Human rights means rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the individual guaranteed by the Constitution, or embodied in international covenants and enforceable by Indian courts. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was established after a thorough assessment of the need for such bodies to address human rights issues, and by keeping in consideration the ways and measures to apply for their protection. The Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 gave this commission a complete statutory status.
Soon after it came into being, the commission emerged as an outstanding institution by performing its role of guarding human rights and creating awareness about them. Yet, there continue to exist many challenges—poverty, food security, terrorism, discrimination based on caste or religion, iniquities in global economic order, to mention but a few—some more pronounced than others. To confront these effectively, free and frank exchange of views, coordination at regional and international levels, convergence in...
