Amit Shah to be chief guest at NHRC's 26th foundation day function on Saturday

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is slated to be the chief guest at the 26th foundation day event of the National Human Rights Commission here on Saturday, officials said.

In a statement released on the eve of the occasion, the NHRC also said, the rights panel since its inception in 1993 has disposed of more than 18 lakh cases and ensured payment of over Rs 176 crore as relief to the victims of human rights violations by various state agencies on its recommendations.

"The National Human Rights Commission is celebrating its 26th Foundation Day on Saturday. To mark the occasion, a function is being organised at Dr D S Kothari Auditorium, DRDO Bhawan. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will address the gathering as the chief guest on the occasion," the statement said.

Justice H L Dattu, Chairperson of the NHRC will preside over the function, a senior official said.

The Commission was set up on the October 12, 1993, under the Protection of Human Rights Act, passed by Parliament. The mandate of the NHRC is to work for the promotion and protection of human rights and take cognisance of such complaints wherein the actions, inactions and omissions of government functionaries, prima facie or allegedly, cause human rights violation.

It is a recommendatory quasi-judicial body, having powers of a civil court to call for any documents and summon any public authority in a case of human rights violation. In a case of human rights violation, its recommendations are two-fold: relief to the victim and punishment to the guilty.

"Beside taking cognisance of human rights violations and conducting inquiry into them, the NHRC is also mandated for creating an enabling atmosphere as a preventive mechanism to check incidents of human rights violations," the rights panel said.

"This year, the Commission has taken several new initiatives to expand its outreach. It has linked its online complaint filing system with over three lakh Common Service Centres spread in various parts of the country," the NHRC said.

Beside upgrading and updating its website, it has also opened a new portal, thereby providing a common platform to NHRC and all the state human rights commissions. This will help reduce the duplication of complaints and also easy tracking of the status of the complaints, the official said.

"Another important initiative of the Commission this year has been that it is proposing to set up a task force to prepare a National Action Plan on Human Rights (NAPHR) comprising the representatives of various ministries, NGOs, civil society and the NHRC, among other stakeholders.

"This will help flag the key issues of human rights for the government authorities, which would require to be addressed with a targeted approach to improve the human rights situation in the country through a sustained mechanism," the statement said.