Global Alliance Of National Human Rights Institutions

Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) is a global network of National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) that coordinates the relationship between NHRIs and the United Nations Human Rights System.
Its primary objectives include promoting and strengthening NHRIs to be more effective in their role of protecting and promoting human rights at the national level.
It is the only non-UN body whose internal accreditation system grants access to UN committees, based on compliance with the Paris Principles of 1993.

Accreditation Process of GANHRI

GANHRI reviews national human rights institutions (NHRIs) to ensure they meet international standards known as the Paris Principles.
- Paris Principles of 1993 lists six criteria that human rights bodies must adhere to – mandate and competence, autonomy from government, independence guaranteed by a statute or Constitution, pluralism, adequate resources and adequate powers of investigation.
This review is done by a Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA), which is made up of representatives from NHRIs around the world.
The SCA checks if NHRIs are independent and effective in promoting and protecting human rights.
If an NHRI meets the standards, it gets an ‘A status’, which means it fully complies with the Paris Principles.
- A status’ NHRIs can participate fully in the United Nations Human Rights Council and other bodies.
If it partially meets the standards, it gets a ‘B status’.
- ‘B status’ NHRIs can attend meetings but cannot vote or hold positions in GANHRI governance.
NHRIs are reviewed every five years or if there’s a significant change that might affect their compliance.

17 May 2024:
- Recently, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has deferred the accreditation of India’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the second consecutive year.
- This could impact India’s voting rights at the Human Rights Council and some UNGA bodies.
- The deferral was based on issues highlighted in previous reports, such as lack of transparency in NHRC member appointments, involvement of police officers in human rights investigations, and insufficient gender and minority representation.
- These concerns were reiterated by civil society organizations and human rights activists.
- This marks the first time India’s NHRC has faced two consecutive years of deferred “A-status” accreditation, a status it has held since 1999 with brief interruptions.