“The HRDA staff are civil servants recruited through a competitive process and based on equal opportunity and merit as per Articles 8 and 9 of the Law on Civil Service. The HRDA indicated that its budget has gradually increased in past years; however, the level of salaries of the staff of the HRDA has not increased at a rate comparable to staff working in similar institutions of the prosecutor generals, investigators, and judges.

The SCA highlights that NHRIs must be provided with sufficient resources to permit the employment and retention of staff with the requisite qualifications and experience to fulfil the NHRI’s mandate. State funding shall, as a minimum, ensure salaries and benefits comparable to those of civil servants performing similar tasks in other independent institutions of the State.

The SCA acknowledges that the HRDA has sought to improve its budgetary situation and encourages the HRDA to continue to advocate for an appropriate level of funding to be provided by the State to permit the employment and retention of staff with the requisite qualifications and experience to effectively carry out its mandate.

The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.2 and to its General Observation 1.10 on ‘Adequate funding’ and General Observation 2.4 on ‘Recruitment and retention of NHRI staff’.”’