Although much has been said elsewhere in this book about the importance of an NHRI forging an appropriate link between government on the one hand, and civil society on the other hand, research and other work on NHRIs also stress the importance of engaging with the range of stakeholders at the national level in which the NHRI finds itself. NHRIs should thereby aim “to define and delimit the space they occupy in relation to other institutions that protect human rights, within and outside government” and in so doing “complement rather than displace the work of other bodies”.

The range of national bodies with whom the NHRI needs to engage include (but is not limited to): statutory and constitutional bodies, parliament, government, NGOs, trade unions, religious bodies, the media as well as the general public. While the Paris Principles mention most of these bodies, they do not provide a comprehensive list of actors with whom NHRIs should engage. Likewise, they do not reflect the fact that various stakeholders will have different roles towards these institutions and that these relationships may evolve or acquire more importance with time.