Partnering with National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting and Follow-up (NMIRFs): Action on Human Rights Recommendations to Advance Gender Equality and Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights

UNFPA has a long tradition of engaging with international human rights mechanisms: universal periodic review, special procedure mandate holders of the Human Rights Council and United Nations treaty bodies. The goal has been to advance the development of international standards on human rights norms and States’ obligations related to the agenda of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), including sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). This has created a two-way synergy: UNFPA is a valuable source of data and evidence to inform the review work of international human rights mechanisms in formulating country-specific human rights recommendations. In turn, UNFPA uses those same recommendations to shape its own country programmes. 

Driven by that form of engagement and the need to translate ICPD-related international human rights norms, obligations and recommendations into action, this report aims to enhance UNFPA’s partnership with National Mechanisms for Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up of human rights obligations and recommendations (NMIRFs). It also seeks to accelerate the implementation of human rights recommendations related to gender equality, SRHR, and the specific rights of traditionally left behind population groups. This report also provides lessons and illustrative examples from this emerging form of collaboration with NMIRFs. The goal is to support the leadership role of UNFPA country representatives and the heads of NMIRFs in strengthening the capacity of States, as primary duty bearers, to effectively own and implement human rights recommendations through national laws, policies and programmes. This report illustrates how, by engaging with NMIRFs, UNFPA provides technical expertise on the ICPD agenda, SRHR, and gender equality. It also supports the mobilization of relevant government entities and non-governmental stakeholders to champion this agenda and enhance the government’s action and accountability. In particular, the report illustrates UNFPA’s contributions to NMIRFs’ work in coordinating the national implementation and tracking of human rights recommendations related to the three transformative results pursued by UNFPA on a global scale: (1) ending the unmet need for family planning; (2) ending preventable maternal deaths; and (3) ending gender-based violence and harmful practices, including female genital mutilation and child, early and forced marriage.

NMIRFs are government-led structures originally conceived to tackle reporting backlogs to international human rights mechanisms and coordinate the implementation of recommendations received from the same mechanisms. However, they encompass a wider variety of activities, including the promotion of enhanced and streamlined interministerial and intergovernmental coordination and of broader civil society participation in supporting States in their reporting and implementation efforts, with the ultimate goal of building national and local ownership of human rights recommendations. NMIRFs are currently experiencing significant political momentum at the global level, with approximately 70 established mechanisms and the recent establishment of the International Network of NMIRFs in May 2024 in Asunción, Paraguay, with the aim of institutionalizing cooperation, partnership, dialogue and the exchange of expertise and experiences among NMIRFs.