NCHR holds consultation with civil society, media.

National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), in collaboration with European Union funded Huqooq-e-Pakistan Project (HeP), launched its country-wide consultative process for Commission's four-year strategic plan.

In this regard, two consultative sessions were held with civil society representatives and media where participants shared a broad range of opinions to devise a pragmatic Strategic Plan for NCHR. The Commission plans to hold similar consultative sessions in other provincial capitals in order to gather information and recommendations from all parts of the country.

Presided over by NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha and led by senior expert from HeP Dr. Osama Siddique, the consultations engaged participants on their views about the state of human rights in Pakistan and their level of awareness of NCHR's role and mandate. The participants also held extensive discussions on NCHR functions and ways of effective collaboration between the Commission and human rights stakeholders, especially general public.

In her welcome remarks, Chairperson NCHR Rabiya Javeri Agha said that opinions and recommendations coming out from these consultations would be taken into account while preparing the NCHR's Strategic Plan and determining next steps for the Commission.

Chairperson said that Commission is a broad mandated entity. 'One of the main functions of the Commission is to inform government of the problems faced by the people and civil society in the form of reports. The second major role is to provide relief to the victims and survivors through its Civil Court and Suo Moto powers,' she said adding that a robust connection between Commission, civil society and media would empower NCHR to effectively perform these two vital functions.

She said media plays a crucial role in protection and promotion of human rights. It informs...