Sub-Committee on Accreditation

The role of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) is to consider whether prospective and existing member NHRIs are established and function as independent bodies according the standards set out in the Paris Principles.

Under the ICC Statute, these reviews occur:

• when a NHRI applies for initial accreditation
• when a NHRI applies for re-accreditation every five years
• where the circumstances of a NHRI change in any way that may affect its compliance with the Paris Principles.

On completion of its assessment, the SCA makes a recommendation to the ICC Bureau, which then makes a final decision on the NHRI’s accreditation status.

The review process is set out in full in the SCA's Rules of Procedure.

Accreditation Status

NHRIs which are considered to fully comply with the Paris Principles are accredited ‘A status’, while those that partially comply are accredited ‘B’ status.

‘A status’ organisations are eligible for full membership of the ICC, including the right to vote and hold governance positions, while NHRIs accredited with ‘B status’ may participate in ICC meetings but are unable to vote or hold governance positions.

In addition, only ‘A status’ NHRIs have independent participation rights at the UN Nations Human Rights Council and its subsidiary bodies.

The current accreditation status of NHRIs is available from the ‘Downloads’ box on this page.

SCA Membership

The members of the SCA include representatives from NHRIs in each of the four regional groupings.

The current membership is:

• Mr. Koffi Kounte; President, Togo National Human Rights Commission (Africa)
• Mr. David Langtry; Deputy Chief Commissioner, Canadian Human Rights Commission (Americas)
• Mr. Yoo Nam Young; Commissioner, National Human Rights Commission of Korea (Asia Pacific)
• Ms. Frauke Seidensticker; Director, German Institute of Human Rights (Europe)

SCA Meetings

The SCA meets in Geneva, generally in March and November, to consider accreditation applications. In addition to the material provided by the applicant, the SCA will consider other sources of information including reports from civil society organisations.

Once the SCA has considered an application it makes a recommendation to the ICC Bureau which has responsibility for making the final decision on the accreditation of NHRIs.

The APF, along with other Regional Coordinating Committees of NHRIs, are invited to attend the meeting as Observers. In this role, the APF has been able to comment on individual applications, the practice and procedure of the SCA and proposals for General Observations.

Follow the link to a summary of the accreditation review process, relevant documents and the proposed re-accreditation schedule for NHRIs.

Reports of previous SCA meetings are available in the ‘Downloads’ box.

General Observations

Over the past few years, the SCA has developed a series of General Observations that are intended to:

• provide guidance to NHRIs in developing their own processes and mechanisms
• assist governments in addressing issues relating to a NHRI’s compliance with the Paris Principles
• guide the SCA in its determination of new accreditation applications, re-accreditation applications or special reviews.

There are currently 25 General Observations that address a broad range of compliance issues for NHRIs (see the ‘Downloads’ box).