A/HRC/10/54
page 7
2. Africa
12. OHCHR supported the visit of a delegation from the National Human Rights Commission
of India to the Uganda Human Rights Commission from 11 to 26 February 2008. The former
body sent two of its staff members to assist in strengthening the complaints handling mechanism
of the latter.
13. In March 2008, OHCHR and the human rights component of the United Nations Mission
in Liberia were asked by the Ministry of Justice to comment on proposed amendments to the law
establishing a national human rights institution. National consultations were held in July; the law
is currently before Parliament.
14. From 13 to 15 October 2008, OHCHR and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
participated in a joint workshop organized by UNDP Mauritius to review the current and future
mandate of the Mauritius Human Rights Commission. The Commission’s role in police
oversight and a complaints system was discussed. The workshop also focused on the Paris
Principles, recommendations of the ICC Subcommittee on Accreditation of the International
Coordinating Committee, and best practices in equal opportunities and discrimination mandates.
15. In November 2008, the OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa participated in
national consultations with civil society and members of parliament in Lesotho to discuss the law
to establish a national human rights commission (the Human Rights Commission Bill 2007) and
the relevant constitutional provisions.
16. The OHCHR Regional Office for Eastern Africa continued to support a 5-year internal
capacity-building project of the Ethiopia Human Rights Commission, part of which focuses on
treaty body monitoring. From 8 to 15 November 2008, members and staff of the Commission
travelled to Geneva for an induction training on the treaty body process and met with members
of treaty bodies and OHCHR staff.
3. Asia and the Pacific
17. In February 2008, OHCHR provided comments on the draft law establishing a human
rights institution in Cambodia in line with the Paris Principles. The comments were made
available to OHCHR Cambodia for sharing with national stakeholders.
18. In February and March 2008, in close cooperation with UNDP and the OHCHR Nepal
Country Office, OHCHR undertook a project formulation mission to draft a 3-year project to
support the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, in line with two evaluation missions
made in 2006 and 2007.
19. OHCHR supported a mission by the Asia-Pacific Forum of National Human Rights
Institutions, funded by UNDP Bangladesh, from 5 to 23 May 2008. The objective of the mission
was to provide technical assistance and advice to the Government of Bangladesh on the
establishment of a human rights institution, under the Bangladesh National Human Rights
Ordinance 2007, which was to come into force on 1 September 2008.
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