Role of National Human Rights Institution: The Case of National Human Commission in Bangladesh and Komnas HAM in Indonesia

A national human rights institution (NHRI, hereafter) is an official State institution established by law to protect, promote, monitor, and fulfil the human rights of the people. Contrary to other national institutions, NHRIs are accredited with an internationally accepted quality label, on the basis of their compliance with the Paris Principles. The purpose of this study is to examine how did it work in Bangladesh and Indonesia, and to what extent did it face difficulties in compliance with international standard. In this study, the researcher adopted a qualitative form of research due to the nature of the study. Data were collected mainly through various secondary documents, and interviews with different stakeholders. This study found that government supporters or like-minded people became commission members. In addition, NHRI failed to respond to the human rights violation, and lack of institutional infrastructure. After many years, the national institution failed to establish guidelines in accordance with the Paris Principles.