| Formation | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Type | INGO |
| Purpose | Promote & defend human rights in the Commonwealth |
| Headquarters | New Delhi, India London, United Kingdom (regional office) Accra, Ghana (regional office) |
Official language | English |
Director-in-Charge | Venkatesh Nayak[1] |
Staff | 50+ |
| Website | www |
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is an independent, non-partisan and nonprofit international non-governmental organisation which works towards the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth.[2]
CHRI's objectives are to promote awareness and adherence to the Commonwealth's Harare Declaration, to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to other internationally recognised human rights instruments, and to advocate for the domestic institutions supporting human rights in the Commonwealth member states.
The organisation specialises in transparency and accountability issues, with a focus on access to justice and access to information. The organisation mainly works in the South Asia, East Africa, and Ghana region. Across the 54 countries of the Commonwealth, it periodically monitors the progress and rollbacks of civil and political rights with the help of research, workshops, and cooperation with other civil society networks. In 2017, the NGO consists of over 50 employees and interns, working in New Delhi, London, and Accra.