“Section 3(1) of the UHRC Act provides that the Chairperson and members of the UHRC are appointed by the President with the approval of Parliament. The UHRC reports that the Minister of Justice receives applications and with the approval of Cabinet sends a shortlist of candidates to the President for appointment. Further, appointed candidates are publicly interviewed and vetted by Parliament.
The SCA notes that the selection and appointment process is not sufficiently transparent and participatory, as it does not:
- Require the publicising of vacancies;
- Promote broad consultation and participation of civil society; and
- Provide merit-based criteria for the appointment of members of the UHRC.
UHRC indicated that it had started the process of amending the Act, which was pending with the Ministry of Justice. However, this process was halted as new amendments will be adopted in the merger bill with the Equal Opportunities Commission.
The SCA encourages the UHRC to continue to advocate for the formalization and application of a clear, transparent, and participatory selection and appointment process that includes the requirements to publicize vacancies, promote broad consultation and / or participation in the application, screening, selection, and appointment process and provide merit-based criteria for appointment of members of the UHRC.
The SCA refers to Paris Principle B.1 and to its General Observation 1.8 on ‘Selection and appointment of the decision-making body of NHRIs’.”