Representatives of national human rights institutions from OSCE region gain skills and exchange experiences at 2017 NHRI Academy in Poland

Representatives of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) from 27 OSCE participating States attended the 2017 NHRI Academy, organized by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) from 29 May to 2 June 2017 in Poznan, Poland.

The 27 participants – 22 men and 5 women – in this, the fourth such annual training event, discussed various aspects of promoting human rights in challenging contexts and the role of NHRIs in monitoring progress on the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They also discussed co-operation with human rights defenders and the inclusion of gender perspectives into their work.

‘’NHRIs contribute to a vital system of checks and balances that is inherent to a democratic society,” said Katarzyna Gardapkhadze, ODIHR First Deputy Director. “By enabling NHRI staff from 27 OSCE participating States to discuss the challenges they face and devise new approaches to addressing them, we help build the capacity of their institutions.”

Beate Rudolf, Director of the German Institute for Human Rights and a member of the ENNHRI European Coordinating Committee, stressed that ‘’in the current political climate, NHRIs are very important as the voice for human rights in their countries.”

“It is therefore very timely and extremely helpful that this NHRI Academy explores how to better promote human rights, how to work with civil society and state authorities, and how to use the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals as a vehicle to ensure everyone’s human rights,” she added.

Nino Kvirkvelia, a participant from Georgia, said: “The NHRI Academy gave me the opportunity to look at the topics we work on from a different perspective, through the knowledge and skills I gained here and the exchange of experiences with participants from other NHRIs.”

This year’s Academy was organized in co-operation with the Poznan Human Rights Centre and the Office of the Polish Commissioner for Human Rights. The event aims to foster the development of professional NHRI networks in the OSCE region, and its curriculum is developed every year in consultation with NHRIs to suit their needs.