The Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI) will be meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday 11 March for its 2014 Annual Meeting.
The Commonwealth Forum of National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI) will be meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday 11 March for its 2014 Annual Meeting.
The meeting will bring together 50 participants from 24 Commonwealth national human rights institutions and ombudsman offices.
The meeting was coordinated by the Human Rights Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat and hosted by SUHAKAM, the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia, the current chair of the CFNHRI.
The meeting will include discussions on two priority thematic areas. First, the role that national human rights institutions can play in advocating for a rights-based approach in implementing the Post-2015 development agenda and human rights. This was identified as a key commitment by Commonwealth Heads of Government at their summit in Colombo last year.
The second discussion will focus on best practice and challenges in the protection of human rights defenders. Advocate Hina Jilani, member of the Elders and former Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders, will speak on advancing protection for human rights defenders with specific reference to the Commonwealth.
