“Section 2 of the DIHR Act provides the DIHR with a mandate to both promote and protect human rights. The SCA notes the efforts undertaken by the DIHR to address gender-based violence (GBV), the rights of migrants, stateless persons, and refugee including through conduct of consultations, issuance of reports and recommendations to parliament and government, and highlighting human rights implications of government policies. The SCA further notes the intersectional work of DIHR on GBV including its report on foreign women stranded in violent marriages, efforts in addressing sexual harassment, and the efforts undertaken with the Human Rights Council of Greenland to remove the territorial exclusion of Greenland to the Istanbul Convention.

The SCA encourages DIHR to continue to implement long term and proactive strategies to counter retrogressive national policies.

In addition, the SCA notes that the DIHR Act does not explicitly provide for the mandate to encourage ratification or accession to international human rights instruments. In practice, the DIHR reported that encouraging ratification of treaties and implementation of international human standards is an important aspect its work. The SCA encourages the DIHR to continue to advocate and follow up with relevant authorities to make this mandate explicit in its enabling law.

The SCA refers to Paris Principles A.1, A.2 and A.3, and to its General Observations 1.2 on ‘Human rights mandate’ and 1.3 on ‘Encouraging ratification or accession to international human rights instruments.’”