The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples A Manual for National Human Rights Institutions (ii) Any situation of violation of human rights which it decides to take up (iii) The preparation of reports on the national situation with regard to human rights in general, and on more specific matters (iv) Drawing the attention of the Government to situations in any part of the country where human rights are violated and making proposals to it for initiatives to put an end to such situations and, where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the Government. (b) To promote and ensure the harmonization of national legislation, regulations and practices with the international human rights instruments to which the State is a party, and their effective implementation; (c) To encourage ratification of the above-mentioned instruments or accession to those instruments, and to ensure their implementation. General recommendation No. 17, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination 1. Recommends that States parties establish national commissions or other appropriate bodies, taking into account, mutatis mutandis, the principles relating to the status of national institutions annexed to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/54 of 3 March 1992, to serve, inter alia, the following purposes: (b) To review government policy towards protection against racial discrimination (c) To monitor legislative compliance with the provisions of the Convention. 2. Also recommends that, where such commissions have been established, they should be associated with the preparation of reports and possibly included in government delegations in order to intensify the dialogue between the Committee and the State party concerned.203 Most NHRIs have a monitoring function and will regularly report on and update the Government on the situation of human rights in the country.203 The founding legislation of the NHRI will usually determine the scope of its monitoring role. For example, NHRIs with narrowly constructed mandates may have little independent authority to advise their Government, whereas NHRIs with broader mandates may be able to develop sophisticated opinions that have a greater capacity to influence their Government in policy and law reform.204 1. ENGAGING WITH THE STATE NHRIs are encouraged to foster dialogue in a spirit of cooperation with all branches and levels of their Government, including the legislative and executive branches and the judiciary. Information and data collected by NHRIs about human rights is an essential resource for Governments in formulating policy as it provides periodic data, details of progress made and identifies priority areas for action.205 203 Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, general recommendation No. 17 (1993) on the establishment of national institutions to facilitate implementation of the Convention. 204 National Human Rights Institutions: History, Principles, Roles and Responsibilities, p. 105. 205 Manual on Human Rights Monitoring, Professional Training Series No. 7/Rev.1 (United Nations publication, forthcoming). 70 | Chapter 8: Promoting domestic compliance with the Declaration