By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The Central Executive Committee of the Meghalaya People’s Human Rights Council (MPHRC) on Wednesday strongly endorsed its support to the government’s decision to constitute a full-fledged State Human Rights Commission.
Stating that constitution of the State Human Rights Commission has been a long-pending demand of the MPHRC since its inception in 1996, its Chairperson Dino DG Dympep said, “The decision of the government is a welcome step and the creation of a State Human Rights Commission will give a new impetus to the struggle for effective recognition, promotion and protection of human rights in the state.”
Dympep also informed that it was former Chief Minister Salseng C Marak who offered his suggestion to all the Chief Ministers in the Northeast India on the need to have a common Human Rights Commission which was later abandoned after separate State Human Rights Commissions were set up in Assam and Manipur.
“The newly formed Commission is expected to conform to the Paris Principles, a set of International standards for framing up the work of the Human Rights Institution,” Dympep said adding that the establishment of the State Human Rights Commission will be a boon both in addressing and containing the ever rising gross human rights abuses across the State.
He also observed that the human rights redressal mechanism will especially help the general public at large, in their fight for justice and reparation in a much lesser time thus saving resources in filing cases to the NHRC and other statutory bodies.
While deciding to offer all its support, advice and other recommendations, MPHRC has impressed upon the need to ensure that the role played by such an important institution will not only help the societies in remedying human rights violations but most importantly it should act as ‘bridge’ between civil society and the Government.