“The CNCDH’s enabling law mandates it with powers to advise parliament and government publically on the protection and promotion of human rights. In 2013, the SCA encouraged the CNCDH to broaden its activities in relation to its protection mandate. It notes that the CNCDH has undertaken efforts since its last review to implement this recommendation.

The SCA acknowledges that the CNCDH has been provided with new legislative responsibilities in relation to human trafficking, business and human rights, and anti-LGBT hate. While these new mandates include responsibilities related to protection, the SCA notes that these are thematic mandates and do not provide an explicit broad protection mandate.

The SCA reiterates that all NHRIs should be legislatively mandated with specific functions to both promote and protect human rights. The ‘protection’ functions are those that address and seek to prevent actual human rights violations. Such functions include monitoring, inquiring, investigating and reporting on human rights violations, and may include individual complaint handling.

The SCA encourages the CNCDH to continue to broaden its activities in relation to its protection mandate and to advocate for amendments to its enabling law to make its broad protection mandate explicit.”