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    National Human Rights Commission Upsc Notes 17

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    National Human Rights Commission Upsc Notes 17

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    National Human Rights Commission Upsc Notes 17

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    of 5

    National Human Rights

    Commission (NHRC)
    [UPSC Notes]

    What is NHRC?
    NHRC stands for the National Human Rights Commission. It 'is a non-constitutional
    body that acts as a watchdog for preserving and protecting human rights in the country.
    According to the United Nations, every individual is guaranteed a certain set of rights,
    like the right to life, liberty, equality, freedom of opinion, freedom from slavery, etc. The
    National Human Rights Commission works in the same domain to protect these rights of
    human life. The NHRC is headquartered in New Delhi and celebrated its 25th
    anniversary on October 12th, 2018.

    • NHRC means the National Human Rights Commission. This Commission was
    established by the government of India under the protection of the Human Rights
    Act 1993 to protect several rights essential for a quality human life, which
    included the right to liberty, equality, freedom from slavery, freedom to speech,
    etc.
    • Every individual present on this planet has a certain dignity and is allowed to live
    with it. Hence, to maintain the dignity of human life, the NHRC was established to
    safeguard their rights and provide a quality life for them.
    • These rights are guaranteed by the Indian constitution and are enforced by
    higher courts in India as well.
    • Similar to the NHRC, the Paris Principle of Human Rights was also established in
    1991. The NHRC is in compliance with it. This subject was adopted by the United
    Nations General Assembly in 1993.

    History of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)


    Let us see how and when the concept of NHRC was launched.

    • The United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of


    Human Rights (UDHR) in Paris on December 10, 1948.
    • This action proved to be a landmark in the history of humankind where a step
    was taken to protect human rights.
    • Soon after that, in 1991, the Paris Principles were introduced by National Human
    Rights Institutions, popularly known as NHRIs.
    • In 1993, the United Nations general assembly adopted these principles, and in
    the same year, India also enacted the Human Rights Protection Act.
    • This was the first time the foundation for the National Human Rights Commission
    was laid.
    • Big institutions started to realize the importance of preserving human rights,
    resulting in the Paris Principles being accepted by the UN, and in accordance
    with these principles, India also took a step ahead and welcomed the production
    of the Human Rights Act in 1993.
    • Even the state governments in India were authorized and asked by the higher
    court and the constitution to establish the Human Rights Commission.

    Members of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC)


    Although the NHRC is a non-constitutional body, it is composed of dignified members.
    This composition of members includes a chairperson along with eight other working
    members. Also, these eight members are divided into two sections, where four
    members are full-time members and the other four are deemed, members. Take a look
    at the chart given below to understand the composition of the members of the NHRC in
    detail.

    The Chairman The retired CJI (Chief Justice of India)

    First Member Former/ Present Judge of Supreme Court

    Second Former/ Present Judge of a High Court


    Member

    Two Member Candidates holding experience and deep knowledge about the
    matters of Human Rights.

    1. National Commission for Minorities


    Deemed 2. National Commission for Women
    Members 3. National Commission for SCs
    4. National Commission for STs

    NHRC members is represented by a selection committee that recommends candidates


    to the president of India. This selection committee includes

    • Prime Minister
    • Lok Sabha Speaker.
    • Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha
    • Home Minister
    • The opposition leader in both houses

    Removal of the NHRC Members


    The chairperson of NHRC and other members of NHRC are appointed for 5 years
    or the age of 70 years. However, these members or the chairperson can be removed
    from the power immediately if found with the charges of misbehavior or incapable if
    proved guilty by the inquiry set by the supreme court of India.
    The removal of NHRC members is done by the President of India if the concerned person is
    found suspected on the grounds of bankruptcy and sound mind infirmary of body or mind. They
    can be sentenced to imprisonment or monetary punishments.

    Limitation of NHRC
    • NHRC is not authorized to take any action against the violation of human rights
    done by any private party.
    • Recommendations of NHRC are not Binding in nature.
    • NHRC has no authority to penalize the authority that denied the implementation
    of its orders.
    • NHRC has got nearly zero jurisdictions within the reach of armed forces.
    • NHRC is limited to holding cases that are older than a year, anonymous in
    nature, frivolous, and pertaining to services.

    The Protection of Human Rights (Amendment) Bill, 2019


    The Protection of Human Rights Amendment Bill 2019 was passed by the Lok Sabha to
    make the NHRC more inclusive. Following are some major Amendment that was
    proposed in the Protection of Human Rights Amendment Bill-
    • The person who has been formerly judge of the Supreme Court of India is eligible
    for the position of chairperson of the commission.
    • The judge of the High Court is also eligible to be the chairperson of the
    commission along with the Chief Justice of the High Court
    • The number of members in the commission shall be increased from 2 to 3 where
    at least one should be a woman.
    • The commission should also include chairpersons of different important fields like
    the National Commission for Backward Classes, the National Commission for
    Protection of Child Rights, and the Chief Commissioner of Persons with
    disabilities as the deemed members.
    • Assign the Human Rights functions being discharged by the union territories to
    the state commissions except for The Human Rights responsible for the UT of
    Delhi.

    The Human Rights Council


    The Human Rights Council better called the United Nation human rights council was
    established in March 2006. The headquarters of the human rights council is situated in
    Geneva, Switzerland. The human rights council is a body that works in the field to
    strengthen Human Rights around the world and protect them. The human rights council
    is composed of 49 members of the state who are chosen by UNGA.
    The United Nation human rights Council works on the following objectives-
    • To provide the freedom of assembly
    • To provide the freedom of free speech and expression
    • To provide freedom to follow any religion
    • To protect the women and LGBTQ community's rights

    Difference between Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 and


    Protection of Human Rights Amendment Bill, 2019
    Protection of Human Rights Act 1993

    According to the National Human Rights Commission-


    • The protection of human rights act 1993 was an act to provide for the
    constitution of NHRC, SHRC in states and Human Rights quotes to protect the
    Human Rights in a better position and for matters related therewith or thereto.
    • This act extended to the whole of the country.
    • It needs to be understood that it shall not only be applied to Jammu and Kashmir
    and any respect to any matter related to any of the entries listed in the first and
    third list of the 7th schedule in the constitution of India as it is for the state.

    Protection of Human Rights Bill, 2019


    • The Protection of Human Rights bill 2019 was introduced by Amit Shah who was
    formerly the Minister of Home Affairs in Lok Sabha.
    • This Amendment Act calls for the two commissions called the National Human
    Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commission along with human
    rights courts.
    • Under the protection of the Human Rights bill 2019 the chairperson of the NHRC
    should be the chief justice of the Supreme Court of India which after the
    amendment was provided with the changes that tell that the judge of the
    Supreme Court of India can also be the chairperson of NHRC.

    Functions of the National Human Rights Committee


    Broadly, the functions of the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) are to file and
    enquire about complaints of violations of human rights and to take action against such
    problems.

    • The NHRC has the authority to intervene in any case where there has been a
    complaint of a violation of human rights.
    • The NHRC is authorized to investigate cases related to violations of human
    rights.
    • As a result, the NHRC is authorized to inspect the living conditions of prisoners in
    any of a state's jails or prisons.
    • The NHRC also oversees awareness campaigns and promotes the value of
    literacy through advertisements in various media outlets.
    • The NHRC can also recommend suggestions or steps to the government of India
    to protect the living standards of human beings and prevent the violation of
    human rights. This can be applied to both central and state governments.
    • The NHRC is also required to submit an annual report to the President of India,
    which is then presented to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.

    Issues on National Human Rights Committee


    By now we have discussed that the function of the NHRC is to protect human rights, but
    what are those specific rights for which the NHRC is constituted? Let's have a look at
    some major issues related to the NHRC.

    • Manual scavenging
    • Sexual Assault
    • Illegal encounters and extrajudicial killings
    • Child labour
    • Child marriage
    • LGBTQ issues
    • Labour rights
    • Custodial torture of the prisoners
    • Arbitrary arrest and mental harassment

    • Discrimination against women and children

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