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NHRC moots rights body for the North-East

The National Human Rights Commission has proposed a regional human rights commission for the North-East to protect human rights without an additional financial burden on the cash-strapped region.

According to NHRC sources, the commission is contemplating an amendment to its statute for creating a single human rights commission for 'the seven sisters' on the lines of the single judicial apparatus already existing in the region in the form of the Guwahati high court.

The need for a human rights commission for the North-East has been felt for quite some time, but setting up infrastructure for separate commissions for each state would put a heavy burden on the smaller states already facing a resource crunch, the sources said.

Since the human rights statute stipulates that each state should have a separate commission, setting up the regional commission requires amendment of the statute.

So far in the region, only Manipur has responded positively to the NHRC's request.

The NHRC has written to the governments of these states to decide on the formation of the human rights apparatus. Once the formalities are completed, the statute can be amended.

Only eight of the 25 states of the Union have human rights commissions. Uttar Pradesh, which recorded the maximum number of rights violations last year, has withdrawn its earlier order to constitute the state panel.

Meanwhile, the NHRC has decided to set up a regional office in Bihar, which together with Uttar Pradesh accounted for more than half the total number of cases of rights violation in 1996-97. The state government had refused to set up the commission, arguing that it would be redundant because the national commission already exists.

UNI

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