SECTION ONE: The nature of national human rights institutions be upgraded to A status if it meets all the requirements of the Paris Principles. At the conclusion of each review, the SCA publishes its comments on the situation of the NHRI and raises any concerns it may have about the NHRI’s law or position or work in relation to the Paris Principles6. 3. The essential characteristics of a national human rights institution The first and most essential requirement for NHRIs is independence. Although NHRIs are state institutions, they must be independent and act independently from all other institutions and organisations, governmental and non-governmental. Independence has five dimensions required by the Paris Principles and a sixth that is the most important of all: • legal independence – establishment by the constitution or a legislative act7 • operational independence – independence to determine their own priorities, programmes and projects, that is, all aspects of their operations, subject to the law and available resources • policy independence – independence to determine their policies and their findings, conclusions and recommendations in the course of their work • financial independence – independence to control their budgets once they are allocated and to allocate financial and other resources as they see appropriate and according to their own priorities • independent members – independence ensured through a process of open, transparent, competitive selection and appointment • independent thinking – a personal quality, the attitude, mindset, orientation and determination of NHRI members and staff to be free from influence by government and others, to be free from a sense of being defenders of the current government or the current political system, or of being under some form of obligation to the government or of owing their loyalty to the government. Full compliance with the formal requirements of the Paris Principles is essential but not enough to guarantee the independence of an NHRI. Only independent thinking throughout the institution will ensure true independence. The Paris Principles also list other essential characteristics of NHRIs: • pluralism to provide representation of all the community among members and staff • a broad mandate to deal with all human rights • broad functions, including investigation, research, legal analysis, human rights education and advocacy • adequate powers, usually including the powers to obtain documents, summon witnesses and enter premises, such as prisons and detention centres. • adequate resources, including staff, finances, premises, information and communications technology, transport, educational materials, and staff and institutional capacity building activities • cooperative working arrangements with all relevant actors, such as government, parliament, courts, civil society, business and academia • international engagement, with the international human rights system, other NHRIs and their global and regional associations, and international civil society. 6 See https://ganhri.org/accreditation/. 7 Where an NHRI is established in the constitution, it will usually also have a law to implement the constitutional provision. A law relating to the establishment of an NHRI is referred to as the ‘founding law’ in this guide. 7