National Human Rights Commission to Mark 33 Years

On 12th of October 2026, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), India, marks its 33rd Foundation Day celebrations at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. The Chief Guest for the occasion will be Justice Surya Kant, Chief Justice of India. The occasion is expected to focus on the Commission’s efforts towards the safeguarding human rights and addressing grievances and recommending relief to the aggrieved parties. In addition to this, a national conference on “Water as the Elixir of Life: Enhancing Human Dignity through the Right to Water” is also scheduled to take place on this day.

33 Years of NHRC – Key Achievements

In the past 33 years since its inception in 1993, NHRC has been striving to safeguard and uphold the human rights through handling of complaints, investigation, making recommendations, etc.

As mentioned in the Foundation Day message of the Commission, NHRC has been able to deal with 24,33,716 cases, out of which 3,100 were suo motu cases.

It has also recommended monetary compensation above ₹274 crore in 9,085 cases where there was violation of human rights.

National Conference 2026: Right to Water and Human Dignity

Following the programme on the Foundation Day, there will be a national conference on the issue of right to water as an issue of human rights. The theme of the conference is “Water, the Nectar of Life: Right to Water for Human Dignity.”

The issues that will be discussed in the conference are the following,

Protection and Preservation of Water Bodes: Preserving water bodes as the basis of the right to water.
Protection of Sources of Drinking Water: Ensuring the access to drinking water sources for everybody.

The conference will discuss the following aspects related to the topic,

Researchers,
Academics,
Civil society,
Human rights activists,
Other interested parties.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC)

The NHRC is the statutory body of India for the promotion and protection of human rights. It was formed on 12th October 1993 under the Protection of Human Rights Act 1993.

The National Human Rights Commission looks into complaints of violations of human rights. It has the power to take suo motu cognizance of any matter.

It has the authority to investigate and make recommendations for compensation, prosecution or corrective action to the concerned authorities. It also studies the safeguards, international treaties and instruments, and conducts research.

The recommendations of the NHRC are not mandatory but are similar to judicial recommendations.

Composition of NHRC

The Commission is comprised of a chairperson, as well as other members who are appointed in accordance with the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993 (as amended).

It is required that the chairperson of the NHRC should have the statutory judicial qualifications. Besides, the commission has some members who have the judicial background and also expertise in human rights.