Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) has downgraded National Human Rights Commission’s (NHRC) status to ‘B’.
GANHRI, the largest rights body worldwide, downgraded NHRC, Nepal due to concern about the legality of the appointment of the NHRC office bearers (members and its chief) and their work performance.
GANHRI clarified that the decision to downgrade NHRC, which was elected twice in 2017 and 2020 for the UN Human Rights Council, was primarily due to the unconstitutional, opaque, and controversial appointment of the NHRC chief and its members.
The GANHRI expressed serious concerns about the appointments to the NHRC by the KP Sharma Oli government through an ordinance. They had warned the NHRC back then to review its ‘A’ status.
In a press conference organized by the former members and office bearers of the NHRC, they expressed their serious concern with the GANHRI’s decision. They urged the government and all stakeholders to do whatever was necessary to maintain NHRC’s ‘A’ status.
Also, in a joint press release, they demanded the immediate resignation of the members of the NHRC and its chief to maintain the NHRC’s credibility and to save the country’s image.
GANHRI sub-committee on accreditation, which had urged the NHRC last year to abide by the Paris Principles, made the recommendations after it found that there was no improvement in NHRC on issues it had raised earlier.
However, the NHRC has a year to establish its competency by Article 18 of the GANHRI Statute, which states that a recommendation to downgrade does not take effect for a period of a year. This allows an opportunity for the NHRC to provide documentary evidence necessary to establish its continued conformity with the Paris Principles.
