Annual Report 1999-2000 recounted in its earlier reports. It's opinion of the Commission that the drafting and adoption ofsuch a law is essendal. During the period under review, the Commission continued to take suo motu cognizance ofnews items highlighting the plight ofSri Lankan refugees in Tamil Nadu, Kamataka and elsewhere. In one such case, based on a report of an NGO, the Peoples Union for Civil Liberties, the Commission examined allegations ofhumanrights violations of 56 refugees held in a Special Camp in Vellore. While concluding its proceedings in this case, the Commission resolved to pursue the general issue reladng to the enactment of a nadonal legisladon relating to the status of refugees. In response to questions by the Commission, the Government of India indicated that the possibility of enacting relevant legislation was being examined, as also the possibility of signing the 1951 Convendon on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol on this subject. The Commission would like to recommend and reiterate its view that a small expert group, including experts from outside the strucmre of the Government, should be constituted by the Ministry of External Affairs to go into the matter at an early date. The Commission would invite this expert group, as and when it is constituted, to discuss all aspects relating to a national law needed to protect the rights ofrefugees. The Commission intends to monitor the treatment ofrefugees in the country and to pursue its recommendation in regard to this matter. • 4.10 During the period under review, India presented its initial report to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) on 24 January 2000. Earlier, on 19 March 1997, India had submitted its first country report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child; the report being taken up for consideration by the Committee on 11-12 January 2000. The discussion of these reports assumed particular significance in the context of the Tenth Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Beijing plus five Review. The Commission has carefully considered the country reports submitted by India as well as the comments of the concerned treaty bodies. Its own comments in regard to the fulfilment of our country's obligations^ in respect of these two treaties are covered elsewhere in this report. 4.11 The Commission has established a Chair on Human Rights at the National Institute of Human Rights (NIHR) in the premises of the National L^w School of India University, Bangalore. In the course of the year, the Commission sought the views of the Institute on the pros and cons of ratification by India of the following international human rights instruments: □ The First Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). □ The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. □ The International Convendon on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Their Families. □ The Convendon againstTorture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or DegradingTreatment or Punishment. 50