The Ombudsman Act does not explicitly mandate the ORC to encourage ratification of, or accession to international human rights instruments. The SCA acknowledges that, in practice, the ORC interprets its mandate under Article 5 of the law broadly, considering this function an integral part of its human rights mandate, and carries out activities in this regard. For example, the ORC indicated that it had advocated for the ratification of the revised European Social Charter, the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights, the ILO Convention on Promotional Framework for Occupational Safety and Health Convention (187), and the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence.

The SCA is of the view that encouraging ratification of, or accession to, international human rights instruments, and the effective implementation of those instruments to which the State is a party, are key functions of an NHRI.

Therefore, the SCA encourages the ORC to continue to interpret its mandate broadly and to advocate for an appropriate legislative amendment to make explicit its mandate to encourage ratification of, or accession to, international human rights instruments.

The SCA refers to Paris Principles A3(b) and (c) and to its General Observation 1.3 on‘Encouraging ratification or accession to international human rights instruments’.