A/HRC/23/28 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 8 March 2013 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-third session Agenda items 2 and 8 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Follow-up to and implementation of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action Activities of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in accrediting national institutions in compliance with the Paris Principles Report of the Secretary-General Summary The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 20/14. It contains information on the activities carried out in 2012 by the Subcommittee on Accreditation of the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in considering and reviewing applications for accreditation and re-accreditation of national human rights institutions. The report highlights improvements in the accreditation process and contains detailed information on the development of general observations by the Subcommittee on Accreditation aimed at ensuring reviews that are more rigorous, fair and transparent. GE.13-11755