What are Governmental Human Rights Focal Points?
| Author | Sébastien Lorion,Stéphanie Lagoutte |
| DOI | 10.1177/09240519211020627 |
| Date | 01 June 2021 |
| Published date | 01 June 2021 |
| Subject Matter | Introduction |
Introduction
What are Governmental
Human Rights Focal Points?
S´
ebastien Lorion
Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark
St´
ephanie Lagoutte
Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark
Abstract
This Special Issue aims at raising understanding of governmental human rights focal points
(GHRFPs). It forms part of a renewed attention to the importance of domestic-level insti-
tutions within the international human rights regime. GHRFPs have emerged as a key rec-
ommendation of UN bodies, and a defined trend in setting up such State structures is
observed in practice. Addressing GHRFPs as a single field of inquiry, this introductory article
presents a common analytical approach, which makes it possible to analyse various forms of
GHRFPs, with a view to generalising findings and enriching each type of GHRFP with the
experiences and lessons learned of others. Hereby, the Special Issue consolidates and
structures a research agenda on GHRFPs around key attributes identified in a preliminary
manner, in order to spark some critical and constructive analysis of this specific manifestation
of the domestic institutionalisation of human rights.
Keywords
Governmental human rights focal points, national mechanisms for reporting and follow-up,
domestic institutionalisation, national human rights system, human rights research (agenda)
1. INTRODUCTION
This Special Issue aims at raising understanding of governmental human rights focal points
(GHRFPs). There has been a renewed attention to the importance of national-level insti-
tutions within the international human rights regime. In recent years, GHRFPs, understood
as administrative structures mandated to provide the human rights response of the executive
power and to ensure human rights implementation at the national level, have emerged as a
Corresponding authors:
S´
ebastien Lorion and St´
ephanie Lagoutte, Danish Institute for Human Rights, Copenhagen, Denmark.
E-mails: selo@humanrights.dk; sla@humanrights.dk
Netherlands Quarterly of Human Rights
2021, Vol. 39(2) 80–94
ªThe Author(s) 2021
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DOI: 10.1177/09240519211020627
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