ownership by NHRIs. However, General Assembly Resolution 48/134 also signifies a measure of commitment among states to the Paris Principles standards. As the Paris Principles are designed to guide the mandate, structure, and performance of NHRIs, they provide a more operational framework and say little about specific thematic issues within the human rights movement. For example, they require that an NHRI be ‘given as broad a mandate as possible, which shall be clearly set forth in a constitutional or legislative text, specifying its composition and its sphere of competence’.6 While the requirement to have ‘as broad a mandate as possible’ may be considered to require a legal mandate that includes specific human rights, including on gender, the Paris Principles do not themselves prescribe that NHRIs must have a mandate to address any specific human rights or categories of rights. There is also no express reference to gender or women in the Paris Principles.7 Rather, the more general principle of ‘pluralism’ is explained at various points as a fundamental aspect of an NHRI’s mandate and performance. The ‘pluralist representation of social forces’ on the NHRI is defined in the Paris Principles to include: (a) Non-governmental organizations responsible for human rights and efforts to combat racial discrimination, trade unions, concerned social and professional organizations, for example, associations of lawyers, doctors, journalists and eminent scientists; (b) Trends in philosophical or religious thought; (c) Universities and qualified experts; (d) Parliament; (e) Government departments (if these are included, their representatives should participate in the deliberations only in an advisory capacity).8 As a ‘method of operation’ under the Paris Principles, NHRIs are also expected to: develop relations with the non-governmental organizations devoted to promoting and protecting human rights, to economic and social development, to combating racism, to protecting particularly vulnerable groups (especially children, migrant workers, refugees, physically and mentally disabled persons) or to specialized areas. 9 Gender is a remarkable absence in the above aspects of the Paris Principles. Women and girls are not defined as a group that may be the subject matter focus of a non-government organisation working in human rights, nor are women included in the list of social forces that should be represented on the NHRI. However, as will be demonstrated below, the concept and applicable standards of pluralism have been subsequently interpreted to include gender diversity and the equitable representation of women in the NHRI, most notably through the global accreditation of NHRI compliance with the Paris Principles. GANHRI Accreditation and the General Observations A venue for the practical application of the Paris Principles standards is the international accreditation of NHRIs undertaken by GANHRI. GANHRI is a member-based international human rights organisation comprised of NHRIs and according to its founding statute ‘promotes the role of NHRIs worldwide, provides a forum for its members to interact and exchange, and facilitates their 6 Paris Principles (n 3), page 4. It should be noted, however, that the report from the International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights does record some discussion on gender equality in the composition of NHRI leadership and the practice of NHRIs: Commission on Human Rights, 48th session, Report of the International Workshop on National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, UN ESCOR, UN Doc E/CN.4/1992/43 (16 December 1991) paras 55-58, 67, 102, 133, 143, 231. 8 Paris Principles (n 3), pages 5-6. 9 Ibid. 7 Gender Equality and the Paris Principles 3