In order to prevent the traumatic consequences of the intense and mass violations experienced during the Second World War and its aftermath, institutions at various levels have been established with a mission to establish and maintain world peace. The United Nations (UN), which represents this mission at the global level, has put forward various studies and efforts that can be evaluated positively in terms of the protection and development of human rights since its establishment.

At the point of establishing the global human rights acquis, the UN has performed an important mission both to establish norms and to disseminate these norms at the regional and national level. In parallel with this, the UN has played an important role in the establishment and dissemination of human rights protection mechanisms.

In this context, two years before the adoption of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that is, in 1946, the member states were called to form information groups or local committees on human rights.

In 1978, the UN Human Rights Commission held a seminar and prepared a guide on the functioning and structure of human rights institutions to be established at the national level. This Guide has been expanded over the years by the Commission and the UN General Assembly. Member states that have not yet established a national institution were invited by the UN General Assembly to establish institutions that will work on this issue as soon as possible.

In 1991, an international workshop on “national institutions for the protection and promotion of human rights” was held to frame the status of national human rights institutions. At the 1993 Vienna Conference on Human Rights, this framework was adopted under the name of the Paris Principles.

In the light of these intentions and efforts, our institution has granted accreditation status by the Global Network of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), which operates at a global level, with the decision taken on 10 October 2022. The efforts of the Human Rights and Equality Institution of Türkiye towards international recognition in the field of human rights will continue with determination.

On this occasion, we celebrate the 77th anniversary of the establishment of the UN and wish for a world in which not a single human rights violation is experienced, both in our country and in the world.