International and regional organisations
Global/Continental:
The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR): The ACHPR is the body established by the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights to promote and protect human rights. It has a state reporting process similar to the process at the various UN Treaty Bodies and hears complaints, carries out missions and visits, and makes resolutions, guidelines and similar. We have cooperated with ACHPR for more than 20 years, since 2012 with a focus on policing and human rights.
Asia Pacific Forum is a coalition of 22 NHRIs from all corners of the Asian region and is located in Sidney, Australia. It is the strongest secretariats among the regions, with many years of experience in building the capacity of its members and supporting the establishment of new NHRIs in Asia.
European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) comprises of 40 NHRIs fromacross wider Europe meaning both EU member states NHRIs and council of Europe member states NHRIs. ENNHRI recently established a permanent secretariat in Brussels, Belgium.
The international association of national human rights institutions (NHRIs) previously known as the ICC (International Coordinating Committee) officially adopted the new name Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) on 22 March 2016. The association was established in 1993 and promotes and strengthens NHRIs to be in accordance with the Paris Principles, and provides leadership in the promotion and protection of human rights. The GANHRI facilitates and supports NHRI engagement with the UN Human Rights Council and Treaty Bodies, encourages cooperation and information sharing among NHRIs, including through an annual meeting and biennial conference, undertakes accreditation of NHRIs in accordance with the Paris Principles, promotes the role of NHRIs within the United Nations and with States and other international agencies, offers capacity building in collaboration with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCR), assists NHRIs under threat and can also assist government to establish NHRIs.
The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions(NANHRI) is the African regional leg of ICC. It brings together 44 African National Human Rights Institutions. NANHRI and its Secretariat is based in Nairobi, Kenya, currently registered under Kenyan law as an independent legal entity and has been operational since 2007. The Network seeks to support and strengthen National Human Rights Institutions in Africa as well as to facilitate coordination and cooperation among themselves and between them and other key human rights actors at the regional and international level.
West Africa:
The Chaire Unesco for human rights and democracy at the Aboumey-Calavi University’s Faculty of Law, Cotonou, Benin has had a strong partnership with us for more than ten years promoting qualified human rights education and documentation in West Africa. The Chaire Unesco is one of very few university institutions with a regional mandate in francophone West Africa. It offers human rights masters programs as well as other professional human rights education.
The West African platform on human rights and policing (POLI.DH) was established in 2014 with our support, after representatives of the police services of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger recommended the establishment of a West African platform on human rights and policing. The platform, POLI.DH, is open to other West African police services. POLI.DH is represented at the sessions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights to influence policies regarding human rights and policing, such as the implementation of the Guidelines for Conditions of Arrest, Police Custody and Pre-trial Detention in Africa.
The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is the UN organ tasked with fighting crime and drugs. Since late 2014 we had had a strategic partnership with the Anti-Terror Branch, focusing on how to include human rights in anti-terror steps in Sub-Saharan Africa, thus addressing a key concern for international security. So far the focus has been on various trainings and workshop, including national police services. Human resources from among others the National Police in Niger are an element of this partnership.