National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) play an instrumental role in achieving gender equality and fulfillment of women’s rights.They have a multifaceted role in promoting gender equality ranging from monitoring and reporting, compliance with international treaties, research, policy recommendations, advocacy, training, capacity building, and ensuring pluralism in its organizational governance. The relationships NHRIs establish with the communities also offer opportunities to contribute to changing attitudes and behaviors that integrate gender equality and human rights of women, and girls across all aspects of their work.

In 2012, at the 11thInternational Conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), NHRIs adopted the Amman Declaration and Programme of Action, where they committed to prioritizing and mainstreaming the human rights of women and girls and gender equality throughout all their strategic planning processes, policies, programs and activities. This includes developing and implementing training for NHRI members and staff on gender equality and reviewing their internal structures to achieve gender equality at all levels and in all aspects of their work, ensuring NHRI workplaces are free of sexual harassment, violence, and bullying.

12 years since the Amman Declaration, various global events have shaped the road to gender equality. In 2015, the UN member countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development where they promised to achieve 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to end poverty, end inequalities and combat climate change. The SDG Goal 5 advocates to achieve gender equality and end discrimination against women and girls. The SDGs set out a hopeful picture for a better world for all of us. However, the COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant setback to the progress made toward gender equality. Along with this, the threat of climate change amplifies the existing inequalities and severely impacts women and girls from marginalized and vulnerable communities.

Moreover, gender equality is not explicitly outlined as a distinct principle within the Paris Principles, rather, it is considered within the principle of ‘pluralism’ that supports diversity and representation of minority and vulnerable groups. The absence of specific and prescriptive guidance on gender equality in the Paris Principles framework is a factor that may contribute to the piecemeal achievement of genuine gender parity in representation and practice among the NHRIs, evident in challenges related to the composition of commissioners and the integration of gender perspectives in their respective work.

In light of these global challengesand institutional barriers, the National Human Rights Institutions should revitalize their approach and assess the existing barriers to advance gender equality and protect the rights of women and girls. The APF and GANHRI advocate for a more robust commitment to gender equality within NHRIs, prompting proactive steps to enhance gender responsiveness. One notable effort in this direction is the upcoming initiative by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal.

Searching for Solutions: Strengthening Gender Equality Commitments in NHRIs

The National Human Rights Commission of Nepal, in collaboration with the APF,intends to organize an International Conference on Gender Inclusion in NHRIs to advocate for compliance with the pluralism principle,sustained efforts in gender mainstreaming, research, policy recommendations, capacity building, and resource allocation to ensure that NHRIs effectively promote and safeguard the human rights of women and girls.This conference will serve as a crucial platform to address and overcome the challenges faced by NHRIs in achieving gender equality within their structures and operations.

I. Gender Mainstreaming in NHRIs

To start with, NHRIs face several challenges in developing and implementing gender balance in the composition of its commissioners and staff. Cultural and institutional barriers such as gender biases and groups benefiting from the status quo can impede the process.

Addressing these barriers is crucial to becoming an institution that comprehensively understands and practices gender equality. This includes institutionalizing gender lens throughout the composition of NHRI, its governance, and culture. To effectively implement gender equality within NHRIs, specific indicators must be examined. These include examining pluralism in practice in the NHRIs, specifically the gender composition in senior positions, the existence and comprehensiveness of gender policies, the proportion of budget allocated to gender equality initiatives, and the overall institutional understanding of gender mainstreaming. Comparative analysis can highlight variations in gender composition in leadership roles, the presence, and effectiveness of gender policies, budget allocations, and the awareness and understanding of gender issues among NHRI personnel.

In addition to examining internal structures, the conference will also review the Amman Declaration to assess its impact and relevance in addressing gender balance within NHRIs, ensuring that these institutions effectively incorporate gender equality in their composition and operations.

II.Gender Mainstreaming in the External Work of NHRIs

The conference will address the crucial role that NHRIs play in promoting gender equality. The discussion will focus on integrating gender perspectives into NHRIs’ external function, including areas of policy and legislative review, human rights advice, human rights education, monitoring the implementation of human rights commitments, thematic inquiries and investigation, and engagement with international human rights bodies.

The program will include key topics including strategies for engaging and collaborating with diverse stakeholders- such as government, civil society, and the private sector. This conference will also explore the development of tools like human rights indicators for promoting gender equality and advocacy for a comprehensive national gender strategy. Additionally, sessions will cover advocacy and awareness initiatives targeting government officials, parliamentarians, and key decision-makers to foster a more gender-sensitive approach in public policy and administration.

III.Emerging Issues

While focusing on both internal and external gender mainstreaming efforts, it is also imperative to address emerging issues that pose new challenges to achieving gender equality.Emerging issues such as climate change and setbacksin realizing sustainable development goals pose barriers to achieving gender equality. Women bear a disproportionate impact due to climate change, facing greater risks and burdens in terms of health, livelihoods, and safety. A report launched at COP28 by UN Women suggests that by 2050 climate change may push up to 158 million more women and girls into poverty, and cause 232 million to face food insecurity. These global challenges further exacerbate the status of inequality, making it more difficult to achieve gender equality.

NHRIs can play a catalytic role in making progress towards gender equality by advocating the emerging challenges that impede the process. NHRIs must ameliorate their approach by integrating a gender perspective into environmental and sustainability programs and advocating for women’s participation in decision-making. Additionally, NHRIs should advocate for climate justice for women on the global platform. By adopting a more holistic approach, NHRIs can ensure that gender equality remains a priority even in the face of emerging global challenges, aligning efforts with SDG 5 (Gender Equality) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).

Objectives of the Conference

The Conference on Gender Inclusion in NHRIs aims to address the systemic barriers to gender equality in the internal and external works of these bodies and make gender equality a priority in the face of emerging global issues. NHRIs play a crucial role in safeguarding and promoting human rights at the national and international levels. This conference seeks to foster dialogue, share best practices, and advocate necessary action to enhance gender mainstreaming within NHRIs and its external works, ultimately striving for more inclusive and equitable human rights protection frameworks globally.

The objectives are:

1.Assess the Paris Principles and how NHRIs can strengthen demonstrated compliance with pluralism through gender inclusion,

2.Review the previous efforts of NHRIs’ progress on the implementation of the Amman Declaration,

3.Identify the intersecting factors that drive inclusion of gender equality outcomesand examine the barriers in the internal and external work of NHRIs,

4.Foster discourse on NHRIs’ engagement to proactively respond to the impact of climate change and gender justice.

Outcomes

1.Strengthened gender equality commitments of NHRIs in its structure and operation;

2.Promoted a regional cooperation for gender mainstreaming among the NHRIs in the Asia Pacific Region.

Output

Adopt a Kathmandu Declaration on Gender Inclusion in NHRIs as a roadmap to implement gender mainstreaming strategies and actions within NHRIs.