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The new institution, which will be up and running by January 2009, will meet a commitment the country made in April 2008, when its human rights record was examined under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism of the Human Rights Council. At the time, Bahrain promised to abide by the Paris Principles adopted by the General Assembly in 1993. These stress that NHRIs must be independent, inclusive and mandated to protect all human rights. Ideally, they would have the power to handle cases of human rights violations. In late July, at the invitation of the Government of Bahrain and in cooperation with UNDP, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights conducted a workshop on NHRI-building in the Bahraini capital, Manama . Some 80 participants, including government officials, civil society groups and media representatives discussed the key features and responsibilities of NHRIs. Speaking at the workshop, OHCHR representative Karin Lucke emphasized that the Paris Principles had to be “the benchmarks to assess the structure, mandate and performance of NHRIs.” Lucke said that while every country could develop its own institution, it was crucial that it fulfilled its obligation to promote and protect all human rights in the most independent manner. Other speakers at the workshop included experts from Jordan , Northern Ireland and Morocco , who spoke of lessons learned while establishing NHRIs in their countries. All stressed the importance of a transparent, participatory and inclusive NHRI-building process to ensure the credibility of the proposed institution. Bahrain is setting up its NHRI as part of its National Action Plan for human rights. The plan provides for more inspections of camps for foreign workers to ensure they comply with health standards, and better protection of domestic workers' rights. It also calls for the creation of a task force to make proposals to national bodies on the ratification of human rights treaties. The Manama workshop was conducted within the framework of a multi-year agreement signed by Bahrain and UNDP, under which the latter will help implement, monitor and evaluate the National Action Plan. The OHCHR-conducted workshop was funded by UNDP—a prime example of UN agencies “Delivering as One”. It could also serve as a model for other countries seeking to set up NHRIs. Further information