The Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) was established in January 2009 by a group of civil society organizations and independent experts working in the field of human rights in India.

The basis of WGHR's work is national and international human rights law. WGHR works towards the realisation of all civil, cultural, economic, political and social human rights in the country and towards holding the Indian government accountable to its national and international human rights obligations. At the national level, WGHR seeks to engage with relevant human rights, government, parliamentary, judicial and academic institutions. At the international level, WGHR seeks to effectively work with United Nations (UN) human rights instruments and mechanisms.

WGHR aims at ensuring better coordination and collective work amongst civil society organizations and other actors seeking to engage with the human rights framework, including the UN system for the promotion and protection of human rights.

The strategies developed by WGHR aim at achieving the following:

1. Better monitoring of India’s human rights obligations;
2. Better engagement of civil society groups with UN mechanisms;
3. Better engagement of civil society groups with the government; and
4. Greater coordination and collaboration amongst civil society groups and other relevant actors.

Members of WGHR:

• Subscribe to all international human rights instruments, including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international covenants and conventions, declarations, guidelines and general comments by treaty bodies; and
• Uphold international human rights principles, including, indivisibility of human rights, non-discrimination, gender equality, participation, progressive realization and non-retrogression.