Human Rughts Advocacy
Proposed national human rights commission
Khan Ferdousour Rahman
The Council of Advisers on March 19, 2007 has approved a foreign ministry proposal in principle to constitute a National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to check violation of human rights incidents in the country. A high profile committee has also been formed headed by the cabinet secretary that includes secretaries of law, home and foreign ministries as members to look into the details of the proposed NHRC. The committee will look at the human rights commissions in South Asia, i.e. India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal to sketch a possible structure and guidelines, and place detailed proposals for the proposed NHRC in consultation with concerned ministries and members of the civil society. Formation of such commission will enhance the image of the country abroad and help reduce violation of human rights incidents.
Human rights are few conditions without which people cannot live as human beings, i.e. right to live, freedom of expression, freedom of movement, freedom of religion etc. Those are not enforceable by law though those rights are universal and inalienable. So those rights warrant obligation of the state to promote and protect. Human rights are referred by International Bill of Rights that includes Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) 1948, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) 1966, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) 1966, and Optional Protocol to ICCPR 1966.
In 1992, the UN Commission on Human Rights endorsed a set of internationally recognised principles concerning the status, powers and functioning of national human rights institutions. The UN Principles relating to the Status of National Institutions, known as the Paris Principles, were subsequently endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1993, which set out the basic guidelines recommended by the UN in the establishment of a national human rights institution. The UN defines a national human rights institution as a government body established under the constitution or by law, whose functions are specifically designed to promote and protect human rights. The UN also broadly groups national human rights institutions into three categories, i.e. human rights commissions, ombudsmen, and specialized national institutions designed to protect the rights of a particular vulnerable group (such as ethnic minorities, indigenous populations, refugees, women or children).
India has constituted the NHRC by Human Right Act 1993, which was amended in 2006. Besides NHRC, 14 States have already set up State Human Rights Commission. The NHRC is headed by a chairperson, four members, and three ex-officio members, i.e. Chairperson of National Commission for Minorities, Chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Chairperson of National Commission for Women
In Nepal the NHRC is an independent and autonomous statutory body established in 2000 under the Human Rights Commission Act 1997 with a separate sphere of responsibilities in the constitutional legal system of the country, which is headed by a chairman and four other members. Maldives has constituted an NHRC, but it lacks institutional independence.
In Sri Lanka the NHRC was constituted in 1997 to independently investigate human rights abuses with wide powers. It has recently been involved in documenting allegations of torture and extra-judicial killings by the police, and has also taken a very strong stand against the LTTE's recruitment of child soldiers.
Bangladesh is an active member of the UN Human Rights Commission since 1983. Though it is late but a wise decision has been taken by the government to form such commission at the national level. The same proposal had been approved in principle by successive governments and setting up the NHRC was also an electoral pledge of the previous elected government, but none of them materialize their commitment to the nation.
The NHRC should be constituted on the basis of the Paris Principles and as a possible solution to the human rights problems existing in the country. It is expected to be watchdog, monitor, advocate and promoter of the rights. For achieving this objective, the proposed NHRC is expected to have powers and resources and the government should provide adequate support through necessary legal mandate and resources.
The writer is a freelancer.
