ABSTRACT
When the UDHR1 was adopted in 1948 the main actors on the international human rights stage were states, with other players getting only brief mention in the preamble.2 Contrast the recognition in 1993 at the Vienna World Conference to ‘the important and constructive role played by national institutions for the promotion and protection of Human Rights’ and the need for states to establish them,3 and then, later, to the direct reference by the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) as part of the 60th anniversary of the UDHR and their role in prevention of torture.4 Statements such as those from the UN SecretaryGeneral in March 2008 that ‘NHRIs compliant with the Paris Principles are key elements of strong and effective national human rights protection systems. They can also be important partners in the international human rights system, especially through the Human Rights Council, the human rights treaty bodies and special procedures mandate holders’,5 reflect the significant role that NHRIs are perceived now to play in the human rights field.
