T E N Y E A R S O F T H E C O M M I S S I O N I N R E T RO S P E C T their solemn responsibilities in this respect. The issue has therefore featured prominently in meetings that the Commission has called of Chief Secretaries and Director-Generals of Police and in visits undertaken by the Chairperson and others of the Commission to the States. On occasion, too, the Commission has added the weight of its own opinion to issues that have been taken up by the National Commission for Minorities and on which the latter has sought its support. ● Rights of Persons affected by Natural Disasters: There was a quantum leap in the Commission's construction of its responsibility to promote and protect economic and social rights when it chose to take suo motu cognisance of the situation arising from the devastating cyclone that struck Orissa in October 1999. The Commission considered it essential to intervene in order to ensure that the rights of the affected population particularly the most vulnerable - were properly protected and that the most disadvantaged did not become the least assisted in the wake of the catastrophe. The positive consequences of the Commission's intervention in Orissa, set the precedent for similar action by the Commission in the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake that devastated large areas of Gujarat in January 2001. Here again, the focus of the Commission on issues of good governance and on the needs of the most vulnerable sections of society helped ensure that an appropriate perspective - imbued with human rights values - was maintained in dispensing assistance to the affected population. 7) Review of Legislation and Treaties 2.32 In the course of the years, starting with its views on TADA, the Commission has commented on some twenty acts, bills or ordinances having human rights implications - related, inter alia, to anti-terrorism legislation, the special powers of the armed forces, certain provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, the Police and Prisons Acts, the rights of women and children, bonded labour, the rights of Dalits and Adivasis, issues relating to health and education, refugees, and the right to information. 2.33 In a number of instances, notably in respect of torture, the rights of women and children, and refugees, the Commission has taken the initiative to call for an examination of the existing position and the taking of specific steps that would ensure the better protection of human rights. ANNUAL REPORT 2002-2003 ... ... 25 ... ... ..