State human rights commissions asked to join common NHRC portal

NHRC Chairman HL Dattu asked all state human rights commissions (SHRCs) on Thursday to join its common portal to avoid duplication of complaint registration. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held a meeting with all the SHRCs. Some of the suggestions made at the meeting included setting up of human rights courts, along with a punishment procedure and other related issues.

"It was agreed that the participation of women in the workplace should be improved to ensure economic independence and living standards. Issues of rights of environmental migrants/internally displaced people were raised and it was stressed that they needed to be addressed," a statement issued by the NHRC said.

The meeting also stressed on the need to provide a healthy environment and unadulterated food, rather than spending on health schemes. An agreement on property rights for the LGBT community was arrived at and it was decided that the issue of protection and mainstreaming of the transgender community needed to be addressed. It was suggested that a possibility of a three-tier human rights body at the local level might be explored, the statement said.

Dattu said in order to expand its outreach, the NHRC had integrated its online complaint-filing system with the common service portal of the Centre and was also encouraging the SHRCs to join the hrcnet portal. He also requested the SHRCs to suggest contemporary issues for research to improve the living standards of the marginal people, who were facing various hardships due to the uneven economic prosperity amongst the citizens of the country.

"Most of the state commissions have joined this portal. I take this opportunity to urge the state commissions, which are yet to join the portal, to do the same at the earliest to avoid duplication of complaint registration on the same issue," Dattu said.

According to another NHRC official, 22 states have joined the portal so far.

"Through this meeting, we are talking about those left out. Some of them are facing technical issues, some have their own portals, while some have a defunct human rights commission.

"For instance, Madhya Pradesh is facing some viability issues but it is very keen to join the portal. A team from here will be visiting the state to resolve the issues," the official said.

NHRC Secretary General Jaideep Govind said the commission had taken several initiatives to collaborate with the SHRCs, including linking those with its hrcnet portal for complaint management and also with its library. He said the linking of the online complaint-filing system with over three lakh common service centres spread throughout the country as well as efforts to collaborate with the wide network of the NSS, NYKS, NCC, Red Cross, All India Radio and Doordarshan will go a long way in building awareness about the importance of promotion and protection of human rights.