“In accordance with Article 16 of the Law, members of the CNDH are elected by the National Assembly based on the proposals of various entities.

The SCA is of the view that the selection and appointment process provided in the law is not sufficiently broad and transparent. In particular, it does not:

– require the advertisement of vacancies; and

– establish clear and uniform criteria upon which all parties assess the merit of eligible applicants.

Further, the SCA is of the view that providing for the different entities to select members according to their rules of procedure may result in them using different processes for selection, and that a consistent, transparent, merit-based and broadly consultative selection process should be used across all of the entities.

It is critically important to ensure the formalization of a clear, transparent and participatory selection and appointment process for an NHRI’s decision-making body in relevant legislation, regulations or binding administrative guidelines, as appropriate.

A process that promotes merit-based selection and ensures pluralism is necessary to ensure the independence of, and public confidence in, the senior leadership of an NHRI.

The SCA encourages the CNDH to advocate for the formalization and application of a uniform process that includes requirements to:

a) Publicize vacancies broadly;

b) Maximize the number of potential candidates from a wide range of societal groups and educational qualifications;

c) Promote broad consultation and / or participation in the application, screening, selection and appointment process;

d) Assess applicants on the basis of pre-determined, objective and publicly-available criteria; and

e) Select members to serve in their individual capacity rather than on behalf of the organization they represent.”