Ombudsman takes part in the 14th International Conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions.    

The Ombudsman, as a National Human Rights Institution and as a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM), took part in the 14th International Conference of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), which was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 6 to 8 November 2023.

The aim of GANHRI’s international conferences is to develop and promote co-operation between national human rights institutions, promoting the exchange of ideas and experiences.

The 2023 International Conference, on the theme “Torture and other ill-treatment: The Role of National Human Rights Institutions”, was co-organised by GANHRI, the Danish Institute for Human Rights, the Ukrainian Parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The event was held to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Principles, as well as the approach of the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the event was attended by the Deputy Ombudsman, Ravi Afonso Pereira, and the MNP Coordinator, Miguel Feldmann, who had the opportunity to present the Ombudsman’s activity as MNP in the prevention of torture and other ill-treatment in Portugal on the panel “Practical perspectives on prevention: monitoring, inspections and documentation in places of deprivation of liberty”. To read the final statement from Kyiv-Copenhagen click here.

The Ombudsman as the NPM

The NPM was established in Portugal in 2013, after the Portuguese state ratified the Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (PFCAT). The PFCAT establishes a system of regular visits by independent bodies to places where people deprived of their liberty are or may be. The MNP is the national component of this system, to which the United Nations Subcommittee for the Prevention of Torture corresponds at international level. To find out more about the Ombudsman’s work as an NPM, click here.