NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION role. The ordinance relating to the “Terrorist Activities and Destructive (Control and Punishment) Act”, promulgated by the King at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers on 26 November 2001, adversely affected the people’s right to avail themselves of human rights. Similarly, the Commission faced great difficulty in protecting and consolidating human rights after the declaration of a state of emergency by the King on 27 November 2001 at the recommendation of the Council of Ministers. In the midst of this extreme situation of the conflict, the mobilisation of the security forces and the growing incidents of violence committed by the Maoists, the National Human Rights Commission in co-partnership with the civil society did monitoring work in some violence-affected districts to protect human rights and impose humanistic laws. In the course of the monitoring work, it collected information on human rights violations by the state and non-state parties and excesses committed such as killings, torture, rape and violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The excesses committed by the non-state party in preventing the people from using territory and power were documented during the monitoring period. Given the rising number of cases relating to disappearances by the state and repetition of a chain of incidents relating to abduction, killings, torture and destruction of public property by the Maoists, the task of protecting human rights poses a serious challenge. From the very inception, NHRC has been monitoring human rights in different parts of the country in a bid to collect facts relating to human rights violation and encode them, and to recommend and draw attention to the protection of human rights after analysing the reports received. The Commission has been receiving important help from government agencies, the army, police as well as from non-governmental organisations working in the field of human rights, professional organisations, civil society and local communities in its monitoring activities. During this report period, the Commission monitored the overall human rights situation in 58 districts. The report that was prepared based on the facts gathered, their study and analysis, has made various recommendations for the protection of and adherence to humanistic laws. But the government has not shown itself to be serious and has failed to take concrete steps. This has made the protection of human rights very challenging. 7.2.3. Protection of Economic, Social and Cultural rights The Commission has taken important initiatives to guarantee the people economic, social and cultural rights as the guarantee of civil and political rights alone do not address the people’s basic human rights. It is important that the economic, social and cultural rights are guaranteed to address the main causes of the conflict - poverty, unemployment, social disparity, disproportionate distribution of resources and materials - and to find a peaceful way out. Since only through the combined efforts of the government, rebels, donors and civil society can this materialise, the initiatives taken by the Commission to guarantee the economic, social and cultural rights are just as challenging. 76