The Secretariat of the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions, (NHRIs) is an independent and permanent body that coordinates all activities of the Network in supporting and strengthening National Human Rights Institutions in Africa.  Hosted by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, (KNCHR), the Secretariat is currently based at the KNCHR’s offices in Nairobi, Kenya.  The Secretariat reports to a Steering Committee comprising of nine members from National Human Rights Institutions accredited by the International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions based at the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva.   The Steering Committee is charged with the general control and management of the Secretariat. The broad objective of the Network is to promote effective national, regional and international coordination and cooperation between National Human Rights Institutions in Africa.  The Secretariat, consisting of Executive Director and an Office Administrator became operational in 2007 and since then , most of its work has been to put in place effective institutional and programmatic infrastructure to implement the Network’s mandate.  To achieve its objectives, the Network endeavors to develop and nurture a good working relationship with the African National Human Rights Institutions and other national, regional and international partners that are relevant to its mission.

The Secretariat of the Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions was initially hosted by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) following a decision made during the 2nd Conference of African National Human Rights Institutions and reaffirmed at the 3rd Conference in African NIs.  In April 2005 during a meeting held in Geneva a decision was taken to establish an independent and permanent Secretariat of the then Coordinating Committee of African National Human Rights Institutions in Kenya. This decision was reaffirmed in the Abuja Declaration, which was an outcome of the 5th Conference of African NIs held in 2005 in Abuja, Nigeria.