CHAPTER 2: REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN THE WORK OF NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS INSTITUTIONS: KEY FINDINGS the situation is changing, the major priorities of many NHRIs continue to lie in the traditional areas of civil and political rights with a particular focus on non-discrimination. This has meant that areas related to reproductive rights, such as the right to health, have received relatively less attention. At the same time, NHRIs are coming under increasing pressure to widen their areas of focus to accommodate emerging issues. Examples cited by respondents include HIV/AIDS, sexuality, disability, trafficking, and human rights violations associated with responses to terrorism. The resources required to deal with these new areas effectively are often not forthcoming. In short, NHRIs are being asked to “do more with less”. The inclusion of another issue, such as reproductive rights, into their already crowded agenda, is seen to present a real risk of dilution of effort and impact. During follow-up discussions – though significantly not in the written questionnaire – most NHRIs cited lack of expertise as a major obstacle to the effective integration of reproductive rights into their work. As this issue is discussed in detail at various places in this report, the main points only will be highlighted. Lack of expertise is of course related to the issues of competing priorities and limited resources discussed above. However, it also reflects the relative newness of the issue and the absence of a strong legal and policy framework around reproductive rights at the international level. In other words, many NHRIs feel that it is ‘difficult’ to cultivate expertise in this area, particularly without external guidance and support. Even those officials who are working on related areas, such as the right to health and violence against women, disclaim any real knowledge of or expertise in reproductive rights. 19