The story so far: How free and fair is India’s National Human Rights Commission? The question is under international review, in a process governed by the U.N.-recognised Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI). NHRC has held an ‘A rating’ since 1999; it was due for re-accreditation by the Geneva-based body last year. On May 1, GANHRI deferred NHRC’s accreditation for the second year in a row. The concerns of the Sub-Commitee for Accreditation (SCA) have carried over through the years: the composition of the human rights body lacks diversity, it has an opaque appointment process, fails to cooperate with civil society, involves police personnel in investigations creating “conflict(s) of interest,” and is unable to respond to escalating human rights violations.
Experts and human rights bodies such as Amnesty International have expressed fears that the once storied NHRC has been reduced to an ornamental body, imperilling the fate of Indian democracy.
