46 i REVIEW OF LAWS, IMPLEMENTATION OF TREATIES AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL INSTRUMENTS Of HUMAN RIGHTS Ducraux, Regional Delegate, International Committee of the Red Cross requesting the Commission to facilitate, if possible, the accession of India to the 1977 Protocols to the Geneva Conventions of 1949. The Commission considered this matter in a meeting held on 19 September 2000 and decided, in the first instance, to seek the views of the Ministry of External Affairs on this matter. As of the end of the reporting period, there had been no response from that Ministry, despite reminders. The Commission thus urges the Ministry of External Affairs to examine this issue expeditiously and to offer Its comments to the Commission at an early date. 3) Convention Against Torture 4.21 The Commission continued to press the Government of India to ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Forms of Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Punishment or Treatment, which was signed by India on 14 October 1997 on the recommendation of the Commission. It has been a matter of great disappointment to the Commission that the process of ratification has been inordinately delayed and that this delay has sent an ambiguous message regarding the commitment of the Government to respect the provisions of this Convention, despite the fact that Article 21 of the Constitution already covers this area effectively. As observed by the Commission earlier, the Right against Torture has been judicially recognised by the Apex Court as a Fundamental Right, making that right and the corresponding obligation of the State and its agencies a fundamental entrenched right. 4.22 The Commission has been informed that the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister held an inter-ministerial meeting on this question in July 2000 and gave directions to expedite work relating to the amendment of existing legislation so as to facilitate the process of ratification. Reportedly, the matter is engaging the attention of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Law and Justice. Given the frequent assurances that it has received fi-om the highest levels of Government that the delay has occurred only for procedural reasons, and not for any reasons of substance, the Commission once again urges the Government to fulfil its promise of ratification and ,to do so without further loss of time. 4) Convention and Protocol on the Status of Refugees 4.23 The efforts of the Commission to encourage the Government of India to NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION