CURTAIN RAISER: The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar to be the Chief Guest on the 31st Foundation Day of the National Human Rights Commission, India

National Human Rights Commission

New Delhi: 16th October, 2024

CURTAIN RAISER

The Vice-President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar to be the Chief Guest on the 31st Foundation Day of the National Human Rights Commission, India

More than 23 lakh cases resolved and Rs. 254 crore recommended as relief to the victims of human rights violations during its 31 years journey

The Foundation Day celebrations will be followed by a day-long national conference on the "Rights of Older Persons"

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India is organizing a function to celebrate its 31st Foundation Day at Vigyan Bhawan on the 18th of October 2024. On the occasion, the Chief Guest, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Vice-President of India will address several national and international dignitaries in the presence of NHRC, India Acting Chairperson, Smt Vijaya Bharathi Sayani and Secretary General, Shri Bharat Lal and other senior officers of the Commission. The Foundation Day celebrations are a reminder of the Commission’s commitment to protecting and promoting human rights.

Following this, the Commission will also be organizing a day-long national conference on the 'Rights of Older Persons' under the theme- ‘Assessing the Structural Framework, Legal Safeguards, Security Rights, and Institutional Protection for India’s Elderly.’ The conference will address various concerns of older persons under three key technical sessions including ‘Addressing the Aging Population,’ ‘The Gendered Perspective of Aging,’ and ‘Evaluating the Healthcare Landscape-Impact on Healthy Living, Productivity, and Social Security.’ These sessions will be attended and addressed by various stakeholders including eminent experts and civil society representatives.

The live YouTube and Webcast link of the Foundation Day and the National Conference may be accessed at: YouTube and Webcast

The NHRC, India, recognizes senior citizens as valuable assets to society. It is essential to honour their contributions to nation-building by promoting their overall welfare, respecting their rights, and encouraging meaningful engagement. The Commission has a core group on the Rights of older persons to discuss and suggest measures for their welfare. Recently, the Commission assessed the institutional responses and support available to them. It also issued an advisory to ensure the rights of elderly persons during Covid-19. Besides promoting awareness about the need to protect the rights of the elderly in the country, the NHRC has been emphasizing the proper implementation of policies and laws including the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 (MWPSC Act, 2007).

In addition to the rights of older persons, the Commission has been working to promote and protect the rights of all segments of society, particularly those who belong to the vulnerable sections. During the 31 years of its journey since inception on 12th October, 1993 to 30th September, 2024, the Commission has handled 2305194 (23 lakh 5 thousand and 194) cases including 2,873 cases of suo motu cognizance and recommended the payment of monetary relief of more than Rs. 254 crore in 8,731 cases to the victims of human rights violations.

During the last one year w.e.f. 1st October, 2023 to 30th September, 2024, the Commission disposed of 68,867 cases and recommended more than Rs. 17.88 crore as monetary relief in 404 cases to the victims of human rights violations. It also registered 112 cases taking suo motu cognizance during this period. Besides, 19 spot inquiries were conducted into the allegations of human rights violations.

The NHRC, India has conducted numerous spot investigations, open hearings, and camp sittings since its inception. Reviews of innumerable bills and laws, conferences and research projects, 31 Advisories, as well as more than 100 publications, including monthly newsletters, thousands of media reports, and engagements in international forums bear testimony to the work of the Commission towards the promotion and protection of human rights.

The 31 advisories issued by the Commission including the recent, among others are Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), Rights of the Widows, people involved in begging, the Right to Food, Right to Health and mental Health, Rights of the Informal Workers, Upholding the Dignity of the Dead, Rights of Truck Drivers, Environmental Pollution and Degradation, Advisory for ensuring the welfare of Transgender Persons, Advisory to mitigate Deliberate Self Harm and suicide attempts by prisoners and Advisory to Prevent, Minimize and Mitigate Ocular Trauma.

The NHRC, India has designated 14 Special Rapporteurs to assess human rights conditions across various regions of the country. They conduct visits to shelter homes, prisons, observation homes, and similar institutions, compiling reports for the Commission that detail their observations and suggestions for future action. Additionally, the Commission has also appointed 21 Special Monitors tasked with overseeing specific thematic human rights issues and reporting their findings to the Commission. Throughout the year, they have visited several places to suggest improvements in human rights situations.

The Commission has also proactively engaged with the NGOs and Human Rights Defenders. It has constituted 12 core groups on various thematic issues related to human rights to hold discussions with the domain experts and the concerned senior government functionaries representing different ministries from time to time to finalize its recommendations for the government. Besides these core group meetings, the Commission also organizes open house discussions with different stakeholders on various issues of human rights. The Commission during the last one year, w.e.f. 1st October, 2024 to 30th September, 2024 has organized 13 core group meetings and 06 open house discussions on varied themes of human rights and two national consultations.

The NHRC, India is actively caring for all 47 Government mental health hospitals across the country. It continues to collaborate with central and state governments, parastatal organizations, academic institutions, NGOs, and human rights defenders to protect and promote human rights for all. Since last year, the Commission started a new program of sensitizing All India Services officers, including IAS, IPS, and IFS officers. The goal is to equip officers with a deeper understanding of human rights, enabling them to share this knowledge within their respective organizations for imparting human rights training to the other personnel.

The Commission has also collaborated with various institutions to conduct human rights awareness programmes. During the last one year w.e.f. 1st October, 2023 to 30th September, 2024, it organized 69 collaborative workshops and 08 moot court competitions with financial support of over Rs. 130 lakh to various institutions. Additionally, the Commission also organized on-site winter and summer internships and 06 online short-term internships which have benefitted hundreds of students from far-flung areas at zero costs on their travel expenses to help them evolve as human rights ambassadors. During this period, students and faculty from 45 institutions visited the Commission to learn about various aspects of human rights and the functioning of the NHRC. Besides, annual debate competitions for Central Para-military forces and State Police organizations on various aspects of human rights for sensitization of security personnel.

The Commission has issued notices to various sports bodies to establish Cells to deal with cases of harassment of women in the workplace. It has been issuing regular directions to provide free housing to thousands of homeless persons as per the government scheme. Victims of communal riots and internal conflicts are compensated. The Commission constantly endeavours to rehabilitate persons displaced due to natural disasters, land acquisition, and other causes. In the cases of suicide by debt-ridden farmers, the Commission successfully intervened.

Some of the other important interventions of the Commission include recommending amendments to 97 laws that discriminate against persons with Hansen's disease. The Government has enhanced compensation for bonded labour based on NHRC advisory at the pre-trial stage.

The Commission has also been playing an active role at international human rights forums including the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI), and UN Human Rights Council, among others with the participation of the Chairperson, Members, and senior officers. Last month, it successfully hosted a two-day conference of the NHRIs of Asia Pacific.

Twelve Thematic Core Groups involving various experts have helped the Commission to formulate mechanisms to evaluate the schemes initiated by the Govt. and make recommendations thereof. The Special Monitors and Special Rapporteurs who are the eyes and ears of the Commission are adding value to the mandate of the Commission.

The Commission has taken several new initiatives to expand its outreach including linking its HRCNet Portal with all the State authorities and the majority of State Human Rights Commissions. Any person can file complaints directly through online mode in a fast and efficient manner and can track the real-time status of their complaint on the Commission’s portal. The online complaint filing system is also linked with over five lakh Common Service Centers and the National Government Services Portal.

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