New Delhi, June 23 (Agency) National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday organized an Open House Discussion on ‘Prevention of Atrocities and Other Forms of Discrimination Against SC/ST Community : Issues, Challenges and Way Forward’. Chairing it, NHRC membe Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay said that despite the enabling laws and legal provisions, the atrocities and discrimination against the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Communities have not stopped. He said, “The objective of such deliberations is to take stock of the various provisions of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989; identify the gaps between the legal provisions and implementation to suggest the way forward to prevent the atrocities against them.”
Mulay said that continued efforts need to be made for the social and economic emancipation of the SC and ST communities. Quoting some recent media reports about the acts of violence and discrimination against the persons belonging to the SC and ST communities. He said that besides ensuring the effective implementation of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, it will be necessary to educate people, build awareness and ensure conviction of the people violating human rights of the persons belonging to the SC/ST communities. He said that conviction is necessary in such cases for deterrence, NHRC said in a statement. Earlier, triggering the session Devendra Kumar Nim, Joint Secretary, NHRC said that the atrocities against the SC/ST Communities and the low conviction rate is a matter of concern. Some issues were also discussed such Impact assessment of the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 in order to suggest measures to strengthen it, how to strengthen the administrative regime for prevention of atrocities on SC/STs and how to address the concerns over incidences of discrimination in education and employment in various institutions and departments.