The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal is an independent and autonomous constitutional body. It was established in the year 2000 as a statutory body under the Human Rights Commission Act 1997 (2053 BS).  The Interim Constitution of Nepal 2007 (2063 BS) made the NHRC a constitutional body. It has a separate sphere of responsibilities in the constitutional legal system of the country. These responsibilities complement the responsibilities of the normal machinery of the administration of Justice, the Supreme Court, the Office of the Attorney General, the Commission for the Investigation of Abuse of Authority, and other existing executive, quasi-judicial or judicial bodies performing in the legal system of Nepal.

The Commission is created in response to 1991 UN-sponsored meeting of representatives of national institutions held in Paris, which laid down a detailed set of principles on the status of national institutions - commonly known as the Paris Principles. These principles, subsequently endorsed by the UN Commission on Human Rights (Resolution 1992/54 of 3 March 1992) and the UN General Assembly (Resolution 48/134 of 20 December 1993, annex) have become the foundation and reference point for the establishment and operation of the National Human rights Commission of Nepal as well.