A Manual on National Human Rights Institutions 3.3.5. Independent members61 The members of NHRIs determine the policies, programs, operational methods and activities of NHRIs, as well as their findings, conclusions and recommendations when they investigate cases or situations of human rights violations. The process by which the members of NHRIs are appointed, therefore, has grave implications for the independence of NHRIs.62 The appointment of members is one substantial legitimate limitation on their independence. NHRIs are State institutions established by law. They do not have the total independence that NGOs have. They cannot be self-appointing and self-perpetuating. 3.3.6. Independent thinking In addition to all the formal dimensions of independence, there is one dimension that is not expressed explicitly in the Paris Principles but which must underlie everything else. That is independent thinking. Independent thinking describes the way the members and staff of an NHRI go about their work. It is an attitude, a mindset, an orientation. It is an essential attribute of any NHRI that is effective. It is the most significant guarantee of true independence. In many ways, it is more important than any of the five formal dimensions of independence in the Paris Principles. An NHRI can meet all the formal requirements of the Paris Principles and still lack independence if its members and staff do not possess independent thinking. If members and staff see themselves as defenders of the current regime or the current political system, or if they consider themselves as being under some form of obligation to the Government, or if they owe their loyalty to the Government, then they cannot be independent, no matter how good the law is and how closely the NHRI complies with the Paris Principles. True independence is a personal quality, best described as independent thinking. On the other hand, an NHRI might meet few or even none of the five components of independence in the Paris Principles and yet be independent in fact if its members and staff think independently and act independently. Some of the most effective NHRIs have not been in full compliance with the Paris Principles and yet, because their members thought and acted independently, they proved to be strong defenders of human rights and protectors and promoters of human rights. In addition to its central office in Kathmandu, the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal operates five regional offices in different parts of the country. Photo by the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal. 20 61 See chapter 6 of this manual for further discussion of requirements to ensure the independence of NHRI members. 62 Commonwealth Secretariat, National Human Rights Institutions: Best Practice, 2001, p. 16.