ANNUAL REPORT 2004 2.2.2. Appointment and Resignation (a) Resignation Dr. Renu Rajbhandari of the office of the Rapporteur on Trafficking in Women and Children of the Commission submitted her resignation on 1 September 2003 which was accepted effective the same day. (b) Appointment Mrs. Padma Mathema was appointed to the vacant post of National Rapporteur as per an agreement between the National Human Rights Commission and the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, HMG, to appoint a National Rapporteur to work in the field of women and child trafficking within the framework of the Commission. In view of the possibility that incidences of human rights violations could increase further following the official declaration of a state of emergency and the armed conflict in the country, the Commission has conducted the Responding to Crisis Project with the aim of carrying out effective monitoring and evaluation even in these conditions. It is funded by the British, Danish and Norwegian Embassies. The first phase of the Project has been completed according to the agreement made with the donor agencies, and the second phase is about to begin. As the Commission would require additional personnel to implement the project in a smooth and effective manner, a number of candidates have been hired on contract basis for the posts following written, oral and practical tests. The Commission does not expect that it would be possible to find a solution to the increasing human rights violation through action at the central level only. Therefore, with a view to extending the reach of the people, it is relying on the establishment of an outreach program in selected districts in all the five development regions of Nepal (Outreach Program), which is funded by the European Commission. Pursuant to this project, the Commission has advertised for different posts and hired the successful candidates on contract basis to staff its offices at both the central and regional levels. 2.3. Meetings of the Commission In addition to the regular practice of holding meetings every Tuesday, the Commission has held emergency meetings whenever it has found if necessary. During the fiscal year, the Commission met 32 times and discussed issues related to the protection and promotion of human rights besides other policy matters. Following these deliberations, the Commission has arrived at various decisions. ❁❁❁ 7