HIBAPRESS – w.m.a.
The national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up were the focus of a high-level meeting co-chaired on Tuesday in Geneva by the Ministerial Delegate for Human Rights, Mohamed El Habib Belkouch, on the sidelines of the 61st session of the Human Rights Council.
This event, entitled "Accelerating the Implementation Agenda: Next Stages for the Network and Virtual Center for National Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up Mechanisms," was organized in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the permanent missions of Morocco, Brazil, Portugal, and Paraguay to the Human Rights Council, and the Global Rights Group. National mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up play an essential role in ensuring the effective follow-up of international obligations and recommendations related to human rights at the national level. They also constitute multiple governmental institutional frameworks that facilitate interaction between countries and national human rights mechanisms, while ensuring the systematic follow-up of recommendations issued by international and regional mechanisms. Recognizing the central role of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up, the international community has paid increasing attention to the establishment and strengthening of these mechanisms, particularly through the work of the Group of Friends of National Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up Mechanisms, led by Portugal, in addition to the increasing number of recommendations made in this regard within the framework of the Universal Periodic Review. This dynamism was reflected in many Human Rights Council resolutions, the most recent of which was resolution 60/27, presented by both Paraguay and Brazil. This resolution emphasizes the importance of sharing experiences between countries and calls for the continued development of the platform for national implementation, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms, which was launched on October 2, 2025, to facilitate the sharing of experiences and best practices. In the context of following up on these efforts, and continuing the preparatory work that was carried out under the Marrakech Declaration issued in December 2022 during the first international conference on national implementation, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms in Morocco, the International Network for National Implementation, Reporting, and Follow-up Mechanisms was established under the Asunción Declaration, which was adopted in May 2024 during the second international conference on national implementation, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms, hosted by Paraguay. The network, which currently includes 25 member states, aims to strengthen cooperation, exchange best practices, and support the establishment of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up around the world. The tenth edition of the Geneva Human Rights Dialogue (October 2024) marked a new milestone with the adoption of the Marrakech Global Guiding Framework, a reference document based on best practices aimed at helping countries to develop and strengthen national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up. The network of national implementation, reporting, and follow-up mechanisms met on January 27 in Lisbon to adopt its action plan for the period 2026-2030, which is based on six priority axes, mainly revolving around the exchange of experiences and capacity building. This side event aims to highlight the most prominent developments related to the agenda of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up, especially the adoption of Human Rights Council resolution No. 60/27, the action plan of the International Network for the period 2026-2030, and the launch of the (NMIRF Hub) platform. It also seeks to introduce the network and its main objectives, launch a call for engagement, present the (NMIRF Hub) platform and its latest features, and discuss best practices and challenges associated with the development and strengthening of national mechanisms for implementation, reporting, and follow-up. This meeting, which was moderated by the Executive Director of the "Global Rights Group" organization, Mark Lemon, was attended by high-level representatives from partner countries, especially the Portuguese Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Ana Isabel Xavier, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Paraguay, Victor Alfredo Verdún Bitardo, in addition to senior officials at the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
