New Delhi: In a significant stride towards strengthening human rights safeguards across the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) convened a statutory full commission meeting on Tuesday.

Chaired by NHRC Chairperson Justice (retd) V Ramasubramanian, the assembly brought together all seven deemed member commissions and the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, with the overarching goal of enhancing synergy and fostering robust cooperation. The core agenda revolved around promoting and protecting human rights, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised sections of society.

The rights panel chief emphasised the importance of collaborative functioning among the commissions.
“The National Human Rights Commission organised a statutory full commission meeting of all seven deemed member commissions and chief commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in New Delhi today. The meeting aimed to enhance synergy and cooperation among the commissions to promote and protect human rights,” the rights panel said in a statement.

During the extensive deliberations, key issues such as sharing best practices and minimising the duplication of cases were thoroughly discussed. Justice Ramasubramanian underscored the vital importance of collaborative functioning among these crucial commissions. Participants unanimously emphasized the necessity for joint fact-finding missions, coordinated awareness campaigns, and extensive outreach programmes to broaden the impact of their work. To streamline operations and avoid redundant efforts, the NHRC chief also proposed holding regular joint meetings of statutory full commission members and creating a hyperlinked system between all commission websites.

Representatives from various commissions shared their specific insights and ongoing initiatives. Kishor Makwana, Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, detailed proactive measures for the rights and welfare of SC communities. Vijaya Rahatkar, Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, highlighted the NCW’s focus on complaints, research, awareness, and outreach training for women’s welfare.

Tripti Gurha, Chairperson of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, stressed the urgency of awareness campaigns against child trafficking and the need for faster legal remedies in POSCO Act cases. Perspectives were also shared by Nirupam Chakma (National Commission for Scheduled Tribes), Rajesh Aggarwal (Commission for Persons with Disabilities), and Daniel E Richards (National Commission for Minorities), all advocating for a joint mechanism to address human rights issues concerning vulnerable communities.

NHRC member Vijaya Bharathi Sayani aptly described these commissions not as isolated entities but as “co-travellers working towards promoting and protecting human rights.”

Setting the meeting’s tone, NHRC Secretary General Bharat Lal provided an overview of India’s unique institutional human rights protection framework, emphasising that such interactions are crucial for forming a common platform on key human rights issues and collectively ensuring swift relief for victims. The meeting concluded with a renewed and collective commitment to fostering collaborative efforts to uphold human rights across India.