Annual Report - National Human Rights Commission

State Human Rights Commissions
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“The National Human Rights Commission and the State Human Rights Commissions present
hereby unanimously resolve to urge the State Governments to:-
a) Setup, on priority, State Human Rights Commissions where the same do not exist.
b) Where, there are State Human Rights Commissions or, are in the process of being setup,
it be ensured that they are structurally and financially independent as envisaged in and,
fully confirming to, the principles relating to the status of national institutions (the “Paris
Principles’) which were endorsed by the UN General Assembly Resolution 48/134
of 20-12-1993.
The National and State Commissions also reiterate and remind the Governments, both,
at the Centre and in the States, that the primary obligation towards the protection of human rights
is that of the State and that the national human rights institutions are for ‘better protection
of human rights’.
16.4 The Commission places great importance to these interactions especially keeping in
view the social, cultural and linguistic diversity that comprises our society. Institutionalizing
the mechanism of these annual interactions is one way the Commission hopes to keep up
the process of dialogue. It is thus, all the more important that all the states expeditiously
set up human rights Commissions.
16.5 The Commission has always endeavoured to share information and expertise with SHRCs.
The Commission has developed an Internet based Complaint Management System (CMS), by
which it is possible for a complainant to track the progress of his complaint lodged with the
Commission through the internet. The Commission has been privileged to share its expertise,
during the year with the State Human Rights Commission of Maharashtra and Rajasthan.
16.6 It has been more than 12 years since the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, came into
force. The Commission has been deeply concerned towards the non-fulfillment of the promise
of Section 30 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which provides for speedy trial of
offences arising out of violation of human rights by designating, in each district, a Court of
Session to be a Human Rights Court to try the offences. It is a matter of great regret that even
after so many years, there has been lack of clarity as to what offences, precisely, can be classified
as human rights offences. For its part, the Commission has proposed a precise amendment to
Section 30 of the Act, which may be seen in Annexure-I of the annual report for 2001-02.
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