DPP Associate Professor, Kirsten Roberts Lyer supports development and launch new OSCE Guidance on the Resilience of National Human Rights Institutions

DPP Associate Professor, Kirsten Roberts Lyer has been instrumental in the development and launch of a new OSCE Guidance Tool on the Resilience of National Human Rights Institutions “Strengthening the Resilience of NHRIs and Responding to Threats” developed by the OSCE's Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

As described by ODIHR "The organizational resilience Guidance Tool is aimed to help staff of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) build and maintain long-term resilience and to respond to threats. The document explores the importance of organizational resilience, crisis management and provides advice on handling pressure and attacks experienced by the NHRIs in the OSCE region."

The new Guidance Tool was launched at a 2-day High-Level Meeting of NHRI leaders held on the 5th and 6th of September in Warsaw, Poland, where Dr Roberts Lyer presented the toolkit and discussed the needs and challenges of NHRIs in facing threats to their institutions.

Drawing on her 15+ years experience working on and with NHRIs, Dr Roberts Lyer co-authored the first version of the Guidance Tool with former Ombudsperson of Serbia, Saša Janković, and was instrumental in its development.

Dr Roberts Lyer regularly provides advice to the OSCE and other international organisations on the strengthening of NHRIs and ombudspersons, and is the co-author of National Human Rights Institutions: Rules, Requirements and Practice, published in 2021 by Oxford University Press.