Bridging the Gap: National Human Rights Institutions and the Inter-American Human Rights System

Increasing attention is being paid to how the Inter-American Human Rights System (IAHRS) informs human rights practice. In this task, national human rights institutions (NHRIs) have emerged as potentially important intermediaries, serving as a possible ‘missing link’ in the transmission and implementation of international human rights law. The chapter begins with a discussion of NHRIs as IAHRS compliance intermediaries, with attention paid to their formal aptitude. We then highlight the formal relationship between NHRIs and the IAHRS, before specifying modalities of engagement in greater detail, drawing on the experience of NHRIs throughout Latin America. The chapter closes with a case study of the Peruvian office and an examination of what the analysis means for the future of NHRI-IAHRS relations.