“The UHRC states that the pending merger with the Equal Opportunities Commission, planned for June 2024, is yet to be enacted. The UHRC reported that it engaged with the Public Service Commission which oversees the merger to ensure that the UHRC structure, mandate and power are not altered but rather strengthened. The UHRC also stated that it made proposals on the establishment of a new directorate to exclusively handle the additional mandate and proposed 13 new positions.

However, the SCA notes that the Final Report on the Merger of the UHRC and the Equal Opportunities Commission, shared by the UHR, proposes a new structure of the new institution with a reduction of 74 positions (25%) from the two institutions.

The SCA considers that the merger may result in significant changes to the structure of the UHRC, including a reduction of its staffing, as well as key components of its enabling law. The SCA is concerned that these changes may adversely affect the ability of the UHRC to carry out its mandate in an effective and timely manner, particularly in addressing the backlog of cases before the Human Rights Tribunal and addressing systematic human rights violations.

The SCA recommends the UHRC to continue to advocate for the preservation of the powers, functions and structure of the UHRC for the new institution to allow for the implementation of the full breadth of the mandate. The SCA also recommends that the UHRC take steps to ensure that the new enabling law will strengthen the compliance of the new institution with the Paris principles. Reference is made to the SCA Practice Note 4 on “NHRIs in transition” which highlights the importance of maintaining or expanding of previous mandate; and maintaining equivalent or strengthened protections in relation to structure and functioning of an NHRI.

The SCA refers to Paris Principles A.2 and its General Observation 1.1 on ‘The establishment of NHRIs’.”