Event information

31 May 2018, 17:00-18:30

Downloads

Flyer >

The Paris Principles at 25: How National Human Rights Institutions Have Contributed to Promoting and Protecting Human Rights and What They Can Do in the Future

Event

Encounter with the High Commissioner for Human Rigjhts during the annual meeting of NHRIs Encounter with the High Commissioner for Human Rigjhts during the annual meeting of NHRIs

Hosted by the Geneva Academy, the Permanent Mission of Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission and the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions

In 1993, the international community adopted the Paris Principles, encouraging states to establish national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights. These institutions, now commonly known as National Human Rights Institutions or NHRIs, have since become an integral part of the international and national human rights systems.

NHRIs play an essential role in promoting the implementation by states of their international human rights obligations, and to translate those into lived realities for the people on the ground. In line with their mandates and functions under the Paris Principles, NHRIs help states engage meaningfully in the international human rights system and provide a source of independent analysis and accountability where states fall short in fulfilling their responsibilities.  

This event will explore the ways in which NHRIs have contributed to improving the lives of individuals around the world over the past 25 years, and the role they continue to play in promoting and protecting human rights both domestically and internationally.  

The event will also look to the future of NHRIs, and the key challenges and opportunities ahead.  Chief among these will be the way in which NHRIs engage with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and how their core work is changing to adapt to the paradigm of the Sustainable Development Goals and the principle to ‘leave no-one behind’.

Moderator

  • Dr Christophe Golay, Strategic Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Senior Research Fellow, Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights

Speakers

  • Professor Rosalind Croucher, President, Australian Human Rights Commission
  • Professor Beate Rudolf, Chairperson, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and Director, German Institute for Human Rights

 Light Refreshments

The presentation will be followed by light refreshments.

MORE ON THIS THEMATIC AREA

A GHRP training course News

Training Opportunities 2025: Engage with UN Human Rights Mechanisms

28 January 2025

The Geneva Human Rights Platform is launching its 2025 training programme, designed to empower stakeholders engaging with UN human rights system.

Read more

News

New Working Paper Explores AI for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

30 January 2025

A new working paper, 'AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring', has been published by the Geneva Human Rights Platform.

Read more

Local Government Event

Enhancing National Reporting and Implementation of Human Rights through Coordinated Engagement at the Local and Regional Levels: The Role of NMIRFs

23 July 2025, 10:00-17:00

This seminar explores how national mechanisms for implementation, reporting and follow-up can better integrate the capacities, data, and experiences of local and regional governments in advancing human rights implementation and reporting.

Read more

AI for Good Event Event

AI for human rights: Smarter, faster, fairer monitoring

8 July 2025, 14:00-16:00

The event, as part of the AI for Good Summit 2025 will explore how AI tools can support faster data analysis, help uncover patterns in large datasets, and expand the reach of human rights work.

Read more

Universal Declaration of Human Rights Booklet Training

The International Human Rights Standards and System: Monitoring and Implementation Strategies at the National Level

7-11 July 2025

This training course will delve into the means and mechanisms through which national actors can best coordinate their human rights monitoring and implementation efforts, enabling them to strategically navigate the UN human rights system and use the various mechanisms available in their day-to-day work.

Read more

A general view of participants during of the 33nd ordinary session of the Human Rights Council. Training

The Universal Periodic Review and the UN Human Rights System: Raising the Bar on Accountability

10-14 November 2025

This training course will explore the origin and evolution of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and its functioning in Geneva and will focus on the nature of implementation of the UPR recommendations at the national level.

Read more

A session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

IHL Expert Pool

Started in January 2022

The IHL-EP works to strengthen the capacity of human rights mechanisms to incorporate IHL into their work in an efficacious and comprehensive manner. By so doing, it aims to address the normative and practical challenges that human rights bodies encounter when dealing with cases in which IHL applies.

Read more

View of a session of the UN Human Rights Council Project

Human Rights Conversations

Started in January 2020

A series of events aimed at discussing contemporary issues and challenges related to the promotion and protection of human rights in Geneva and beyond.

Read more

Cover of the publication Publication

Briefing N° 25: Localizing Multilateralism

published on March 2025

Domenico Zipoli, Ludovica Chiussi Curzi, Kamelia Kemileva

Read more

Cover page of the working paper Publication

AI Decoded: Key Concepts and Applications of Artificial Intelligence for Human Rights and SDG Monitoring

published on January 2025

Milica Mirkovic, Jennifer Victoria Scurrell

Read more