“In accordance with Section 12 of the Parliamentary Ombudsman Act, the annual report of the Ombudsman is tabled in Parliament and is discussed in the presence of the Ombudsman. The report of the HRC is presented to the Constitutional Law Committee, to other Committees depending upon the content of the report. However, it is neither tabled nor discussed in Plenary.

The SCA reiterates that it is of the view that, as a result of this difference in procedure, Parliament is not provided with a complete account of the work of the FNHRI.

The SCA considers it preferable for the HRC to also have the ability to table its reports in Parliament for discussion. It encourages the FNHRI to continue to advocate for this competence.

The SCA refers to Paris Principle A.3 and to its General Observation 1.11 on ‘Annual reports of NHRIs’.”