The Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) is the coordinating body for regional support to NHRIs in Africa, and one of RWI’s closest and most longstanding partners on the continent. NANHRI serves as a regional platform that enhances collaboration, capacity building, and advocacy among its members, bringing together 47 NHRIs across Africa and working to support them in promoting and protecting human rights by facilitating knowledge exchange, providing technical assistance, and engaging with regional and international human rights mechanisms.
RWI has cooperated with NANHRI since its Secretariat was established in 2007, including under successive Regional Africa Programmes. A key feature of the early cooperation between RWI and NANHRI was the development and implementation of an Expert Accreditation Programme for African NHRI trainers, which aimed at enhancing the quality and the number of internal and external trainers in selected thematic areas. Targeting staff members of NHRIs with substantial knowledge in human rights theory and practice, graduates of the programme received given official recognition in the form of an accreditation certificate and formed a pool of experts to provide in-house training within their own institutions or for other NHRIs in the region.
Under our current Regional Africa Programme, NANHRI’s focus is on strengthening the capacity of NHRIs in monitoring and ensuring effective follow-up on the implementation of human rights decisions, with a particular focus on the rights of women, by regional bodies, duty-bearers, and relevant regional actors.
