GUWAHATI, May 29 � The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairperson, Justice KG Balakrishnan, today said that the State Government �promised action� on several key areas of human rights violation such as bonded labour, prison reform, and crime against women.
�During the two-day sitting of the Commission here, discussions were held with the Government on several key areas having a high incidence of human rights violation. The Government has assured us of taking action as per our recommendations,� Justice Balakrishnan told the media.
Replying a question from this correspondent whether he felt the NHRC needed more power to have all its recommendations implemented, Justice Balakrishnan said that till date the rate of compliance on the part of various State governments had been satisfactory.
�We are functioning acceptably within the existing mechanism�almost all our recommendations have been complied with by the State governments over the years,� he said.
Justice Balakrishnan, however, admitted that sometimes the State governments did take a while to implement its recommendations. Justice Balakrishnan replied in the negative when asked if he felt there was a need to bring the Army under the ambit of the Commission.
�Under the existing arrangements, we cannot directly take up cases of human rights violation by the Army but can forward such cases to the Union Home and Defence Ministries for inquiry,� he said.
Terming the rising crime graph against women in the State as a disturbing trend, Justice Balakrishnan said that the matter was taken up with the police as well.
�We had a discussion with the DGP, and impressed upon the government authorities the need to sensitize the government functionaries,� he added.
