The High Commissioner is the most important Officer in the United Nations HR System. His / Her Office supervises the situation of HR in the world, supports the States in the accomplishment of their obligations and supports the bodies of the United Nations System on HR.

The OHCHR was established through the General Assembly Resolution 48/141 of 1994, after the World Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna in 1993, meeting in which the international community decided to establish a more solid mandate of Human Rights and with much more institutional support in the framework of the UN.

The mandate includes preventing human rights violations, assuring the respect of all Human Rights, promoting the international cooperation to protect Human Rights, coordinating related activities in the Organization of the United Nations, and strengthening and making more efficient the UN system in the Human Rights sphere. Besides the responsibilities entrusted by the mandate, the Office the Office leads efforts to integrate a Human Rights approach within all work carried out by United Nations agencies.

The OHCHR has an Office in Colombia, which was established by the 29th November 1996 Agreement, and started operations in 1997. The Representation provides assistance and technical cooperation towards States, the national institutions and civil society in order to strengthen national capacities for the promotion of Human Rights. The Representation has its main headquarter in Bogota, and 8 local offices. The mandate of the Office in Colombia renovates periodically. The last renovation took place in October 2014 by a period of two years, through the exchange of Verbal Notes between the High Commissioner and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Each year, the OHCHR presents a report about the activities of its Representation in Colombia to the Human Rights Council (see the report of 2013).