It is not the responsibility of the national human rights commission to obstruct the police from carrying out their duties or interfere with the due process of law.
However, as guardian of human rights practice in the country it is their duty to take the role of mediation and reconciliation if the security forces are having issues with associations like unions and the media. Hence once a community, association or organised body raise an issue of human rights the commission should take interest in investigating and engaging in commission diplomacy with the authorities to prevent misunderstanding.
Integrity matters to a country and its agencies. Whatever can cause damage to integrity should not be taken lightly. Arrest and detention will put the liberty of a person at stake and should be based on a substantive case of law before they are effected.
Cases that do not lead to substantive prosecution do not merit prolongation through police bail condition. Admonition by the police of cases that do not merit prosecution would appear to be a better option for preventing and agency of being accused of using heavy hand methods. We therefore hope that the commission will monitor concerns of associations protecting their members.
