Prez Kovind to be chief guest on Human Rights Day function of NHRC

New Delhi, Dec 7 (PTI) President Ram Nath Kovind will be the chief guest at an NHRC-hosted function on December 10 to mark the Human Rights Day, officials said on Tuesday.

In a statement, the rights panel also said that from December 1, 2020 to November 30 this year, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has “registered 1,02,441 cases, including 16 cases of suo motu cognisance, and disposed of 96,804 cases”.

An amount of over Rs 15 crore has been recommended as relief to the victims of human rights violations in 469 cases, it said.

The statement said the president will be the chief guest at a function slated to be held on December 10 at the Vigyan Bhawan to mark the Human Rights Day.

NHRC chairperson justice (retd) Arun Kumar Mishra and other dignitaries will be present on the occasion.

Human Rights Day is celebrated on the December 10 every year to commemorate the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). It was adopted and proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948.

It is a global standard yard stick to protect and promote human rights. The NHRC “sees in the celebration of Human Rights Day an opportunity for various stakeholders in the world to introspect and look forward to their actions and duties to ensure that they do not become reasons for violation of human rights”, the statement said.

In line with its endeavour to expand its outreach and expeditious disposal of cases has further expanded its HRCNet portal by taking on board various State Human Rights Commissions to help reduce duplication of complaints and also make tracking the status of complaints easy, it said.

This spirit of giving importance to the protection of human rights is also embedded in the Constitution of India from which the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993 also derives strength.

Meanwhile, Tinka Tinka Foundation in a statement on Tuesday announced the names of the winners of the Tinka Tinka Awards India 2021.

The awards are solely meant for inmates and jail staff. Started in 2015, this is the seventh year of celebrating creativity in jails, through these awards. Every year, a prison-related subject is chosen as the main theme.

There were three categories this year, namely, painting, special mention and prison administration, it said.

Seven inmates have been chosen for awards in the painting category, while two have been selected for their special contribution to prison life. And, two awards have been given to prison staff, the foundation said.