The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is the principal United Nations office mandated to promote and protect human rights for all. The High Commissioner leads the UN’s global human rights efforts and speaks out objectively in the face of human rights violations worldwide The OHCHR provides a forum for identifying, highlighting and developing responses to today’s human rights challenges and acts as the principal focal point of human rights research, education, public information, and advocacy activities in the United Nations system.
The OHCHR ensures that there is a human rights perspective in all United Nations programmes and therefore (according to the OHCHR website), “has a central role in safeguarding the integrity of the three pillars of the United Nations: peace and security, human rights, and development.” It also assists Governments to meet their obligations to protect the human rights of their people, providing “expertise and technical trainings in the areas of administration of justice, legislative reform, and electoral process, to help implement international human rights standards on the ground.”
More information is available on the OHCHR website.