Human Rights and Disability A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions Chapter 7: The institutional architecture for change and the place of NHRIs KEY QUESTIONS • What is meant by ‘promoting, protecting and monitoring’ human rights in the context of disability? • What role are NHRIs expected to play under article 33 of the Convention as part of a broader national framework to perform these tasks? 7.1. WHAT IS MEANT BY ‘PROMOTING, PROTECTING AND MONITORING’ IMPLEMENTATION OF THE RIGHTS OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES? It is important to note that ratification of the UN CRPD is not necessary for NHRIs to engage on human rights issues related to disability. Furthermore, nearly all NHRIs are already engaged in a wide range of activities involving rights or groups that overlap with disability (see Chapter 6 for more information). In fact, there is every reason for NHRIs to embrace disability as a mainstream part of their regular work. The universality of human rights demands nothing less. Nevertheless, if ratification has occurred – and NHRIs have a role in advocating for ratification – then NHRIs are called on to play very particular and significant roles. As outlined in earlier parts of this Manual, article 33.2 of the UN CRPD requires that a domestic architecture for national implementation and monitoring should be established. This includes providing a “framework, including one or more independent mechanisms, as appropriate” to “promote, protect and monitor implementation of the present Convention”. The membership of the framework can extend much wider than NHRIs. However, the reference to an “independent mechanism” (or more than one) is widely understood as referring to NHRIs. In fact, States parties to the UN CRPD must have regard to “the principles relating to the establishment and functioning of national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights”. As mentioned in Chapter 3, this is an oblique but unmistakable reference to the Paris Principles. It is certainly the way the CRPD Committee interprets it. The text is ambiguous as to whether NHRIs (as the independent mechanism) ought to perform all three tasks (‘promotion, protection and monitoring’) but most will in fact do so. The Convention itself does not provide detailed guidance as to what is meant by ‘promoting’, ‘protecting’ and ‘monitoring’ and the CRPD Committee has yet to issue guidance on the matter.239 However a useful starting point is the 2014 Note on national implementation and monitoring prepared by the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the Conference of States Parties.240 94 239 For a useful discussion on the requirements of article 33(2), see the 2007 paper prepared by the Australian Human Rights Commission on ‘National human rights institutions and national implementation and monitoring of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities’; available at: www.humanrights.gov.au/national-human-rights-institutions-and-national-implementationand-monitoring-convention-rights. 240 ‘National Implementation and Monitoring: Matters relating to the Implementation of the Convention’; available at www.un.org/ disabilities/documents/COP/COP7/CRPD.CSP.2014.3.E.pdf.