NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION NHRC INDIA Chapter 5 REACHING OUT 5.1 The NHRC, India, overtime, has developed a robust set of monitoring mechanisms to oversee civil and political rights as well as matters concerning social and economic justice. While some of these mechanisms have been developed based on the mandate accorded to the Commission by the Protection of Human Rights Act (PHRA), 1993, others have been developed along the lines of the instruments and special procedures adopted by the United Nations for human rights protection, monitoring and promotion. Some of the key mechanisms devised by the Commission include the Full Commission and Statutory Full Commission Meetings, Camp Sittings and Open Hearings, engagement of Special Rapporteurs, and the establishment of Core and Expert Groups on a range of human rights issues. A. Commission Meeting 5.2 During the year under review, the Full Commission took up 361 cases of human rights violations in its 32 sittings. In addition, the two Division Benches considered 863 cases in 71 sittings. Also, 22 cases of Kashmiri migrants were also considered in 5 sittings of the Commission in the open court hearings. B. NHRC Camp Sittings 5.3 The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been organizing camp sittings in different States in order to expedite disposal of pending complaints and sensitize the State functionaries on the human rights. During the period under report, the Commission held Camp Sittings in Kohima, Nagaland (24th April, 2017), Assam & Meghalaya (17th -18th May, 2017), Uttarakhand (13th -14th July, 2017), Uttar Pradesh (9th -11th August, 2017) and Rajasthan (18th -19th January, 2018). The Commission considered 77 cases in its sittings of Full Commission and 98 cases in Division Benches in these camp sittings. Annual Report 2017-2018 73