The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) is an independent, non-partisan, international NGO working for the practical realisation of human rights in the countries of the Commonwealth.

Access to Information

Right to Information

Freedom of Information lies at the root of the rights discourse. Failure of the State to provide access to information or State suppression of information can lead to the most egregious forms of human rights violations. The Right to Information (RTI) is fundamental to the realisation of rights as well as effective democracy, which requires informed participation by all. CHRI educates the public about the value of RTI and advocates at policy level for guaranteed access to information.

Access to Justice

 

Police Reforms Police reform is urgently needed in many Commonwealth countries. Governments are resistant to reform, although this is vital to ensure access to justice and an effective criminal justice system. The colonial legacy and slow reforms mean that police often act as oppressive instruments in the hands of the rulers, rather than as protectors committed to the rule of law. CHRI works in India and East Africa to catalyse reform and ensure accountability within a modernized police organisation.

Prison Reforms Being closed institutions, prisons are not open to public scrutiny and hence are largely unaccountable. CHRI is actively trying to reinvigorate a relatively independent system of prison visitors mandated to scrutinise prison conditions and protect prisoners from torture and ill treatment.

Commonwealth Human Rights Advocacy

Human Rights Advocacy

The Commonwealth is made up of official and unofficial components. The official component includes the official inter-governmental agencies as well as a series of inter-governmental meetings. The unofficial or people's Commonwealth is made up of civil society organisations. The Commonwealth Foundation, which is one of the official Commonwealth agencies, provides an important link between the official and unofficial parts of the Commonwealth by facilitating civil society participation in official Commonwealth affairs.