The chair of the board of Rights & Democracy should be replaced and the rest of the board "reconstituted," a House of Commons committee has recommended following hearings into internal turmoil at the federal human rights agency.

Rights & Democracy is an arm's-length, taxpayer-funded organization set up to promote international human rights. It has been in turmoil for months, racked by internal conflict. Board members have resigned, senior managers have been suspended and staff members have released a public letter saying they've lost confidence in the chair and two other board members.

A report released Thursday by the foreign affairs committee, titled Rights & Democracy: Moving Towards a Stronger Future, makes 16 recommendations including overhauling the board of directors and replacing current chair Aurel Braun.

The report also recommends that the board remove its negative evaluation of former president, the late Rémy Beauregard, from all files and issue an apology to Beauregard's family for damaging his reputation. Beauregard died of a heart attack in January after a particularly contentious board meeting.

The report also addresses concerns raised at the hearings over untendered contracts and money spent by the new board, including thousands of dollars paid to law firms, a public relations company and a private investigation firm.

"The committee is troubled by the expenses incurred between Jan. 29, 2010, and April 5, 2010, in the management of the crisis. The committee has not yet received details on spending after that date," according to the report.

The government is not likely to deal with the report until the fall and even then, opposition members, which make up the majority of the committee, are not confident the recommendations will go anywhere.

"That's what makes it so hard," said Liberal MP Bob Rae. "It's the executive that decides on how the recommendations will be implemented. That's the frustrating reality of this Parliament."

Conservative members of the foreign affairs committee submitted a dissenting opinion at the end of the report, saying they have confidence in the board of directors.

"While we worked diligently with opposition members to agree on the body of this report, we cannot support all the recommendations pushed through by the opposition majority on the committee," Conservative members wrote.

They did not specify which recommendations they agree with and Conservative MPs on the committee did not return calls Thursday.

NDP MP Paul Dewar said he finds it "incredible" that Conservatives would continue to stand by the board members, who were appointed by the Conservative government.

"You see the degree to which these guys broke the rules and poisoned the well, ruining the agency's stellar reputation," Dewar said. "It's incomprehensible to leave it as the status quo. By supporting the board, the Conservatives are supporting their conduct.

"It flies in the face of accountability, responsible conduct and fair play," he said.

The foreign affairs committee is still waiting for the results of a forensic audit undertaken by Samson Belair/Deloitte & Touche, the firm hired by the new board. It is also expecting a report on the organization from the federal auditor general soon.

A five-year review and audit of the human rights agency released in the fall of 2009 was favourable to the organization, but that was before the agency's internal conflicts came to a head.