship between national human rights institutions and parliaments; Acknowledging the leading role of parliament in supporting and overseeing the implementation of recommendations made through the UPR mechanism as well as by other international and regional human rights mechanisms, and hence their contribution to the strengthening of the rule of law; Recognizing that in order to strengthen their role in the promotion and protection of human rights, parliament should consider the establishment of a permanent internal committee dedicated to leading and coordinating these tasks. The following Principles should guide parliaments in the setting up of parliamentary human rights committees, as well as in ensuring their effective functioning. Mandate 1. A parliamentary human rights committee shall be given as broad a mandate as possible, covering all human rights as defined in national and international law. The mandate of the parliamentary human rights committee shall also provide clear terms of reference setting out its purpose and goals. Responsibilities and Functions 2. A parliamentary human rights committee shall, inter alia, have the following responsibilities: 1 14 Developed based on available research and OHCHR practice.