Justice Balakrishnan urges media to highlight rights violations

New Delhi, Apr 27 (ANI): National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairman Justice K.G. Balakrishnan on Friday urged media to highlight issues of human right violations in the country.

"NHRC wants the media to help it improve the situation of human rights in the country. The media should highlight the issue of human rights violations in the country," he said, while addressing a workshop on 'Human Rights and Functioning of NHRC' for media persons here.

Balakrishnan emphasized that the NHRC is taking important steps to tackle the problem of human rights violations in the country.

"We are trying to improve governance in a particular state so that the government takes interest in the matter and the situation is improved. We make suggestions to the government and the government is cooperating with us," he said.

Asserting that the media plays a vital role, Balakrishnan asked the journalists present at the workshop to bring the problems of the invincible person, marginalized sections of society to the fore.

He said the NHRC would also organize similar workshops in near future to highlight the human right issues.

Meanwhile, A.K. Garg, Registrar (Law), NHRC, addressing the journalists emphasized that the commission receives complaints of human rights violations and makes inquiry into those complaints.

He laid emphasis on Section 12 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, which deals with the complaint redressal function of the NHRC.

Highlighting some of the cases inquired into by the NHRC, Garg threw light on the problems that were faced by the landless labourers, downtrodden and marginalized sections of the society, and the active and prominent role played by the commission to rehabilitate them and provide them with proper compensation.

He gave the example of a practice named 'Bartan' in Orissa, where barbers and washer men were paid 20 kg of paddy and in return used to provide services for the whole family of an individual. Garg mentioned how the NHRC fought for the rights of barbers and washer men, who were even made to do some demeaning work including washing feet and serving food during marriage ceremonies, and even removing the leftovers.

He stated confidently the NHRC's role in helping the barbers and washer men get rid of this old practice, and said that they were provided with proper rehabilitation.

There was also a session on the significance and methods of investigation by the NHRC, and the significance of NHRC research and methods, during the daylong seminar aimed to highlight the role of media in disseminating information on human rights. (ANI)