Accreditation process for the Scottish Human Rights Commission

The Scottish Human Rights Commission has submitted its application for re-accreditation as a National Human Rights Institution.

The SHRC is currently accredited as an 'A Status' NHRI within the United Nations system.  This means the SHRC can report directly to the UN on human rights issues and is the only Scottish organisation that can make direct contributions to the UN Human Rights Council. 

The accreditation process happens every five years and assesses compliance with the Paris Principles, as well as progress on recommendations from the previous cycle. The SHRC is seeking accreditation for the fourth time.

The process is carried out by the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA), which is part of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).

Submissions from civil society organisations

As part of the accreditation process, civil society organisations in Scotland can make submissions about the functioning of the SHRC.

The SCA has developed guidelines for third party submissions to support organisations with contributing to the process.

All submissions should be under five pages and should be addressed to Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the SCA Secretariat and emailed to: ohchr-scasecretariat@un.org by 1 March 2026.

Responses will be shared with the SHRC.

ENDS

Notes:

(i) SHRC’s full duties and powers are set out in the Scottish Commission for Human Rights Act 2006.

(ii) More information on the accreditation process is available on GANHRI’s website: Accreditation - GANHRI

(iii) For more information on the accreditation process please contact: hello@scottishhumanrights.com