Natalia Utesheva

Research project: National and thematic human rights institutions: interaction, mutual impact and collaboration for human rights protection

Abstract

This research project is aimed to challenge existing approaches to understanding and conceptualising thematic institutions for the protection of human rights, such as national preventive mechanisms, child rights ombudsmen, anti-discriminatory bodies, and their interaction with existing National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) accredited by the Global Alliance of NHRIs. The research project proposes to recognise the complexity of institutional and social relations between NHRIs and their thematic counterparts and to study the internal dynamics of their interrelations within a nation. The research project proposes to answer the following questions:

How is the interaction of the NHRIs and the newly created thematic institution built? What internal motivation underlies this interaction? How does the perception and interpretation by employees of these institutions of the functions, status and mandate of their institution and their counterparts affect the interaction of these institutions? 

The research project envisages the case study in selected nations (Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Croatia, Kazakhstan, Poland) where NHRIs coexist with various thematic counterparts.