and a duty to cooperate with each other to this end; in taking all necessary and effective measures to do so, States must act in accordance with international standards of human rights. 3.7 Since its establishment in October 1993, this Commission has consistently taken a position in harmony with this approach. It has stated that the nation, its police and armed forces have a duty to fight and triumph over terrorism. It has added that this must be done in a manner that respects the Constitution of our Republic, the laws of our land and the treaty commitments into which we have entered, which set out the provisions of the international law and standards that we must obsenre. 3.8 When the State functions within such parameters, there should be no place for the dichotomy that too often pits human rights proponents against the security forces. For the combat should not be between them, The combat is, rather, between civil society, including both human rights proponents and the security forces on the one hand, and terrorists and their backers,on the other. When, however, those parameters are breached, this Commissionmandall who are concerned with the upholding of human rights - including the security forces must act to ensure that the Rule of Law prevails and that those who breach it are subjected to the processes of law, for that is what distinguishes a democracy, living under a Constitution freely adopted, from arbitrary and despotic forms of government. This is why the Commission opposed the renewal of the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act and why it insists on transparency and accountability in the handling of allegations covering human rights violations regardless of who is responsible for the violations. - 3.9 The Commission believes that, in the circumstances facing the country, much would be gained by a full, open and continuing dialogue involving policy makers, human rights proponents and members of the security forces on these questions. It has been happy to note that both the police and the various components of the armed forces, including the army itself, have increasingly been organizing broad-based seminars and discussions on these subjects, often yith the participation or backing of the Commission. In November 1996, for instance, a seminar on the Indian Army and Human Rights was inaugurated by the Prime Minister. In a special session, the Chairperson and Members of the Commission held a most useful exchange of views with the Chief of Army Staff and some of the senior-most officers at Army Headquarters and in the Northern and North-Eastern Commands. 3.10 The Commission welcomes such occasions as they further transparency and