European Group of National Human Rights Institutions

The European Group of NHRIs is one of four regional networks of national human rights institutions within the International Co-ordinating Committee

International Co-ordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions

The International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions, sometimes shortened to the International Coordinating Committee , is a global network of national human rights institutions - administrative bodies set up to promote, protect and monitor human rights in a given country...

of NHRIs (the ICC). Full membership of the Group is restricted to those human rights commission

Human rights commission

A Human Rights Commission is a body set up to investigate, promote or protect human rights.The term may refer to international, national or subnational bodies set up for this purpose, such as national human rights institutions or truth and reconciliation commissions.-International Human Rights...

s and ombudsman

Ombudsman

An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...

agencies deemed by the ICC to be fully compliant with the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

-endorsed Paris Principles

Paris Principles

The Paris Principles were defined at the first International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights held in Paris on 7-9 October 1991. They were adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Commission by Resolution 1992/54 of 1992, and by the UN General...

, hence accredited with "A status" by the peer review process carried out by an ICC subcommittee in close liaison with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is a United Nations agency that works to promote and protect the human rights that are guaranteed under international law and stipulated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948...

. "A status" institutions gain special access to the Human Rights Council, UN treaty committees and other elements of the UN human rights

Human rights

Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

system. National institutions without "A status" may attend Group meetings by invitation, but may not vote or take office.

The European Group co-ordinates joint action by NHRIs across the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

region, including by way of conferences and thematic working groups. It is currently chaired by the Irish Human Rights Commission

Irish Human Rights Commission

The Irish Human Rights Commission is a public body, state-funded but independent of government, that promotes and protects human rights in the Republic of Ireland. It was established in 2000 by an Act of the Oireachtas...

, which represents the Group on the ICC Bureau.

Members

The full members of the European Group (as of 31 May 2010) are the following national institutions:

Albania

Albania

Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...

People's Advocate

Armenia

Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...

Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...

Commissioner for Human Rights

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

Human Rights Ombudsman of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

Danish Institute for Human Rights

The Danish Institute for Human Rights is a national human rights institution operating in accordance with the UN Paris Principles. The DIHR was originally established as the Danish Centre for Human Rights by a parliamentary decision on 5 May 1987. On 1 January 2003 the DIHR changed its status as...

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme

The Commission nationale consultative des droits de l'homme is a French governmental organization created in 1947 by an arrêté from the Foreign Affairs Ministry to control the respect of human rights in the country...

Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

Office of Public Defender of Georgia

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

German Institute for Human Rights

Great Britain (UK)

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) - see also Scotland

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

National Human Rights Commission (Greece)

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

Irish Human Rights Commission

Luxembourg

Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...

Consultative Commission of Human Rights (Luxembourg)

Northern Ireland (UK)

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is a non-departmental public body funded through the Northern Ireland Office but operating independently of government as the national human rights institution for Northern Ireland...

(NIHRC)

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

Norwegian Centre for Human Rights

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (ombudsman)

Polish Ombudsman

The Polish Ombudsman is an independent central office of the Republic of Poland. The office was first established on January 1, 1988. Its functioning is regulated by the Constitution and an act of Polish parliament from July 15, 1987...

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

Provedor de Justiça

Scotland (UK)

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

Scottish Human Rights Commission

The Scottish Human Rights Commission was established by an Act of the Scottish Parliament [] and started their work in 2008. The Commission is independent of Government, and the Scottish and Westminster Parliaments. The Scottish Human Rights Commission promotes and protects the human rights of...

(SHRC) - see also Great Britain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

Defensor del Pueblo (Ombudsman)

The following institutions are not "A status" accredited by the ICC but operate within the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

region, and often participate alongside European Group members in regional events:
Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

Austrian Ombudsman Board

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

Centre for equal opportunities and opposition to racism (Belgium)

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

Bulgarian Parliamentary Ombudsman

Ombudsman

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

Office of the Croatian Ombudsman

Cyprus

Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...

National Institute for the Protection of Human Rights (Cyprus)

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

Public Defender of Rights (Czech Republic)

Ombudsman

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

Parliamentary Ombudsman

The Parliamentary Ombudsman is the principal ombudsman authority in Finland, in Sweden and Iceland, charged with the supervision of the public authorities...

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

Parliamentary Commissioner on the Rights of National and Ethnic Minorities (Hungary)

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

Commissione per i Diritti Umani

Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan , officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Ranked as the ninth largest country in the world, it is also the world's largest landlocked country; its territory of is greater than Western Europe...

Commissioner for Human Rights (National Ombudsman) (Kazakhstan)

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

(Under United Nations Administration via UN Resolution 1244)

Ombudsperson Institution in Kosovo

Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan , officially the Kyrgyz Republic is one of the world's six independent Turkic states . Located in Central Asia, landlocked and mountainous, Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the southwest and China to the east...

Ombudsman of the Kyrgyz Republic

Latvia

Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...

Rights' Defender

Ombudsman

Lithuania

Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...

The Seimas Ombudsmen

Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

Human Rights Ombudsman of Macedonia

Ombudsman

Moldova

Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...

Centre for Human Rights of Moldova

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Montenegro

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

Equal Treatment Commission (Netherlands)

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

Ombudsman (Avocatul Poporului)

Romanian Ombudsman

The Romanian Ombudsman is an independent institution of the Government of Romania, responsible for investigating and addressing complaints made by citizens against other government institutions.The Romanian Ombudsman was established in 1991 after the ratification of the country's first...

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

Commissioner on Human Rights in the Russian Federation

Ombudsman

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

Office of the Ombudsman of the Republic of Serbia

Slovakia

The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...

Slovak National Centre for Human Rights

Slovenia

Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...

Human Rights Ombudsman (Slovenia)

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

note - Ombudsman offices currently amalgamating

Children’s Ombudsman (Sweden)

Ombudsman

(BO)

Swedish Ombudsman against Ethnic Discrimination (DO)

Swedish Disability Ombudsman

Ombudsman

(HO)

Swedish Ombudsman for Equal Rights

Ombudsman

(JämO)

Swedish Ombudsman against Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation

The Swedish Ombudsman against Discrimination on Grounds of Sexual Orientation , normally referred to as HomO, was the Swedish office of the ombudsman against discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation...

(HomO)

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

Federal Commission against Racism (Switzerland)

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...

Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights

Ombudsman

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....

Authorized Person of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan for Human Rights

Ombudsman

(Ombudsman)

Members

See also