• Human Rights:
• Our Work

Our Work

The HRU’s programme activities support the Secretariat’s strategic goal of strengthening democracy and respect for human rights within the Commonwealth.

In order to achieve this, the HRU focuses on the following thematic areas: 

• Determining and developing Commonwealth-wide ‘best practice’ and standard setting in a common law context of existing international human rights standards, including assisting wider and improved adherence to international human rights conventions;
• Strengthening national and regional human rights mechanisms, thus developing and empowering Commonwealth human rights institutions, including through training and technical assistance programmes and network building;
• Increasing knowledge and awareness of, and respect for, human rights throughout the Commonwealth, especially among key actors and agencies; 
• Publication and dissemination of human rights information; 
• Mainstreaming human rights in the Secretariat’s programmes and policies.

Examples of the activities carried out include building capacities of national institutions on human rights, workshops on wide ranging human rights issues throughout the Commonwealth, supporting the political work of the Secretariat through assessment missions and the Commonwealth Election Observer Groups, mainstreaming a rights-based approach to development within the Secretariat and publication and dissemination of human rights information and guidelines.

The HRU also collaborates with international, regional and national bodies and Commonwealth associations for the effective promotion of human rights through strategic partnerships. The Commonwealth Secretariat works closely with the UN Human Rights system and has MOU on cooperation with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the United Nations Development Programme. The HRU also works closely with Commonwealth and non-Commonwealth governmental and non-governmental organisations in the field of human rights.