The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : KSHRC lacks power to provide concrete solutions, says study

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KSHRC lacks power to provide concrete solutions, says study

Special Correspondent

Study reviews functioning of KSHRC, Women's Commission

Bangalore: Non-compliance of recommendations made by the Karnataka State Human Rights Commission being a major area of concern, the panel has sought amendment to the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, by which any recommendation made would be “deemed accepted” by the Government if there is no comment within a month.

However, considering that legal reform is a long-drawn out process, the commission should exercise the available option under the existing Act of approaching the court for directions, recommends a report by the voluntary research group, Daksh, released here on Saturday. The report reviewed the functioning of the KSHRC and the Women's Commission in Karnataka.

Despite its pro-active initiative on many issues, the KSHRC “lacks the power to provide a concrete solution and has inadequate powers to ensure compliance with its recommendations,” says the report.

No autonomy

It says that the lack of functional and financial autonomy to discharge their duties as independent bodies is a big deterrent, though the KSHRC has worked relatively well within its limitations unlike the Women's Commission, which has gone without a head for long stretches of time. “The chairperson and members of the KSHRC have not shied away from confronting the Government, and their conduct has inspired reasonable confidence in the efficacy and independence of the commission,” says the report.

Appointments to the Women's Commission has constantly been guided by political considerations, unlike the KSHRC, which has a secretary drawn from judicial service and a retired justice as head. The report says the Government needs to set up a selection committee for appointment of chairperson and members to the Women's Commission

Mathews Philip, executive director of the South India Cell for Human Rights Education and Monitoring, observed that the inability of the commission to take up legal procedures is also linked to the absence of staff, such as a panel of lawyers to take up advocacy and research.

Policy issue

Ashwin Mahesh, professor at the Indian Institute of Management, said what one needs to look at is the larger context of “systematic policy of disenfranchising people”, which fundamentally runs contrary to the rights of people. Citing an example, he said the Government has a lopsided approach towards cracking down on people who are seen as “encroaching” on lake beds and private spaces, while failing to have a policy to provide affordable housing.

He stressed the need to “politicise the objective” of commissions and strengthen human rights of women's movements rather than expect these bodies to operate in a space where these issues are “not real”.

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