Paris Principles
Topic: Statutory, Regulatory and Quasi-judicial Bodies · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Paris Principles are UN standards for national human rights bodies. The UN General Assembly adopted them in 1993 through resolution 48/134. They say such a body should be independent of the government, plural (with members from many backgrounds), have a broad mandate (a wide area of work) and have enough resources. They are the yardstick used to judge whether a national rights body is genuine.
Example
India set up its NHRC in 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act. The Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) uses the Paris Principles to grade it. India's re-accreditation was deferred in 2023 and 2024, and a downgrade from "A" to "B" was then recommended (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- GANHRI accreditation: this is the grading process. The Paris Principles are the standards that the grading uses.
Related concepts
- National Human Rights Commission
- State Human Rights Commission
- Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Act 2019
- GANHRI accreditation
- Human rights courts