The meeting was held with Chief Secretaries of four states through video conferencing under the chairmanship of NHRC Chairman Justice Arun Kumar Mishra regarding air pollution.

New Delhi Mar 23 PTI NHRC chairperson justice retd Arun Kumar Mishra on Wednesday expressed serious concern over climate and environment degradation impacting human rights even as he said that time has come to supervise supervisory bodies like various pollution control boardsHe said this while chairing a meeting of the commissions first Core Advisory Group on Environment Climate Change and Human Rights here the rights panel said in a statementEfforts and funds pumped in to clean the Ganges and the Yamuna rivers without yielding the desired results are the two most visible and glaring examples of our collective failure to keep our environment clean and pollution-free he was quoted as saying in the statementMishra said human beings have not spared even the Mt Everest which also requires to be cleaned nowMindless mining is going on so much that even Antarctica has not been spared Development without following norms is not sensible the NHRC chief lamentedHe also expressed concern over a recent estimate according to which of all the polluted cities in the world a large number are from IndiaDelhi was found to be the most polluted capital in the world for the fourth consecutive year in 2021 and 35 of the 50 cities with the worst air quality were in India according toWorld Air Quality Report 2021 prepared by Swiss organisation IQAir and released globally on TuesdayIn 2021 none of the cities in India met the prescribed World Health Organization air quality standards of 5 micrograms per cubic metre stated the report As part of the global fraternity we all as individuals have to take up the responsibility to protect and save planet earth from environment degradation to ensure that it doesnt lead to massive climate change impacting lives and ecological imbalances Mishra saidTime has come to act or perish he addedMishraexpressed serious concern over climate and environment degradation impacting human rightsDespite the enabling laws and rules the ground situation is not changing for good much due to ineffective implementation of regulatory measures to check various environmental pollution which may be impacting climate change and thus the lives of the peopleTime has come to supervise the supervisory bodies like various pollution control boards he was quoted as saying in the statementHe also questioned how would the society achieve the Sustainable Developmental Goals without fixing the problems related to the environmental hazards agricultural practices industrial and domestic waste management among other issues Earlier highlighting the significance of the meeting of the core advisory group NHRC Secretary General Bimbadhar Pradhan said that there is no doubt that climate change is real and its effects are disastrous He said environment degradation is leading to climate change resulting in forced migration of people causing miseries which need to be given a serious thought to shape up the enabling policies through deliberationsA gamut of issues concerning environment clean air and water pollution were discussed as part of the four specific agenda points of discussion including gaps in implementation and monitoring of laws judgments and schemesinitiatives concerning environment climate change and human rightsBest practices in environment management in India and abroad and replication thereof empowering the local government and authorities to tackle environmental issues and protecting the population especially vulnerable sections from the impacts of climate change were other agenda points according to the statement Besides the discussions and the presentations in the meeting the NHRC chairperson asked the participants to send their specific suggestions identifying the gaps in the laws rules regulations and implementation thereof to chalk out recommendations for the way forward to protect environment and check climate change the statement said PTI KND RHL

New Delhi Jan 20 PTI A forum hosted by the NHRC Thursday unanimously pitched for enacting a national law to end adhocism and ambiguity in dealing with refugees and asylum-seekers in the country officials saidThe National Human Rights Commission organised an online open discussion on the protection of the basic human rights of refugees and asylum-seekers in India on ThursdayNHRC member justice M M Kumar chaired the event which was attended by NHRC chairperson justice retd Arun Kumar Mishra other senior official of NHRC and representatives of ministries of law external affairs and home affairs UN Human Rights Council domain experts among othersIt was unanimously felt that though India had a very good track record and tradition of dealing with and handling the international refugees and asylum seekers since time immemorial it is time a national law is enacted to include all the best practices and policies so far to have in place a uniformity and legal sanctity to ensure protection and realisation of human rights of refugees and asylum seekers across the country the NHRC said in a statementThis was also to help them seek the benefits of other welfare measures by the government even while taking care of the national security it addedEarlier inaugurating the open forum justice Kumar said that by the virtue of the Constitution of India every citizen is entitled to basic human rightsIndia is a signatory to various international conventions and treaties related to refugees and asylum seekers largely within the framework of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR but not on the basis of Citizenship Act 1955 which he said can be regulated to protect their rights according to the statementBecause protecting their rights merely on the basis of certain documents depending on case to case basis may lead to ambiguities in the uniform interpretation thereof compounding their problems in getting even basic necessities in different parts of the country in the absence of a national law the statement saidJustice Kumar said that legislature needs to be impressed upon for enacting a national law on refugees and asylum seekers to overcome adhocism and confusion as these may lead to subjectivity and unnecessary litigationTriggering the discussion NHRC Secretary General Bimbadhar Pradhan said that while there are various internationally acclaimed measures India has been using to deal with the refugees and asylum seekers these are largely with the intent that normalcy can be restored only by sending them back to their respective countries on voluntary repatriationKavita Belani Deputy Chief Mission UNHCR said refugees by definition are victims of human rights violationsShe lauded Indias support to refugees and displaced people with its home grown solutions in line with the global commitments and described these as very inclusive and forward looking However she said these needed to be put in a structured policy on predictable lines for a national response to make it easy for all the refugees and asylum seekers get access to their rights Besides the inaugural session the open forum was divided into two thematic sessions focusing on policy framework and legal safeguards for refugees and asylum seekers and issues and challenges in protection of right to life and dignity and access to other socio- economic educational and cultural rights officials saidConcluding the discussion Justice Kumar said that all the suggestions will be further deliberated in the Commission before sending to the government as recommendations for implementation PTI KND TIR TIR

New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday took a veiled dig at the Opposition and said that human rights are violated when an incident is seen through the "political spectacles" and this "selective behaviour" is harmful to the democracy.

New Delhi [India], October 12 (ANI): Remembering Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of the foundation day of the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC), Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that 'Bapu' is a symbol of human rights and human values across the globe.