ANNUAL REPORT 2011 complaints, thereby enhancing its ability as an institution to meet its mandate. Highlights of Commission activities in the area of complaints management and investigation include: 1 Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) Manual drafted. The NHRC designed an operations manual for the staff, directors and Commissioners of the NHRC to facilitate effective handling of complaints of human rights violations. This SOP Manual provides guidance and step-bystep instruction on how to: (1) receive and record complaints of human rights violations; (2) investigate and take appropriate action regarding such complaints; (3) conduct investigations, suo moto, into possible human rights abuses, particularly on a systemic level; (4) make recommendations to resolve issues related to human rights violations through mediation and conciliation processes. This Manual will help ensure that the NHRC carries out these functions in a consistent, fair, and efficient manner, and can contribute to an overall streamlined and professional working environment. 3 Professional exchange with the NHRC India staff. Staff members of the NHRC visited New Delhi in May 2011 to meet with counterparts from the National Human Rights Commission, India (NHRCI), the National Commission for Women, and the National Commission for Minorities, and the Asian Centre for Human Rights, which pioneered the principle of accountability for human rights violations. Participants included the Commission’s Chairman and Members and also Director and Deputy Directors of Complaints and Enquiry, and Secretary of the Commission. Through its interaction with the oldest Commission in the SAARC region, the NHRC benefitted from experience sharing, which has informed the work of the NHRC in developing complaints management mechanisms. 2 Complaints handling fact sheet for public designed. The Commission in prepared a user-friendly pamphlet in Bangla on complaints handling by the NHRC. The pamphlet provides information on why, when, where and by whom a complaint related to human rights violations can be submitted to the Commission, and how the NHRC deals with any complaints received. It also includes information about the elements of human rights guarantees and what the Commission can do to protect and promote human rights. The NHRC has begun to distribute the pamphlet at workshops, meetings and other organized activities, and has planned broad public distribution in hard copy and electronically beginning in the first quarter of 2012. 30 NHRC Bangladesh with NHRC India at Indian Human Rights Commission 4 NHRC mediation capacity and procedures considered In preparation for Commission work in the area of mediation and conciliation, the NHRC consulted with various NGOs working on legal aid services, including Ain O Shalish Kendra (ASK), Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) and Madaripur Legal Aid Association (MLAA). Observations of mediation and village court sessions in Madaripur revealed the significant participation of women and their critical role in decision making. It was also observed that the mediators (shalishkars) are relatively