Governance
GANHRI was established in 1993 as the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (ICC). It has been known as the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) since 2016, and is a member-based network organization that gathers NHRIs from all around the world. Representing more than 110 NHRIs, their members and staff across all regions, GANHRI is one of the largest human rights networks worldwide.
General Assembly
The General Assembly is GANHRI’s supreme deliberative body.
– It adopts and reviews the program of activities;
– It is responsible for electing the governance bodies and monitoring the activities of the GANHRI Bureau;
– It is responsible for approving amendments to the GANHRI Statute;and
– It approves the budget and the financial reports.
Bureau
The Bureau is the GANHRI executive committee (board of directors). It is comprised of 16 members, 4 from each of the GANHRI regional networks of Africa, the Americas, the Asia-Pacific, and Europe.
– It is responsible for the implementation of the General Assembly’s resolutions
– It is responsible for GANHRI’s overall functions including the development of organisational policies and procedures;
– It oversees the implementation of programs and activities; and
– It monitors the financial accounts and services to members.
Importantly, the Bureau is responsible for decisions on the accreditation of members.
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Head Office
The GANHRI Head Office is located in Geneva, Switzerland, within the Palais des Nations. It is the central hub of GANHRI.
– It provides technical and thematic support to NHRIs and to its governance bodies;
– It plays a leading role in the development and implementation of the GANHRI’s strategic plan; and
– It provides services and direct support to the members, in line with the mission and mandate of the organisation.
It is composed of permanent staff and interns and it can be considered the administrative headquarters of the alliance.
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Sub-Committee on Accreditation
The Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) is the body responsible for making recommendations on accreditation under the auspices of OHCHR.
The SCA is comprised of one ‘A’ status institution from each of the four NHRIs regional networks.
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee comprises 4 members from A Status Institutions appointed by each of the four regional networks. Members of the Committee shall serve a term of 3 years, renewable once. The Members of the Committee selects from amongst their membership a Chair, to be appointed on a rotational basis by region. The Chairperson serves a term of 3 years from date of appointment. The current Chair is the NHRI of India.
Other members are:
– Africa (Malawi Human Rights Commission)
– Americas (Instituto Nacional de Derechos Humanos de Chile)
– Europe (Equality and Human Rights Commissions of Great Britain).
Structure
GANHRI has a quite complex structure.
Beyond the formal governance bodies (General Assembly, the Bureau and its sub-committees), GANHRI is closely linked with:
– The Regional NHRIs Networks (APF, ENNHRI, NANHRI, RINDHCA);
– The United Nations, in particular OHCHR (which is GANHRI Secretariat) and with UNDP; and
– With partners from civil society and NGOs.
