HYDERABAD: The Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has since its inception resolved 2,905 complaints and reviewed dozens of laws on civil rights, gender-based violence, environment, honor killings and many other issues of human rights (HR), according to 7th annual report of the body.

Covering all activities, collective achievements and challenges faced by the commission, the 2021-2022 report was officially launched by SHRC chairperson retired Justice Majida Razvi, along with Justice Nadeem Akhtar of the Sindh High Court, at a programme held here on Tuesday. It was delayed due to floods.

An SHRC press release said the commission dealt with 738 complaints related to HR violations received from 28 districts of the province between January 2021 June 2022.

In these cases, 251 suo motu notices were taken on the basis of reports of electronic and print media, alerts from NGOs, civil society and focal persons.

It said 487 complaints were entertained by the commission. In addition to complaints, the SHRC paid several field visits, arranged public hearings, conducted legislative reviews on a number of laws pertaining to HR violations, recommended new laws, conducted research on emerging trends of rights violations, especially in the context of countering violent extremism (CVE).

It conducted training of government officials on the Generalised Scheme of Preference Plus (GSP+) and CVE as well as Hindu marriage laws throughout Sindh. Lately, the SHRC recommended the Sindh Minority Commission Bill and Sindh Compensation for Civilians Victims of Terrorism Bill which has been approved by the provincial home ministry.

The SHRC said it successfully collaborated with a number of civil society organisations including the Aurat Foundation, Legal Aid Society, Community World Service Asia, and Trust for Democratic Education and Accountability (TDEA) of the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN).

These partnerships were instrumental in achieving the commission’s goals and objectives and were successful.

The commission was committed to continuing to work closely with civil society actors in the coming year to further its mission and make a positive impact on the lives of people in Sindh.

The SHRC chairperson said that it was a great occasion today and the commission would complete its 10 years of service to the people of Sindh.

She said the SHRC had held several open kachehris in many districts, visited several jails and shelter homes, and had already recommended to the government for improvement of living conditions of jail inmates.

She added that the commission made its intervention in tribal clashes of upper Sindh and it reported compliance with international covenants like GSP+, Paris Principles, Environment and Climate Change, Workplace Harassment and many more.

Ms Malka Khan, provincial programme manager of the Aurat Foundation, Karachi, also gave a briefing regarding her NGO.

Key findings and recommendations on ‘Research Report Pathways between Countering Violent Extremism and Human Rights’ were shared by Ms Muneezeh Khan, manager of monitoring evaluation & research, Aurat Foundation.

Similarly, interventions of the commission during 2021-2022 were shared by Aslam Shaikh, judicial member II, SHRC. Speaking about trends of cases, he said that a decline in the complaints of harassment was observed. He shared success stories of cases of the commission.

Justice Nadeem Akhtar, who was chief guest on the occasion, appreciated efforts of Justice Majida Razvi and the SHRC.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2023