An Overview ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ holds a meeting, annually, with the top bureaucracy of the States, both on the civil and police side. A wide range of issues are discussed spanning the entire gamut of human rights. The meet provides the State government functionaries to present their side of the difficulties faced as well as clear any misconceptions with regard to any directions of the Commission. It is the Commission’s belief that more often than not, it is a lack of sensitivity that compounds a situation. These meetings, therefore, afford an opportunity to reinforce and reiterate, both, the Commission’s seriousness and intent to ensure the “better” protection of human rights. 2.22 The Commission has also, as part of its efforts for dissemination of information on issues of human rights awareness, brought out a series of eight booklets on different themes on which the Commission is currently working on such as Human Rights and HIV/AIDS, Rights of persons with disabilities, Child labour etc. 2.23 The problem of child marriage has continued to be a great concern to the Commission. The Commission, as a preventive measure, wrote to the Union Minister for Human Resources Development and Chief Ministers/Administrators of all States/UTs to organize mass scale awareness programmes/campaigns on Akha Teej through print and electronic media all over the country to sensitize and educate the people. 2.24 Intrinsic to the dignity and worth of the human person is the enjoyment of the right to health. The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, to which India is a State Party, specifically recognizes that ‘the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health’ is the right of every human being. It must therefore be treated as a State responsibility, with the obligation to ensure that this right is respected. 2.25 The Commission had constituted an Expert Group on Emergency Medical Care in April, 2003. The report of the Expert Group revealed the lacunae, existing in the present EMS and made a number of recommendations for implementation in the short and the long term. The Commission also organized five regional and one national public hearings on the right to health care in which the civil society representatives deliberated and suggested ways and means for offsetting structural deficiencies in the health care system. A national action plan was also evolved during the national public hearing containing several recommendations to Government of India and States/UTs. 2.26 Over the years, the Commission has realized that unless equal attention and urgent consideration is given to the implementation, promotion and protection of Economic, Social and Cultural rights as is being given to Civic and Political rights, Right to development would not be realized. It is in this view of the matter that the focus of the Commission, during the year under review, has been on various dimensions of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights so that a citizen can live with dignity. References to the communications/reports/letters, subsequent to 1.4.2005, wherever made, have been done as the same were received during the preparation of the report. 8 AR-Chapter-1-19-10-6-06.p65 National Human Rights Commission Annual Report - 2004-2005 28 7/17/06, 6:29 PM