? 52 i REVIEW OF LAWS. IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS OF HUMAN RIGHTS I D] Implementation of Treaties and Other International Instruments 5.14 Under Section 12(f) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, the Commission has a statutory responsibility to study treaties and other international instruments on human rights and make recommendations for their effective implementation. 5.15 During the period under review, the Commission regrets to note that little substantial progress has been made in respect of the treaties/instruments to which it had drawn attention in its annual report for the year 2000-2001. These included the following: 1) Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 5.16 The Commission had recommended that Optional Protocols 1 and 2 to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, dealing respectively with the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the involvement of children in armed conflicts, be examined by the Government of India. Specifically the Department of Women and Child Development and the Ministry of External Affairs were requested to take the appropriate action. The Memorandum on Action Taken, however, indicates no further developments in regard to this matter, though the Optional Protocol 2, concerning children in armed conflict, came into force on 12 February 2002. The Commission therefore considers it necessary to reiterate its recommendation that both the Optional Protocols be adopted by the Government of India and appropriate action taken to this end. 2) Protocols to the Geneva Convention 5.17 There has been no substantive response from the Government of India in respect of the 1977 Protocols to the Geneva Convention of 1949 despite reminders. The Commission therefore once again urges the Government to examine these Protocols expeditiously and to offer its comments to the Commission at the earliest. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION