Requirement Two The Mechanism for Selecting the Members of the NIHR’s Council of Commissioners and the Immunities Granted to them 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 the independence of national institutions and eliminate actual or perceived conflict of interest, helps to achieve stable term of office of the members, and helps to realize organized and appropriate guidance of its personnel, in addition to the continuous and effective implementation of the functions of the institution. 2. In view of that, Decree-Law No. (20) of 2016 was enacted, amending several paragraphs contained in Law No. (26) of 2014 concerning 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. 3. Perhaps one of the most prominent amendments 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, where Article No (1) defines a full-time 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 shall not form a majority in the Council of Commissioners and that they can participate in the discussion only as a non-voting members. The same Article stipulates that a Royal Decree shall Ninth Annual Report of the NIHR 14