NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION, INDIA CHAPTER 5 REACHING OUT 5.1 The NHRC, India, overtime, has developed a robust set of monitoring mechanisms to oversee civil and political rights as well as matters concerning social and economic justice. While some of these mechanisms have been developed based on the mandate accorded to the Commission by the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, others have been developed along the lines of the instruments and special procedures adopted by the United Nations for human rights protection, monitoring and promotion. Some of the key mechanisms devised by the Commission include the Full Commission and Statutory Full Commission Meetings, Camp Sittings and Open Hearings, engagement of Special Rapporteurs, and the establishment of Core and Expert Groups on a range of human rights issues. A. Commission Meetings 5.2 During the year under review, the Full Commission took up 198 cases of human rights violations in its 13 sittings. In addition, the two Division Benches considered 595 cases in 33 sittings. B. NHRC Open Hearings on Atrocities against Scheduled Castes 5.3 During the period under review, the Commission took up 517 cases in its 4 Open Hearings held at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat - 136 cases (26 -27 April, 2018), Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh - 57 cases (25 May, 2018), Bengaluru, Karnataka-184 cases (2 August, 2018), Kolkata, West Bengal- 140 cases (13 -14 July, 2018) . C. NHRC Camp Sittings 5.4 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been organising camp sittings in different States in order to expedite disposal of pending complaints and sensitize the State functionaries on human rights. During the period under review, the Commission held Camp Sittings in Gujarat, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and West Bengal. The Commission considered 40 cases in its sittings of Full Commission. D. Statutory Full Commission Meeting 5.5 To ensure that NHRC, India represents the views of the most vulnerable sections of society, Section 3(3) of the PHRA, 1993 stipulates that the following shall be deemed to be members of the NHRC for the discharge of functions specified in clauses (b) to (j) of Section 12 of the PHR Act, 1993: a) Chairperson of the National Commission for Minorities b) Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes 82 ANNUAL REPORT 2018-19