HE the chairman of National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), Dr Ali bin Smaikh al-Marri, who is also secretary general and vice president of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), said Tuesday that the new strategic plan (2020-2022) which the Alliance is working on, aspires to launch a new vision that will establish a global alliance that will have the power of influence and persuasion among governments, peoples and competent parties in various international platforms, in order to strengthen the unity and effectiveness of national human rights institutions affiliated to the Global Alliance, and encouraging them to raise their ratings according to the Paris Principles.
Dr al-Marri said that the new strategic plan of the Alliance will encourage and support the establishment of new national human rights institutions in countries where they do not exist, calling at the same time on governments and countries of the world to strengthen the independence and functions of national human rights institutions and to remove various obstacles to the implementation of their tasks and visions.
This came during the two-day consultative meeting of GANHRI which was held in New York aimed at developing the new strategic plan (2020-2022), which will be submitted for adoption at the next General Assembly in spring 2020 in Geneva.
Discussions during the meeting, which were attended by GANHRI chairperson Dr Carlos Alfonso Negret Mosquera, who is also the ombudsman of Colombia, and heads and co-ordinators of the regional networks of national human rights institutions across the world, focused on assessing the performance of the Global Alliance over the past period, identifying the restrictions and challenges facing it or impeding the achievement of its goals in the past, and the goals that the it aspires to achieve in the future, and then determining which strategy should be developed to achieve that goals in the coming period.
In his speech during the meeting, Dr al-Marri said that the first meeting of its kind of the new leadership of the Global Alliance is betting on achieving a new start and on being more effective and persuasive through the implementation of a new strategy over the next three years aimed at enhancing the role and position of the Global Alliance, and then the role of the national human rights institutions affiliated to the Alliance.
He noted the importance of the strong presence of the various representatives of national human rights institutions at the New York consultative meeting in order to assess past experiences, identify successes and failures, propose solutions and share experiences and problems facing national institutions and the Global Alliance as a whole.
“Everyone agrees that one of the priorities of the next strategy is to define a new vision for communication, with the aim of introducing the Global Alliance and its tasks and vision in strengthening the independence of national human rights institutions and supporting them to achieve their tasks in various countries of the world,” Dr al-Marri said.
The next strategy would establish a new vision that would elevate the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to an effective and influential international forum in the eyes of governments, peoples, states, institutions, parliaments, civil society organizations and stakeholders and various human rights bodies, he added.
In the same context, he stressed the need for national human rights institutions within the framework of the Global Alliance to agree on a unified vision that boosts its strength, presence and its persuasive power and to have a single voice in its meetings with the European Union, the United Nations and governments and in various international platforms.
The GANHRI secretary general and vice president also underlined that the new tripartite strategy, if adopted, would support and strengthen national human rights institutions and raise its international classification in accordance with the Paris Principles.
He pointed out that the Global Alliance currently includes 72 national institutions that have the classification (A) in compliance with the Paris Principles, expressing hope to increase the number of these institutions that obtain the same classification through the next Strategic Plan (2020-2022), and support national institutions with lower ratings to improve their performance and classification.
He urged national human rights institutions to participate and involve in in the Global Alliance, regardless of their levels of classification, pointing out that GANHRI will support the national institutions and their efforts to raise their classification in accordance with the Paris Principles. National institutions' failure to obtain the classification (A) is not a punishment or a barrier to its involvement in the Global Alliance , because the Alliance does not penalize national institutions, but is a mechanism to help and support them to perform their tasks and improve their classification, he underlined.
Dr al-Marri also urged governments of the world to support and strengthen the independence of national human rights institutions, establish new national institutions in countries where they do not exist and strengthen existing ones so that they can perform their tasks and raise their classification in accordance with the Paris Principles.
This came during the two-day consultative meeting of GANHRI which was held in New York aimed at developing the new strategic plan (2020-2022), which will be submitted for adoption at the next General Assembly in spring 2020 in Geneva.
Discussions during the meeting, which were attended by GANHRI chairperson Dr Carlos Alfonso Negret Mosquera, who is also the ombudsman of Colombia, and heads and co-ordinators of the regional networks of national human rights institutions across the world, focused on assessing the performance of the Global Alliance over the past period, identifying the restrictions and challenges facing it or impeding the achievement of its goals in the past, and the goals that the it aspires to achieve in the future, and then determining which strategy should be developed to achieve that goals in the coming period.
In his speech during the meeting, Dr al-Marri said that the first meeting of its kind of the new leadership of the Global Alliance is betting on achieving a new start and on being more effective and persuasive through the implementation of a new strategy over the next three years aimed at enhancing the role and position of the Global Alliance, and then the role of the national human rights institutions affiliated to the Alliance.
He noted the importance of the strong presence of the various representatives of national human rights institutions at the New York consultative meeting in order to assess past experiences, identify successes and failures, propose solutions and share experiences and problems facing national institutions and the Global Alliance as a whole.
“Everyone agrees that one of the priorities of the next strategy is to define a new vision for communication, with the aim of introducing the Global Alliance and its tasks and vision in strengthening the independence of national human rights institutions and supporting them to achieve their tasks in various countries of the world,” Dr al-Marri said.
The next strategy would establish a new vision that would elevate the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions to an effective and influential international forum in the eyes of governments, peoples, states, institutions, parliaments, civil society organizations and stakeholders and various human rights bodies, he added.
In the same context, he stressed the need for national human rights institutions within the framework of the Global Alliance to agree on a unified vision that boosts its strength, presence and its persuasive power and to have a single voice in its meetings with the European Union, the United Nations and governments and in various international platforms.
The GANHRI secretary general and vice president also underlined that the new tripartite strategy, if adopted, would support and strengthen national human rights institutions and raise its international classification in accordance with the Paris Principles.
He pointed out that the Global Alliance currently includes 72 national institutions that have the classification (A) in compliance with the Paris Principles, expressing hope to increase the number of these institutions that obtain the same classification through the next Strategic Plan (2020-2022), and support national institutions with lower ratings to improve their performance and classification.
He urged national human rights institutions to participate and involve in in the Global Alliance, regardless of their levels of classification, pointing out that GANHRI will support the national institutions and their efforts to raise their classification in accordance with the Paris Principles. National institutions' failure to obtain the classification (A) is not a punishment or a barrier to its involvement in the Global Alliance , because the Alliance does not penalize national institutions, but is a mechanism to help and support them to perform their tasks and improve their classification, he underlined.
Dr al-Marri also urged governments of the world to support and strengthen the independence of national human rights institutions, establish new national institutions in countries where they do not exist and strengthen existing ones so that they can perform their tasks and raise their classification in accordance with the Paris Principles.