NHRC open to suggestions, says Dattu

Dattu, the former Chief Justice of India, was chairing a meeting of the Commission’s Core Group of NGOs and Human Rights Defenders (HRD) at Manav Adhikar Bhawan in the national capital. According to him, the rights body treated the human rights activists and the civil society as its eyes and ears, as its interest is to serve the cause of human rights.

In this context, the Commission is open to criticism for course correction, if any required, he added.

In the years since its inception in 1993, the NHRC has endeavoured to create an enabling environment for the realisation of civil and political rights, as well as social and economic justice. However, despite its efforts to safeguard human rights, newer challenges continue to emerge, making it imperative for the Commission and others in the civil society to act expeditiously to devise measures to address these new challenges.

The meeting held in Delhi on Thursday discussed various dimensions of the protection of HRDs and the ways in which challenges faced by them across India could be addressed.

Speaking earlier, Jaideep Govind, secretary general of the commission highlighted how the it expanded its outreach through HRCnet portal and Common Service Centres across the country.

He added that the Commission has also improved its complaint management system.

Those who participated in the meeting included NHRC members Justice PC Pant, Jyotika Kalra and DM Mulay, D.G. (I), Prabhat Kumar, Registrar (Law), Surajit Dey, JS (P&T), Ranjit Singh and other senior officials, NHRC Core Group Members, and human rights defenders and civil society representatives from leading NGOs from across the country.