Global rights body must hold NHRC accountable for its silence on key human rights issues in India
In recent years, the National Human Rights Commission of India has largely abdicated its role. As its review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions draws close, Arvind Narrain argues that only accountability will ensure performance improvement.
Prameela K
Published on: 19 March 2024, 12:49 pm
In recent years, the National Human Rights Commission of India has largely abdicated its role. As its review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions draws close, Arvind Narrain argues that only accountability will ensure performance improvement.
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INDIA, the world's largest democracy, has unfortunately been witnessing a backsliding on human rights. It is in this context that the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC) will be undergoing its review for accreditation by a jury of its peers which is the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) in March 2024.
Accreditation by GANHRI and the status of A or B, which is awarded, is based on the extent to which an NHRI complies with the Paris Principles— which are the agreed minimum standards that NHRIs must meet to be considered credible.
One of the standards that the NHRC will have to meet is to show that it is exercising its powers to "draw the attention of the government to situations in any part of the country where human rights are violated and making proposals to it for initiatives to put an end to such situations and, where necessary, expressing an opinion on the positions and reactions of the government".
In India, the constituency which has mounted the strongest defence of human rights is civil society. There have been strong protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA) as well as by farmers against the farm laws.
