Civil society welcomes the decision of GANHRI
Global body recommends the removal of the accreditation status of the junta’s Myanmar National Human Rights Commission
[5 December 2023] The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) (Working Group) and the Asian NGOs Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) welcome the decision by the largest network of national human rights institutions (NHRIs), recommending the removal of the accreditation status of Myanmar military junta’s Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC). The groups call on the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions’ Sub-Committee on Accreditation (GANHRI-SCA) to maintain its recommendation despite the MNHRC’s attempts to challenge its decision.
The decision is unprecedented as the GANHRI amended its statute in March 2023 to enable ‘B’ status NHRIs to be subject to a Special Review if the circumstances of the accredited NHRI may have changed in a way that affects its compliance with the Paris Principles. Myanmar junta’s human rights commission – the MNHRC – is one of the first commissions to be recommended for removal since the amendments came into effect, alongside Russia’s NHRI.
In its decision, the SCA stated that it “considers that the MNHRC is operating in a manner that seriously compromises its independence and/or effectiveness as an accredited NHRI in partial compliance with the Paris Principles.”
In accordance with the GANHRI Statute, the military junta’s human rights commission has been given a year’s time “to provide the evidence necessary to establish its partial compliance with the Paris Principles.” Russia’s NHRI has also been given a year to respond. In the interim, the MNHRC has challenged the decision of the GANHRI-SCA.
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