SRINAGAR, 24 August 2005 — If the objective of constituting a human rights commission in Jammu and Kashmir had been to bridle the unruly among the police and Indian security forces so that rights violations were stopped in this strife-torn Himalayan state, that objective has obviously not been achieved.
Not only have the rights abuses been continuing here for the last 15 years, but ironically the local rights commission appears to have now thrown up its arms.
The State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) maintains that it has no constitutional powers to force the government in Jammu and Kashmir to implement its recommendations.
In a significant disclosure, Justice A.M. Mir, the chairman of the SHRC said, “What can we do when our recommendations are not being adhered to? Since 2003, when I took over the SHRC, not a single complainant recommended for relief and appointment has been given justice.”
Justice Mir also held that the government security agencies reinvestigated the human rights abuse cases recommended for compensation thus eroding the SHRC’s credibility and making the commission a defunct organization.
Giving figures in support of his contention, the SHRC chairman said during the last three years, a total of 3,127 cases of rights abuses had been received by the commission and after investigation, 1,191 cases were recommended to the government for relief, but there was no communication from the government as to the final disposal of these cases.
It must be recalled that the SHRC was constituted in 1998 to address the issue of growing human rights violation complaints in the Jammu and Kashmir state.
The objective of the commission had been to redress those complaints and recommend relief in respect of the affected persons/families.
It is also significant that many local rights groups have been highly critical of the SHRC right since it came into being with the harsher among the local rights groups even calling the commission a toothless tiger.
