Good morning, 

Ilze Brands-Kehris, Assistant Secretary-General of the UN Human Rights Office; Ms. Amina Al Attiyah, Secretary of the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions; 

Colleagues from GANHRI, National Human Rights Institutions and Regional Networks, and esteemed colleagues from the UN Human Rights Office;

It is my pleasure to welcome you today to UNDP for the 2023 Annual Review meeting of the TriPartite Partnership to support National Human Rights Institutions. 

UNDP is pleased to facilitate this strategic opportunity for national institutions to directly interact with the UN system. We also welcome the sharing of experiences and knowledge from their work in key areas of support and engagement as we plan jointly our priorities for the year ahead.

Colleagues, 

This year marks several global milestones for human rights, offering us an opportunity of reflection and strategic action towards the impact we aspire to achieve together. As you know, we celebrate the 75^th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 30^th Anniversary of the Paris Principles. 2023 also marks the midway point in global efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda. 

We know achieving the SDGs requires building on and strengthening a culture and system of human rights promotion and protection at country level. National institutions are the cornerstones of these systems and more countries need to establish and strengthen independent, Paris Principles compliant national institutions. This will be crucial for human rights and crucial for sustainable development. It is also crucial in countries facing multiple forms of crisis and working to address root causes of crisis. 

In Burkina Faso, in September 2022, UNDP supported the National Human Rights Commission in setting up an alert mechanism for the protection of human rights defenders and the specific protection of women human rights defenders.

In Georgia, UNDP supported the Public Defender’s Office to strengthen its capacity to protect the human rights of marginalized groups including the rights of persons with disabilities, LGBTIQ+ people and to monitor detention facilities. 

In the Dominican Republic we supported the Ombudsman’s Office through the development of their Strategic Plan. 

In Thailand, UNDP and the National Human Rights Commission jointly work on awareness-raising, peer-to peer learning and capacity building on monitoring, investigations and reporting and reinforced the human rights of local communities. We have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding to enhance this cooperation in promoting human rights and sustainable development. 

These are only a few examples of the many national institutions that UNDP supports and we are proud to do so, including with our partners at country level - the UN Human Rights Office.  

Colleagues, 

UNDP regards the TriPartite Partnership as a flagship partnership and an important avenue to increase effective UN system support, in partnership with, and for the benefit of, NHRIs and the fulfillment for human rights of all people.

2023 marks an exciting time to scale up the programmatic aspects of the partnership further to all regions and we look forward to building on the important successes of the TPP in recent years both in programming in 15 countries, and in joint policy and advocacy efforts such as the COP27 side-event in Nov 2022, or the global research providing data and evidence on the important role of NHRIs in the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Excellencies and colleagues, 

The Secretary-General’s Call to Action framework reinforces this partnership approach, and as the system works to support efforts in key areas of the Call to Action, well-capacitated and functioning NHRIs are understood as critical partners at country level. We must remain committed to provide integrated and coherent support to national institutions and I am pleased to see UN partners joining to discuss this support as part of the meeting tomorrow. 

Colleagues, 

I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank our partners who we work hand in hand with: the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions and the UN Human Rights Office. 

Together we bring the development and human rights pillars of the UN system to the service of national human rights institutions in all development settings. We need to take a systems approach to support national institutions and their work. UNDP is grateful for our continued partnership and the progress we are making together. 

I look forward to the outcomes of this Annual Partner review meeting and our joint efforts in 2023. 

Thank you.