Contents Foreword v Acknowledgments vi List of abbreviations vii Introduction for users 1 Part I NHRIs and the Paris Principles 3 Chapter 1: The origins and development of NHRIs 4 1.1. State obligations under international human rights law 4 1.2. Domestic implementation and monitoring mechanisms 5 1.3. Early encouragement of NHRIs 6 1.4. The Paris workshop and the Paris Principles 7 1.5. Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action 8 1.6. Regular resolutions on NHRIs by UN bodies 9 1.7. The global spread of NHRIs 9 Chapter 2: The nature and concept of NHRIs 11 2.1. Defining NHRIs 11 2.2. NHRIs are State institutions, not NGOs 12 2.3. NHRIs are unique State institutions 12 Chapter 3: The Paris Principles 16 3.1. The Paris workshop of October 1991 16 3.2. The Paris Principles 17 3.3. Independence 18 3.4. Other requirements 21 3.5. Implied responsibilities 23 3.6. The importance of compliance with the Paris Principles 26 3.7. Establishing an NHRI 26 Chapter 4: Models of NHRIs 29 4.1. The Paris Principles prescribe no single model 29 4.2. The commission model 30 4.3. The ombudsman model 31 4.4. The consultative council model 32 4.5. The research institute model 33 4.6. Institutions for specific groups or specific regions 34 Chapter 5: Legal independence 37 5.1. The nature of legal independence 37 5.2. Establishment by the national constitution 37 5.3. Establishment by an act of parliament 41 i