UNDP and GANHRI launch Digital Readiness Toolkit for national human rights institutions

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in partnership with the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has published a Digital Readiness Toolkit for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). The toolkit, dated March 2026, was developed under the longstanding Tripartite Partnership supporting NHRIs and was made possible through funding from the Government of Norway, delivered via UNDP’s Global Programme for Strengthening the Rule of Law, Human Rights, Justice and Security for Sustainable Peace and Development, Phase IV.

The report was co-authored by Justin Nettman and Roqaya Dhaif, with contributions from Julie Vandassen, and was produced under the guidance of Sarah Rattray, UNDP’s Global Lead for Human Rights. A Reference Group of NHRIs from Palestine, Nigeria, Oman, Nepal, Uruguay, Honduras, and Malawi contributed practical input during its development.

Purpose of the Toolkit

The toolkit is intended to help NHRIs assess their digital maturity, identify gaps in readiness, and plan the adoption of digital systems in a way that is safe, proportionate, and aligned with their mandates. In the foreword, GANHRI Chairperson Amina Bouayach notes that digital technologies offer NHRIs opportunities to improve complaint intake, case management, evidence collection, and collaboration with other institutions, but that digitalization also introduces risks — particularly around the protection of sensitive data belonging to victims, witnesses, and human rights defenders. The toolkit frames digital transformation as something that should support human rights principles rather than operate as a purely technical upgrade.

Rather than prescribing specific systems or technologies, the toolkit sets out a structured, step-by-step approach covering institutional, governance, and technical considerations, while leaving decisions about system design and implementation with individual NHRIs.

Structure of the Toolkit

The document is organized into three main parts, supported by two annexes:

Part 1 – Introductory Guidance sets out a conceptual framework for digital transformation, integrating digital readiness into existing NHRI capacity assessment methodologies. It outlines the importance of digitization across areas such as protecting complainants, strengthening accountability, improving operational efficiency, and fostering interoperability with other institutions. This section also details ten categories of risk associated with digitization — including privacy and data protection, retaliation risks, digital exclusion, data sovereignty, political interference, and risks associated with artificial intelligence — along with corresponding mitigation measures. It includes case studies of digital transformation efforts at the National Commission for Human Rights of Pakistan and the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.

Part 2 – Digital Maturity and Digital Readiness Checklists introduces a five-level maturity scale, ranging from “Manual/Analog” to “Mature,” and provides self-assessment checklists covering five domains: people, processes, governance, technology, and finance. The section also includes a “Digital Prerequisites Screening Tool” to help institutions determine whether they are ready for a full readiness assessment or should first address foundational gaps, along with three possible assessment pathways depending on an NHRI’s starting position.

Part 3 – Digital Solutions for NHRIs compares three implementation pathways — off-the-shelf solutions, internally developed bespoke systems, and hybrid approaches — and outlines the technical requirements, risks, and financial considerations associated with each. This section also addresses the use of artificial intelligence within NHRI systems, covering applications such as automated document classification, machine learning for pattern detection in complaints data, and natural language processing, alongside considerations such as human oversight, bias mitigation, and data protection.

The two annexes provide additional technical reference material, including comparisons of cloud-based versus on-premises infrastructure, ICT governance frameworks such as COBIT, ITIL, and TOGAF, guidance on project management methodologies, and a repository of publicly available templates and resources that NHRIs can adapt for their own use.

Case Examples

The toolkit highlights the experiences of two NHRIs that have progressively digitized their operations. Pakistan’s National Commission for Human Rights, which resumed operations in November 2021 with limited digital infrastructure, took a phased approach that began with basic ICT remediation and email capability before developing a digital complaints management system to address a backlog of more than 10,000 complaints. Nigeria’s National Human Rights Commission digitized its complaints registration process in 2020 to maintain operations during COVID-19 lockdowns, later expanding into a centralized system supporting structured digital forms, case triage, evidence uploads, and audit trails, and reporting more than two million complaints in 2024.