Promoting and Protecting the Human Rights of Women and Girls A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions (a) Seeking an amicable settlement through conciliation or, within the limits prescribed by the law, through binding decisions or, where necessary, on the basis of confidentiality; (b) Informing the party who filed the petition of his rights, in particular the remedies available to him, and promoting his access to them; (c) Hearing any complaints or petitions or transmitting them to any other competent authority within the limits prescribed by the law; (d) Making recommendations to the competent authorities, especially by proposing amendments or reforms of the laws, regulations and administrative practices, especially if they have created the difficulties encountered by the persons filing the petitions in order to assert their rights. AMMAN DECLARATION NHRIs agree to the following broad principles and areas of work: • Respond to, conduct inquiries into and investigate allegations of violations of women’s and girls’ human rights, including all forms of discrimination against women and girls, gender-based violence, violations of economic, social and cultural rights, violations of reproductive rights and discrimination in public and political life, and identify systemic issues which may perpetuate these violations. These investigations and reports should result in recommendations to the State to meet their obligations to ensure women’s and girls’ human rights, and to combat impunity (paragraph 4). • Facilitate women’s and girls’ access to justice, including judicial and non-judicial remedies, in accordance with their mandate (paragraph 5). • Where NHRIs have quasi-judicial powers, exercise them fully to provide relief to the women and girl victims and press for administrative action against or the criminal prosecution of offenders (paragraph 6). • Work with women human rights defenders, and devote particular attention to the genderspecific violations that women human rights defenders suffer for being women or because of the gender-specific causes that they defend, and promote their access to remedies in case of violations (paragraph 10). AMMAN PROGRAMME OF ACTION In relation to women’s economic, social and cultural rights, NHRIs agree to: • Support and facilitate access to remedies for women who have suffered violations of their economic, social and cultural rights, and advocate for the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights in countries where necessary (paragraph 10). In relation to violence against women and girls, NHRIs agree to: • Assist women and girl victims in accessing complaints procedures and remedies, including compensation and ensure the use of NHRIs’ quasi-judicial powers to address complaints of violence against women and girls (paragraph 20). In relation to reproductive rights, NHRI agree to: • Support the establishment of accountability mechanisms for the effective application of the laws and the provision of remedies when obligations have been breached (paragraph 28). 52