the ministries and relevant bodies in the Kingdom. These ministries and bodies shall cooperate with the NIHR in the pursuit of its tasks, facilitate exercising its mandate, and provide it with the information requested in this regard in accordance with the laws and regulations applicable by these bodies.” the independence of national institutions, eliminate actual or perceived conflict of interest, attain stable members’ term of office, realize organized and appropriate guidance of its personnel, and maintain the continuous and effective implementation of the functions of the institution. 2. Consequently, Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016 was enacted, amending several paragraphs contained in Law No. (26) of 2014 on the Establishment of the NIHR, for the purpose of creating a real legal safeguard towards the independence of the institution, while granting the NIHR more competencies and powers in a manner consistent with the Paris Principles pertaining to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights, and elevating its international ranking in a manner that exemplifies the Kingdom’s commitment to preserving and respecting human rights. 8. In addition, the NIHR “may inform the competent authorities in the case when the ministries and State institutions and apparatuses fail to cooperate and provide the NIHR with the requested information, reports and documents or prevent it from examining them, in order to take the necessary measures in accordance with the law.” Requirement Two Mechanism for Selecting the Members of the NIHR’s Council of Commissioners and the Immunities Granted to them 3. Perhaps the most prominent amendment contained in Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016 amending some provisions of Law No. (26) of 2014 establishing the NIHR is providing for full-time members in the Council of Commissioners. Article No. (1) defines a fulltime member as a member who works full-time to fulfill the duties of his/her mandate in the NIHR and is not committed to perform another work or profession while carrying out his/her membership duties. Article No (4) stipulates the membership provisions permitting the selection of the members of the Council of Commissioners from among the members of the legislative authority, provided they do not form a majority in the Council of Commissioners and that they can participate in the discussion as non-voting members. 1. In response to the recommendations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights (GANHRI), which emphasized the need for the NHRI’s consultation and appointment process to be broad and transparent, and to include clear and standardized criteria for assessing the merit of all eligible candidates; where the SCA was of the view that the process of selecting and appointing the decision-making body in the national institution must be formalized, and that the law establishing the national institution should stipulate that full-time members must be among the members of the decision-making body, as this helps achieve 12