1-7. 국가인권기구의 다원성 보장
1-7. Ensuring Pluralism of the NHRI
채택일 2018. 2. 21.
G.O. 1.7 Ensuring pluralism of the NHRI
A diverse decision-making and staff body facilitates the NHRI’s appreciation of, and capacity to engage on, all human rights issues affecting the society in which it operates, and promotes the accessibility of the NHRI for all citizens.
Pluralism refers to broader representation of national society. Consideration must be given to ensuring pluralism in the context of gender, ethnicity or minority status. This includes, for example, ensuring the equitable participation of women in the NHRI.
The SCA notes there are diverse models for ensuring the requirement of pluralism in the composition of the NHRIs as set out in the Paris Principles. For example:
a) Members of the decision-making body represent different segments of society as referred to in the Paris Principles. Criteria for membership of the decision-making body should be legislatively established, be made publicly available and subject to consultation with all stakeholders, including civil society. Criteria that may unduly narrow and restrict the diversity and plurality of the composition of the NHRI’s membership should be avoided;
b) Pluralism through the appointment procedures of the governing body of the NHRIs for example, where diverse societal groups suggest or recommend candidates;
c) Pluralism through procedures enabling effective cooperation with diverse societal groups, for example advisory committees, networks, consultations or public forums; or
d) Pluralism through staff that are representative of the diverse segments of society. This is particularly relevant for single member NHRIs, such as an Ombudsperson.
JUSTIFICATION
Ensuring the pluralistic composition of the NHRI is a prime requirement of the Paris Principles as a guarantee of institutional independence. Section B.1 states: “The composition of the national institution and the appointment of its members […] shall be established in accordance with a procedure which affords all necessary guarantees to ensure the pluralist representation of the social forces (of civilian society) involved in the promotion and protection of human rights.” The same provision highlights that pluralism is intended to promote effective cooperation with an indicative list of stakeholders representing:
(a) Non-governmental organizations responsible for human rights and efforts to combat racial discrimination, trade unions, concerned social and professional organizations, for example, associations of lawyers, doctors, journalists and eminent scientists;
(b) Trends in philosophical or religious thought;
(c) Universities and qualified experts;
(d) Parliament;
(e) Government departments
The SCA considers the pluralistic composition of the NHRI to be fundamentally linked to the requirement of independence, credibility, effectiveness and accessibility.
Where the members and staff of NHRIs are representative of a society’s social, ethnic, religious and geographic diversity, the public are more likely to have confidence that the NHRI will understand and be more responsive to its specific needs. Additionally, the meaningful participation of women at all levels is important to ensure an understanding of, and access for, a significant proportion of the population. Likewise, in multilingual societies, the NHRI’s capacity to communicate in all languages is key to its accessibility.
The diversity of the membership and staff of an NHRI, when understood in this way, is an important element in ensuring the effectiveness of an NHRI and its real and perceived independence and accessibility.
Ensuring the integrity and quality of members is a key factor in the effectiveness of the NHRI. For this reason, selection criteria that ensure the appointment of qualified and independent decision-making members should be legislatively established and made publicly available prior to appointment.
The SCA recommends that the adoption of such criteria be subject to consultation with all stakeholders, including civil society, to ensure the criteria chosen is appropriate and does not exclude specific individuals or groups.
The SCA cautions that criteria that may be unduly narrow and restrict the diversity and plurality of the composition of the NHRI’s membership and staff body, such as the requirement to belong to a specific profession, may limit the capacity of the NHRI to fulfil effectively all its mandated activities. If staff and members have a diverse range of professional backgrounds, this will help to ensure that issues are not narrowly framed.
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