The National Human Rights Commission today held a meeting of Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Police to review the action taken by the State Governments on issues relating to human rights on which the Commission has been working with the States.

Inaugurating the meting the NHRC Chairperson Justice J.S.Verma said that the main purpose of the meeting was to share the experiences and problems being faced by both the States and this Commission in performing their task; and to make collaborated efforts for greater effectiveness.

Elaborating on NHRC’s role as that of a facilitator the Chairperson called upon the State Governments for practicing good and humane governance. He said that an integrated approach was required to achieve this goal.

Justice Verma stated that the emerging principle of jurisprudence, universally accepted, is that the State is primarily responsible for all action and inaction on the part of not only the State actors and players but also the non state players in civil society resulting in the violation of human rights. Good governance, he said, is the only answer to violation or threat of violation to human rights.

The main issues discussed in course of the daylong meeting were, the functioning of Human Rights Cells set up in all States; Special Area Security Acts/Bills; Atrocities on Minorities and SCs/STs; compliance of directions for payment of compensation/disciplinary action issued by the Commission; human rights situation in Jails overcrowding in jails, regularly inspection of jails, mentally ill prisoners, custodial deaths and rape); Manual scavenging; Problems of Denitrified Tribes and Nomadic Tribes; State wise review of Child Labour/Bonded Labour situation by the NHRC Disability related human rights issues Action research on Child marriages/registration of marriages; sexual harassment of women in work place; rights of the mentally ill – conditions of mental hospitals; Training of officials – Police, Judicial/Prisons administrators – inclusion of subjects on Human Rights in the induction/in-service course of all training institutions under the State Governments.

Specific recommendations in each case have been made and the Chief Secretaries and Directors General of Polices were recommended to take immediate follow-up action.

The Chief Secretaries and DGPs responded to most of the issues. Frank discussion was held to which practical solutions emerged. All the Stats/UTs were represented at the meeting.