4.10. Strengths of NHRC

♤ The selection procedure of the members of NHRC is the main factor of its strength. The composition of the Selection Committee is such that it involves members of ruling as well as opposition party and both the Houses of Parliament. Also, the composition of NHRC is such that it involves Legislative, Executive, Judiciary, academicians and NGOs. This gives the Commission a broad vision to deal with the issues of Human Rights.

♤ Financial autonomy, though limited, has provided NHRC independence of Central Government. The Commission is free to make its own budget and spend it according to its own planning. The draft of the proposed budget is placed before both the Houses of Parliament and after the approval of the budget, the Government, without making any amendment, has to provide finances to the Commission.

♤ The Commission has the power to conduct suo-moto inquiry into the complaints of Human Rights violations.

♤ Easy accessibility to the Commission has made it one of the most popular organizations. Anyone can approach NHRC through telephone, letter, application, mobile phone and the Internet. All the documents, reports, newsletters, speeches, etc. of the Commission are also available on this website. The status of the complaint too can be known through its website. The popularity and trust on NHRC is quite evident from the fact that while it had registered only 496 complaints in 1993-94, in 2004-05 the total number of cases were 74,4019.

♤ NHRC has advised the government a number of times on the issues of Human Rights. Be it the cases of custodial deaths or suicide by the farmers or health issues or POTA, child marriage, trafficking of women and children etc., the government has been taking suggestions from NHRC.

♤ NHRC, in a true democratic fashion, has worked immensely to create awareness among public on Human Rights issues through seminars, workshops, lectures, literature, NGOs’ participation, universities’ collaborations, etc.

♤ The Commission has extended its sphere from time to time. Support for right to information, health care issues, disables’ rights, HIV/AIDS patients’ rights etc. are some of the issues where NHRC has worked successfully.