Importance

Why is PFHRGD important?

No state in the world has a perfect human rights record. India has experienced an annual average GDP growth rate on 7 percent since 1997. At the same time, millions face food insecurity as they undergo starvation and farmer deaths. As the Indian Parliament makes primary education free and compulsory, child labour is increasing tremendously. PFHRGD was established as a means to address these seemingly paradoxes of India. The forum holds that Members of Parliament (MPs) have strong voices in the political realm and are obliged to exercise their power by speaking for the millions of voiceless victims of human rights violations across the country. PFHRGD is a unique platform for debate and exchange of ideas, as it brings together MPs a cross party lines to fight together against social injustice and human rights violations. The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) holds that human rights concerns should be mainstreamed into every aspect of parliamentary activities. Each parliamentary committee should consistently take into consideration human rights and assess the impact of bills and other proposed legal norms on the enjoyment of human rights by the population. PFHRGD serves as a medium for MPs to collaborate on this task and help each other to reach this goal. PFHRGD works to ensure that international human rights obligations not end up as dead letters, but are being properly implemented. Furthermore, because PFHRGD cooperates with different NGOs, it serves as a special opportunity to include civil society actors in the political debate and to add new aspects in the MPs human rights work. IPU emphasis that parliamentarians should cooperate with national actors involved in human rights activities, as a means to get information on the human rights situation in the country and to strengthen the public human rights awareness. In addition, cooperation with NGOs will provide an opportunity for PFHR to mobilize broad support on human rights related issues and further strengthen the forum’s ability to act on human rights violations.