Mission Statement

The mission of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is to work for the protection of all human rights for all people; to help empower people to realize their rights; and to assist those responsible for upholding such rights in ensuring that they are implemented.

In carrying out its mission OHCHR will:

• Give priority to addressing the most pressing human rights violations, both acute and chronic, particularly those that put life in imminent peril;
• Focus attention on those who are at risk and vulnerable on multiple fronts;
• Pay equal attention to the realization of civil, cultural, economic, political, and social rights, including the right to development; and
• Measure the impact of its work through the substantive benefit that is accrued, through it, to individuals around the world.

Operationally, OHCHR works with governments, legislatures, courts, national institutions, civil society, regional and international organizations, and the United Nations system to develop and strengthen capacity, particularly at the national level, for the protection of human rights in accordance with international norms.

Institutionally, OHCHR is committed to strengthening the United Nations human rights programme and to providing it with the highest quality support. OHCHR is committed to working closely with its United Nations partners to ensure that human rights form the bedrock of the work of the United Nations.