International Human Rights and the International Human Rights System A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions NHRIs are encouraged by the TMBs to contribute their own information, analysis and views to TMBs, consistent with their responsibility under the Paris Principles “[t]o cooperate with the United Nations and any other organization in the United Nations system”.221 As official and authoritative institutions, NHRIs are able to provide reliable information and credible views. Usually the NHRI will provide its information after the State report has been submitted. It is then in a position to respond to the State report, correcting or otherwise commenting on information in the State report and filling its gaps and deficiencies. This kind of response is called a “parallel report”. It is a not a substitute for the State report but a supplement to it.221 The NHRI’s parallel report will be most helpful to the TMB if it deals comprehensively with the matters the TMB wants addressed, that is, if it follows the same reporting guidelines and format as the State report. This is a demanding exercise but valuable for the monitoring process, if the NHRI has the capacity to contribute in this way. It provides additional credible information and analysis for the TMB and enables it to make a direct comparison between what the State says and what the NHRI says. Nonetheless, if the NHRI does not have the capacity to prepare a comprehensive parallel report, then a parallel report that addresses only the issues that the NHRI sees as most important or as most relevant to its own work, is still of value to the TMB. NHRI parallel reports should: • be objective and based on factual sources, not mere assertions or subjective opinions • be reliable • not be abusive and not worded in or with an overtly partisan tone • provide information specific to the treaty • be structured following State reports guidelines • give a clear indication of the provisions breached and in what way • propose recommendations that the TMB should make to the State at the end of the examination. The preparation and submission of a parallel report by an NHRI has clear positive results in that: • it encourages more honest State reporting • it encourages better State representation at the TMB’s oral interactive dialogue with the State • it enables the identification of a better and more relevant list of issues and questions to be presented to the State prior to the interactive dialogue • it provides more significant questions for discussion during the interactive dialogue. Some TMBs set deadlines for the submission of parallel reports, while others do not. In either case, the earlier the parallel report is submitted, the more useful it will be. The date for the interactive dialogue with the State is usually set soon after the State report is received. The TMB will need as much time as possible before that event to examine and review all the information it receives so that the dialogue is as constructive as possible. NHRIs are encouraged, therefore, to submit their information within two or three months of the submission of the State report. 221 Paria Principles; para. 3(e). Chapter 11: Treaty monitoring bodies: Monitoring compliance | 73