Board of NHRIs network in French-speaking communities meets in Geneva to set priorities for its new Plan of Action

The Board of the Francophone Association of National Human Rights Commissions, known by its French acronym AFCNDH, met on Monday 21 March 2016 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva to set the priorities of the network’s plan of action for 2016.

 

Five priorities were approved by the Board of network:

• increasing capacity building opportunities for the members of the network to help them comply with the Paris Principles and to be accordingly eligible to receive A status accreditation from the International Coordinating Committee of National Human rights Institutions (ICC). The capacity building component of the 2016 Plan of Action has also prioritized training in the area of business and human rights;
• enhancing governance and management;
• developing and implementing an advanced institutional communication strategy;
• protecting members and staffers of the member commissions, especially in conflict zones, as human rights defenders;
• enhancing fund-raising techniques, methods and approaches.

 

CNDH President Driss El Yazami, who chaired the Board, stressed in a statement that NHRIs are required and encouraged to look for new and innovated funding opportunities, in addition to the national budgets allocated to them by their respective governments, as required under the Paris Principles.

The Board also exchanged views on the network’s website, expected to enhance communication and sharing among the members of the network. The website is an opportunity for us to connect and share publications and practices, Mr. El Yazami said. He suggested that each national human rights institution should appoint a focal point at the national level to work with the website editorial team to ensure efficiency and constant updating.

The AFCNDH is a network of national human rights institution from 36 French-speaking countries. It is currently chaired by the Moroccan National Human Rights Council. It promotes the work and the role of its member institutions in the area of human rights protection and promotion and encourages States in the Francophonie that don’t have a national human rights institution to establish one. The network also works with existing NHRIs to help them connect with each other and reinforce their compliance with the Paris Principles, especially institutions that don’t have the ICC’s A Status Accreditation.