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N a t i o n a l H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i ss io n s i n A s i aSonia Cardenas

A s i a i s un i que i n t he dom a i n o f i n t e r na t i ona l hum a n r i gh t s l aw : i t i s the on l ym a j o r r e g io n o f th e w o r l d th a t d o e s n o t h a v e a h u m a n r i gh t s tr e at y o r c o m m i s -s i o n ( Jo n e s 1 9 9 6) . T h i s e x c e p t i o n n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , th e r e g i o n h a s s e e n i nr e c e n t y e a r s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s e v e ra l p o s i t i v e h u m a n r i g h t s t re n d s , i n c l u d -i n g t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f d o m e s t i c s y s t e m s o f h u m a n r i g h t s g o v e r n a n c e ( M o n t -gom e r y 1998 ). I n pa r ti c u la r , gove r n m e n t s a r ound t he r e g i on ha ve be e n c r e a t i ngn a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s , w h i c h a r e s t a t e a g e n c i e s w i t h t h e p u r -p o r t e d a i m o f p r o t e c ti n g a n d p r o m o t i n g i n t er n a ti o n a l h u m a n r ig h t s n o r m s .

B y m i d - 2 0 0 1 , t h e r e w e r e e i g h t o f t h e s e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s i n t h e A s i a -Pac i f i c reg ion : the Phi l ipp ines (c rea ted in 1987) , Ind ia (1993) , Indones ia (1993) ,S r i L a nka ( 1997 ) , F i j i ( 1999 ) , M a l a ys i a ( 2000 ) , N e pa l ( 2000 ) , a nd T ha i l a nd( 2000 ) . Co nc r e t e p l a ns w e r e u nde r w a y i n a t l e a st s ix o t he r A s i a n c oun t r i e s t oe s t a b l i s h s i m i l a r c om m i s s i ons : Ba ng l a de s h , Ca m bod i a , J a pa n , M ongo l i a , P a puaN e w G u i ne a , a nd S ou t h K or e a . I n t r a - r e g i ona l l y , a s t r ong ne t w or k o f na t i ona lh u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n s w a s f o r m e d , p r o p e l l e d b y t h e c r e a ti o n i n 1 9 96 o f ap e r m a n e n t o r g a n i z a t i o n - - t h e A s i a - P a c i f i c F o r u m f o r N a t i o n a l H u m a n R i g h t sI n s t i t u t i o n s - - c o m p r i s e d o f t h e r e g i o n ' s c o m m i s s i o n s a n d d e v o t e d e x cl u si v e lyt o t h e i r c o o r d i n a t i o n .

D e s p i t e a g l oba l r i s e i n na t i ona l hum a n r i gh t s c om m i s s i ons s i nc e t he 1990s ,t he i r e m e r ge nc e i n A s i a ha s c om e a s s om e w ha t o f a s u r p r i s e . N o t on l y i s t h i st h e o n l y r e g i o n w i t h o u t a h u m a n r i g h t s t r e a t y o r c o m m i s s i o n , b u t t h e h u m a nr i gh t s de ba t e he r e ha s f oc us e d t r a d i t i ona l l y on que s t i ons o f c u l t u r a l r e l a t i v i s m( i . e . , t he A s i a n va l ue s de ba t e ) , a nd t he p r i m a c y o f s oc i a l , e c onom i c , a nd c u l -tu ra l r igh t s ve rsus c iv i l and po l i t i ca l r igh t s (Be l l 2000; Bauer and Be l l 1999) .Y e t t h e s h a r p r is e o f n a t io n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s i n A s i a c h a l l e n g e sc onve n t i ona l a s s um pt i ons a bou t t he c om pa t i b i l i t y o f i n t e r na t i ona l hum a n r i gh t sno r m s a c r os s c u l t u r a l c on t e x t s . I n c on t r a s t t o o t he r r e g i ons , t he s p r e a d o f na -t i ona l c om m i s s i ons s ugge s t s t ha t t he p r e f e r r e d r e s pons e o f na t i ona l l e a de r s i nA s i a t o a h u m a n r i g h t s c h a l l e n g e h a s b e e n t o a l t e r d o m e s t i c p o l i t i c a l s t r u c -t u r e s . P u t d i f f e r e n t l y , t h e y s e e m t o h a v e c o n c e d e d " d o m e s t i c " s o v e r e i g n t y a tt he s a m e t i m e t ha t t he y ha ve be e n r e l uc t a n t t o a c c e p t a l o s s o f " W e s t pha l i a n"s o v e r e i g n ty , w h i c h w o u l d e x p a n d t h e j u r i s d i c t i o n o f re g i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s o fa u t h o r i t y ( K r a s n e r 1 9 9 9 ) .

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C a r d e n a s 3 1

T h e c h a l l e n g e t o s o v e r e i g n t y th a t I e x a m i n e i n th i s c h a p t e r is t h e d e m a n db y a v a s t tr a n s n a t io n a l m o v e m e n t t h a t st at es c o n f o r m t o i n t e r n a ti o n a l h u m a nr i g h t s n o r m s ( K e c k a n d S i k k i n k 1 9 9 7 ) . T h e r e s p o n s e o n w h i c h I f o c u s i s t h ec r e a ti o n o f n a t io n a l h u m a n r ig h t s c o m m i s s i o n s b y g o v e r n m e n t s i n t h e re g i o n .M y a i m i n t h e c h a p t e r i s t w o f o l d . F i r s t , I e x a m i n e w h y g o v e r n m e n t s h a v er e s p o n d e d t o a t r a n s n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c h a l l e n g e b y c r e a t i n g n a t i o n a l h u -m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s . I a r g u e t h a t g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e f o r m e d a n d s t r e n g t h -e n e d t h e s e c o m m i s s i o n s l a r g e l y t o a p p e a s e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s . S e c o n d , Ie v a l u a t e h o w s u c c e s s f u l t h i s r e s p o n s e h a s b e e n . I f i n d t h a t g o v e r n m e n t a t -t e m p t s t o c o n t r o l c h a l l e n g e s t o t h e i r s o v e r e i g n t y h a v e p a r t l y b a c k f i r e d . D e -s p i t e g o v e r n m e n t i n t e n t io n s , n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n s a r ec o n t r i b u t i n g t o a p a r t i a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f s o v e r e i g n t y : t h e y a r e r e d e f i n i n g t h es t a t e ' s a g e n d a , c r e a t i n g n e w r u l e s f o r s t a t e a g e n c i e s t o f o l l o w , h o l d i n g t h es t a te a c c o u n t a b l e f o r s o m e o f it s a c ti o n s , a n d s h i f t i n g s o c i a l e x p e c t a t i o n s a b o u tw h a t i s a p p r o p r i a t e a n d a c c e p t a b l e s t a t e b e h a v i o r .

T h e c h a p t e r o p e n s w i t h a n o v e r v i e w o f a k e y d e b a t e - - s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t yv e r s u s h u m a n r i g h t s - - t h a t s e r v e s t o in t r o d u c e b o th t h e t r a n s n a t io n a l h u m a nr i g h t s c h a l l e n g e a n d t h e c r e a t i o n b y s o m a n y g o v e r n m e n t s i n t h e r e g i o n o fn a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n s . T h i s i s f o l l o w e d b y a n a n a l y s is o f t h ec r e a t i o n a n d c h a n g e o f s p e c i f ic n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s . I f o c u s p r i m a r i l y o nt h e c a s e s o f th e P h i l i p p i n e s , I n d o n e s i a , a n d I n d i a . In a d d i t i o n t o b e i n g t h em o s t l o n g s t a n d i n g n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s i n t h e r e g i o n , t h e c r e -a t i o n o f al l t h r e e c o m m i s s i o n s h a s b e e n s t ri k i n g l y s i m i l a r d e s p it e i m p o r t a n td i f f e r e n c e s i n n a t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s . I c o n c l u d e b y p r o b i n g m o r e c l o s e l y t h ei m p a c t o f I n d i a ' s N a t i o n a l H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n ( N H R C ) , i ll u s t ra t i n gt h e s u b t l e w a y s i n w h i c h s o v e r e i g n t y i s b e i n g t r a n s f o r m e d i n t h i s a r e n a .

S t a t e S o v e r e i g n t y v e r s u s H u m a n R i g h t s

A s a t ra n s n a t i o n a l n e t w o r k o f a ct o r s c o m m i t t e d to h u m a n r i g h ts c o n c e r n sh a s e m e r g e d , s c h o l a r s h a v e p a i d r e n e w e d a t t e n t i o n t o t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e ns t a te s o v e r e i g n t y a n d h u m a n r ig h t s . A f t e r al l, i f h u m a n r i g h t s n o r m s c o n s i s t o fs tandards about how the s ta te can and should t r ea t those under i t s r u le , i t i s no tsurpr i s ing tha t the s ta te ' s f igh t to have the " la s t word" in the human r igh ts sphere - -i t s s o v e r e i g n t y - - h a s b e e n c h a l l e n g e d . S t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y i n d e e d h a s c o m e u n d e ri n c r e a s i n g a s s a u l t f r o m a v a s t n e t w o r k o f t r a n s n a t io n a l a c t o rs ( i n c l u d i n g n o n -g o v e r n m e n t a l o r g a n iz a t io n s , i n t e r n a t io n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s , f o r e i g n g o v e r n m e n t s ,p r i v a t e f o u n d a t i o n s , a n d i n d i v i d u a l a c t iv i s ts ) , a ll c o m m i t t e d t o c o n t r o l l i n g h o wt h e s t a t e t r e a t s o r d i n a r y h u m a n b e i n g s ( K e c k a n d S i k k i n k 1 9 9 7 ) .

S c h o l a r s t h u s h a v e g r a p p l e d w i t h t h e b a s i c a n d s e e m i n g l y a n t i t h e t i c a l r e l a -t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n s t a te s o v e r e i g n t y a n d h u m a n r i g h ts . T h i s b o d y o f re s e a r c hh a s g o n e t h r o u g h t h r e e i m p o r t a n t p e r m u t a t i o n s , e a c h c a s t i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i pb e t w e e n s ta te s o v e r e i g n t y a n d h u m a n r ig h t s i n a s o m e w h a t d i f f e r e n t li gh t .

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3 2 H u m a n R i g h t s R e v i ew , O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 2

Ri c ha r d F a l k f i r s t s pa r ke d t he de ba t e ove r s t a t e s ove r e i gn t y a nd hum a n r i gh t si n a n i n f l u e n t i a l b o o k o n th e s u b j e c t i n th e e a r l y 1 9 8 0 s ( F a l k 1 9 8 1 ). F a l kh i gh l i gh t e d t he t e n s i on be t w e e n hum a n r i gh t s a nd s t a t e s ove r e i gn t y , a nd i m a g-i n e d a w o r l d w h e r e g l o b a l c i v i l s o c i e t y c o u l d o v e r r i d e t h e s t a t e ' s s o v e r e i g np r e r oga t i ve a nd go ve r n m e n t s w ou l d r u le hum a ne l y . H i s w a s , a bove a ll , a no r -m a t i v e c a l l f o r t r a n s f o r m i n g t h e c o n c e p t a n d p r a c t i c e o f s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y .

A l e s s f a r - r e a c h i n g b u t p e r h a p s e q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n w a s m a d eb y K a t h r y n S i k k i n k , w h o a r g u e d i n a n i n f l u e n t i a l p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e a r t i c l e i nt h e 1 9 9 0 s t h a t s ta t e s o v e r e i g n t y in t h e h u m a n r i g h t s a r e n a w a s b e i n g" r e c o n c e p t u a l i z e d " ( S i k k i n k 1 9 9 3 ) . I n p a r t i c u l a r , s h e c l a i m e d , t r a n s n a t i o n a lh u m a n r i g h ts a c t i v i s m p r o d u c e d b o t h m a t e r ia l a n d m o r a l p r e ss u r e s , w h i c hi n c r e a s i n g l y i n d u c e d s t a t e s t o c o n c e d e t h e i r s o v e r e i g n p r e r o g a t i v e s . S i k k i n k ' sp r i nc i pa l a i m w a s t o t r a c e a na l y t i c a l l y t he p r oc e s s w he r e by t r a ns na t i ona l a c -t i v i t i e s i n f l u e n c e d c h a n g i n g c o n c e p t i o n s o f s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y .

M os t r e c e n t ly , S t e phe n K r a s ne r ha s c on t e nd e d t ha t t he i n t e rna t i ona l s y s t e mi s o n e o f " o r g a n i z e d h y p o c r i s y , " w h e r e s t a t e s m a y c o n c e d e s o v e r e i g n t y i no n e a r e a o n l y t o r e t a i n i t i n a n o t h e r ( K r a s n e r 1 9 9 9 ) . K r a s n e r ' s c o n t r i b u t i o nh a s b e e n t o d i s a g g r e g a t e t h e n o t i o n o f s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y , i n c l u d i n g h i s t o r i -c a l l y , p r o v i d i n g a n u a n c e d a c c o u n t o f t h e w a y s i n w h i c h h u m a n r i g h t s c h a l -l e nge s ha ve a l t e r e d t he s ove r e i gn s t a t e . I n s ho r t , s c ho l a r s h i p i n t h i s a r e a ha sm o v e d f r o m d e s c ri b in g t h e t e n s i o n b e t w e e n s t a te s o v e r ei g n ty a n d h u m a n r i g h ts ,t o d e m o n s t r a t i n g t h a t h u m a n r i g h t s a c t i v i s m h a s p l a y e d a v a l u a b l e r o l e i nt r a n s f o r m i n g s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y , t o w a r n i n g t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n h u -m a n r i g h t s a n d s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y i s i n f a c t t e n u o u s a n d c o m p l e x .

T h e r e c e n t r is e o f n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s f o r c e s u s t o r e v i s itt h i s l o n g s t a n d i n g d e b a t e . I n d e e d , t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n o f t h e s e c o m m i s s i o n s p r e -s e n t s a n a p p a r e n t p a r a d o x , s i n c e i t i s n o t a l t o g e t h e r c l e a r w h y g o v e r n m e n t sw o u l d c r e a te i n s ti tu t i o n s to i m p l e m e n t i n t e rn a t io n a l n o r m s t h a t t h e y r o u t i n e lyv i o l a t e . O nc e c r e a t e d , m or e ove r , t he i m pa c t o f t he s e c om m i s s i ons i s no t s e l f -e v i d e n t . M o r e b r o a d ly , w h e n g o v e r n m e n t s r e s p o n d to a h u m a n r i g h ts c h a l-l e nge by a l t e r i ng t he i r i n t e r na l po l i t i c a l s t r uc t u r e s - - bu t do s o i n c on t r a d i c t o r yw a y s - - w h a t a r e t h e e x a c t i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y ?

E v e n b e y o n d A s i a a n d t h e P a c i f i c , n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s a r ea r e la t iv e l y n e w p h e n o m e n o n , w i t h m o s t o f t h e m d a t i n g o n l y t o th e 1 9 90 s.T h e s e c o m m i s s i o n s b e l o n g t o t h e b r o a d e r c a te g o r y o f n a t i o n al h u m a n r i g ht si n s t it u t i o n s , a c o n c e p t p r o m o t e d a c t i v e l y b y t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s a n d o t h e rin te rna t ion a l ac tors s ince the end o f W or ld W ar II (Un i t ed Na t ions 1983 , 1995).T h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e o f t h e s e p e r m a n e n t b o d i e s , a s c o m p a r e d t o o t h e rt ype s o f hum a n r i gh t s i n s t i t u t i ons , i s t ha t t he i r p r i nc i pa l pu r pos e i s t o p r o t e c ta n d p r o m o t e i n te r n a ti o n a l h u m a n r ig h t s n o r m s . T h e y a re t o i m p l e m e n t th e s en o r m s , s e r v i n g a s t h e l o c a l i n f r a s t r u c t u r e u p o n w h i c h a b r o a d h u m a n r i g h t sc u l t u r e c a n be e r e c t e d ( Re i f 2000 ; G a l l a ghe r 2000 ; P i nhe i r o a nd Ba l ua r t e 2000 ;H a t c h a r d 1 9 9 7 ) .

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I n t e r n a t i o n a l O r i g i n sIt is part of the conventional, though unexamined, wisdom that human rightscommissions have been created in Asia mostly to appease international audi-

ences. The Asian Legal Resource Center noted before the UN Human RightsCommission in mid-1999 that governments in the region have used nationalcommissions largely to enhance their international images (Liyanage 1999).A broader group of Asian NGOs has observed that, "[w]hether for good or ill,setting up a National Human Rights Commission is clearly in fashion for theGovernments of the region" (SAHRDC 1998: 2).

In detailing this international influence, I compare national human rightscommissions in the Philippines, Indonesia, and India. As the first three na-tional commissions created in the Asia-Pacific region, these institutions haveexisted long enough to evaluate them meaningfully. Perhaps more impor-tantly, these three countries are very different domestically, varying in termsof both their political regimes and social context. The Philippines created itshuman rights commission in the context of democratization, and India's hasunfolded under the aegis of a longstanding democracy; Indonesia, in turn, isan example of an authoritarian regime that has created and supported a hu-man rights commission. These countries also vary substantially in terms of"national culture," evident in their diverse religious traditions and colonialhistories. While the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country, India islargely Hindu, and Indonesia stands as the world's most populous Muslimcountry. Regarding colonial legacies, Spanish rule over the Philippines andBritish dominance in India contrasts with Dutch control of Indonesia.

Yet despite these important differences in domestic political and social con-text (see Table 1), differences that observers often link to national humanrights practices, the international origins of all three commissions have beenremarkably similar. International actors, in particular, have portrayed the es-tablishment of national human rights institutions as desirable and viable op-tions for a wide range of states. It is highly unlikely, as I will argue, that in theabsence of several interlocking international factors--international standardsdefining what a national commission is and what it should look like, interna-tional actors promoting the concept of a human rights institution, and equip-ping states with relevant technical resources, as well as diffuse linkages betweeninternational economic relations and human rights concerns--we would bewitnessing the proliferation of these commissions.

My argument, however, is not that international actors alone can explain allaspects of the creation and strengthening of national human rights commis-sions. On the contrary, I contend that domestic factors played a critical role inthis process. A change in government, the individual commitment of nationalleaders, and the presence of non-state human rights groups all facilitated thedevelopment of these commissions. Different regime types, as I discuss be-

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low, may have faced incentives to structure their commissions in diverse ways,endowing them with different measures of authority and types of mandate(see Table 3.1). While the particular international-national dynamics that Ipropose do not explain the creation of all national commissions, they do sug-gest why states with strong records of human rights violations might createnational commissions.The Philippines

International actors were influential both in creating the Philippine Com-mission on Human Rights in 1987 and in initiating its major reform in 1998.While human rights issues were central to President Corazon Aquino's cam-paign platform, her public commitment alone cannot explain why a nationalhuman rights commission was one of the key ways her administration imple-mented that agenda. After all, her first choice was to create a PresidentialCommittee on Human Rights whose principal purpose would be to investigateabuses committed by the Marcos regime. The eventual Human Rights Com-mission that the 1987 constitution established, in turn, strongly resembledinternational guidelines for the creation of such institutions (Nemenzo 1995;SAHRDC 1998: 47-52; Sicam 1997; Jetschke 1999).

The Philippine Commission was created before the dramatic and globalincrease of national human rights institutions in the 1990s, yet there is strongevidence that the idea for creating a human rights commission, versus anothertype of institution, was driven largely by international norms. While there isno direct evidence that committee members charged with drafting the consti-tution were aware of these norms, the structure and functions of the Philippine

Table 1A C o m p a r i s o n o f N a t i o n a l H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n s i n A s i a

Criteria The Philippines Indonesia IndiaDate of Crea t ion 1987 1993 1993Poli tical Reg ime Democrat izing No n-D em ocrat ic Democrat icSocial Co ntext Catholic majori ty; Mu slim ma jori ty; Hind u majori ty;

form er Spanish & form er Portuguese form er Brit ishAm er i can co l ony & Dut ch co l ony co l ony

So urce of Au thor i ty Na tional const itution Presidential decree Legislat ivestatute

Mandate/Jurisdiction Full range o f hum anfights In principle, fullrang e of rights; inpractice, mo stlyeconom i c andsocial rights

Civil & politicalrights mostly;excludes militaryfrom jur i sdic tion

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C o m m i s s i o n w e r e d e s i g n e d i n a w a y t h a t a ll to o c l o s e l y r e s e m b l e d i n te r n a -t io n a l g u i d e l i n e s . N o t o n l y d i d t h e f u n c t i o n s a n d s t ru c t u r e o f t h e n e w P h i li p -p i n e C o m m i s s i o n m i r r o r t h e m o d e l o u t l i n e d i n t h e 1 9 7 7 G e n e v a P r i n c i p l e s o nn a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s i n s t i tu t i o n s , b u t i ts l a n g u a g e a l s o r e s e m b l e d t h e st a n -d a r d s r a i s e d i n a U N G e n e r a l A s s e m b l y r e s o l u t i o n i s s u e d i n D e c e m b e r 1 9 8 6( R e s o l u t i o n 4 1 / 1 2 9 ) , a r e s o l u t io n t h a t w a s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t U N s t a te m e n to n t h e s u b j e c t o f n a t i o n a l h u m a n r ig h t s i n s t i tu t i o n s i n y e a r s a n d t h a t w a s i s -s u e d a t t h e p r e c i s e m o m e n t w h e n t h e P h i l i p p i n e ' s n e w c o n s t i t u t i o n w a s b e i n gd r a f t e d . T h e d e c i s i o n t o c r e a t e t h e C o m m i s s i o n a l s o f o l l o w e d t h e f o r m a t i o no n l y a y e a r e a r l ie r o f A u s t r a l i a 's N a t i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n , o n e o f it s r e g i o n a ln e i g h b o r s , a d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t m a y h a v e m a d e c o n s t i tu t i o n a l d r a f t e r s a w a r eo f th i s h u m a n r ig h t s o p t i o n .T o b e s u r e, t h e n a t i o n a l c o n t e x t in 1 9 8 7 w a s r e c e p t i v e t o t h e i d e a o f c re a t -i n g a n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n . I n t h e a f t e r m a t h o f h u m a n r i g h t s a t r o c i t ie s c o m -m i t t e d u n d e r t h e M a r c o s g o v e r n m e n t , h u m a n r i g h ts i s s u e s p r o v i d e d t h ec o a l i t i o n a l g l u e h o l d i n g A q u i n o ' s r e g i m e t o g e t h e r . N o r c a n d o m e s t i c i n i t i a t i v eb e d i s c o u n t e d e n t ir e ly , s i n c e a t t h e ti m e o f it s c r e a t i o n n o o t h e r n a t i o n a l h u -m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n i n t h e w o r l d w a s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y m a n d a t e d . I n d e e d ,w h e n t h e P h i l i p p i n e C o m m i s s i o n o n H u m a n R i g h t s w a s c r e a t e d i t w a s v i e w e da s u s h e r i n g i n " a n e w p h a s e i n th e g r o w t h o f n a ti o n al i n s ti tu t io n s i n d e v e l o p i n gcount r i e s" (Canad i an Human R igh t s Founda t ion 1998: 8 ) . Fur the rmore , t he s t r eng tho f c i v il s o c i e t y i n t h e P h il ip p i n e s m a y e x p l a i n w h y t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s e m p h a -s i z e d i t s p r o m o t i o n a l f u n c t i o n s . A s o b s e r v e r s e l s e w h e r e h a v e n o t e d , t h e d o n o r -d r iv e n n a tu r e o f m a n y P h i l ip p i n e N G O s m i g h t a l s o a c c o u n t f o r w h y t h eC o m m i s s i o n h a s b e e n r e l a t i v e l y s u c c e s s f u l i n c o - o p t i n g t h e m ( N a i r 2 0 0 1 ) .

U n l i k e i n o t h e r c o u n t r i e s , m o r e o v e r , i t i s t r u e t h at i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s d i dn o t d e f i n e a h u m a n r i g h t s p r o b l e m f o r t h e r e g i m e a n d t h e n p r o v i d e i t w i t h as o l u t i o n in th e f o r m o f a h u m a n r ig h t s c o m m i s s i o n . I n t e rn a t i o n a l a c t o r s in -s t e a d o f f e r e d s t a n d a r d s t h a t w e r e d e e m e d a p p r o p r i a t e f o r t h e c o u n t r y ' s r e t u r nt o d e m o c r a t i c r u le . Y e t t h e u n d e r l y i n g l o g i c w a s t h e s a m e : i n th e a b s e n c e o fi n t e rn a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s a n d g e n e r a l a c t i v i s m o n b e h a l f o f n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h tsi n s t i t u t i o n s , t h e r e i s l i t t l e r e a s o n t o t h i n k t h a t t h e P h i l i p p i n e s w o u l d h a v e c r e -a t e d a n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n w h e n i t d id . A l t e rn a t iv e l y , d e m o c r a t i z a t i o n m a ye x p l a i n t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s b r o a d m a n d a t e . J u s t a s s o m e s c h o l a r s a r g u e t h a t t h en e e d o n t h e p a r t o f d e m o c r a t i z i n g s t a te s to re d u c e u n c e r t a i n t y l e a d s t h e m t ou n d e r t a k e g r e a t e r i n t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o o p e r a t i o n ( M o r a v c s i k 2 0 0 0 ) ,d i f f e re n t t y p e s o f r e g i m e s m a y f a c e i n c e n t i v e s t o s tr u c tu r e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s -s i o n s in v a r ie d w a y s . A s a d e m o c r a t i z i n g c o u n t r y , th e P h i l ip p i n e r e g i m e m a yh a v e d e c i d e d t o r e d u c e f u t u r e u n c e r t a i n t y b y g i v i n g t h e C o m m i s s i o n a b r o a d e rm a n d a t e t h a n e i th e r t h at o f m o r e d e m o c r a t i c I n d i a o r a u t h o r i ta r i a n I n d o n e s i a .

I n a d d i t i o n t o p l a y i n g a s u b s t a n t i a l r o l e i n t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s c r e a t i o n , i n t e r -n a t i o n a l a c t o r s w e r e e s s e n t i a l i n e l i c i t i n g s u b s e q u e n t r e f o r m , i n c l u d i n g s h a p -i ng th e c o n t e n t o f t h e 1 9 9 8 C o m m i s s i o n o n H u m a n R i g h t s A c t . O n l y t w o

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36 Hum an Rights Review, October-December 2002

years earlier, Amnesty International (AI) had issued a critical report on theinadequacy of the national commission, especially regarding "disappearances"(Amnesty International 1996a). Again, the substance of the 1998 reform mir-rored closely the specific criticisms raised by international actors like AI. Forexample, just as AI emphasized the failure of the Commission's "quasi-judi-cial functions," the 1998 Act extended the Commission's powers to "giveteeth to its quasi-judicial functions" (House of Representatives 1998: Sec. 9).The reform coincided with a change in government, and occurred only after asubstantial reduction in armed conflict earlier in the decade, but the particularcontent of the reform law matched international recommendations all tooclosely to be purely coincidental.

There were also international economic incentives for the Philippines toadopt a national commission. In fact, at each juncture, when the regime faceda choice to create a national commission or to strengthen its existing one, theinternational political economy has constrained the government's options. Inthe 1980s, the new Aquino regime depended on the United States and interna-tional actors both for legitimacy and foreign funds, and was in the process ofnegotiating with international financial institutions like the International Mon-etary Fund (Nemenzo 1995). Similarly, in the 1990s, as the country's economywas deteriorating under the pressures of the Asian financial crisis, institution-alizing human rights norms certainly could not have hurt the regime interna-tionally. Doing so by creating a political commission permitted the regime toplay a leadership role vis-a-vis this emerging institutional form while retain-ing national control over human rights issues.

The alternative argument that Aquino was the principal architect of the Com-mission itself is overdrawn. In fact, President Aquino appears to have pre-ferred creating a presidential human rights committee with a much narrowermandate. Indeed, when the Human Rights Commission failed to live up to itshopes, she returned in 1989 to her initial option of creating a PresidentialCommittee on Human Rights (International Commission of Jurists 1991: 250-251). The president's personal commitment certainly played a strong role inthe creation of a national commission, but in the absence of international fac-tors-manifest in the close similarity between the structure and functions ofthe Commission on Human Rights and international norms; crucial regionaland international developments at the time, such as Australia's creation of anational commission and an important UN document; and the Philippines'dependence on international economic sources--a national commission wouldnot have been created in 1987 nor reformed in the particular way that it wasten years later. Significantly, the Philippine regime had other options that itchose to forgo when it created and strengthened the National Commission.Governments in the Philippines may have welcomed a national commissionas a tool of democratization, but the idea for a national commission was bor-rowed directly from the international context.

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C a r d e n a s 3 7

I n d o n e s i aIn In d o n e s i a , t h e r e i s l i t t l e d o u b t t h a t t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e N a t i o n a l C o m m i s -s i o n o n H u m a n R i g h t s ( o r K o m n a s - H A M , K omis i Hak Asas i M anus i d i I ndo -

nesia) w a s a i m e d l a r g e l y a t a n in t e r n a ti o n a l a u d i e n c e . A f t e r a ll , t h e g o v e r n m e n to f I n d o n e s ia a n n o u n c e d t h e c r e a ti o n o f t h e H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n a t aU N - s p o n s o r e d h u m a n r ig h t s w o r k s h o p i n J a k a r t a in J u n e 1 9 93 , e x a c t l y o n ew e e k b e f o r e t h e g o v e r n m e n t e x p e c t e d to f a c e c ri ti c is m a t th e u p c o m i n g W o r ldC o n f e r e n c e o n H u m a n R i g h ts i n V ie n n a. T h e a n n o u n c e m e n t al so c a m e o n t h eh e e l s o f t h e f i r s t U N r e s o l u t i o n s u p p o r t e d b y t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s t a r g e t i n g I n d o -n e s i a , a s w e l l a s f o l l o w i n g a w i d e l y p u b l i c i z e d r e p o r t b y t h e L a w y e r s C o m -m i t t e e f o r H u m a n R i g h t s . M o r e b r o a d l y , t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n n o u n c e d t h e c r e a t i o no f t h e N a ti o n al C o m m i s s i o n i n th e a f t er m a t h o f t h e N o v e m b e r 1 9 9 1 m a s s a c r ei n D i l i, E a s t T i m o r a n d a n e n s u i n g w a v e o f in t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s p r e s -s u r e th a t i n c l u d e d t h r e at s b y m a j o r a i d d o n o r s . A s o n e r e s e a r c h e r c o m m e n t e d ," I n r e s p o n s e t o t h e i n c r e a s i n g p r e s s u r e f r o m ' a b o v e a n d b e l o w , ' t a c t i c a l c o n -c e s s i o n s a n d i n s t r u m e n t a l a d a p t a t i o n a s r e s p o n s e b e g a n t o d o m i n a t e t h e a c -t io n r e p e r t o i r e o f t h e I n d o n e s i a n g o v e r n m e n t i n 1 9 9 2 to 1 9 93 w h i c h r e s t r ic t e di ts a v a i l a b l e o p t i o n s fo r a c t i o n " ( J e t s c h k e 1 9 9 9: 1 56 ).

W h i l e o b s e r v e r s o f t e n t ra c e t h e c r e a t i o n o f t h e I n d o n e s i a n c o m m i s s i o n t ot h e D i l i m a s s a c r e , w h a t i s p e r h a p s m o s t i n t e r e s t i n g a b o u t t h i s c a s e i s t h a t ,e v e n b e f o r e t h e m a s s a c r e , i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s h a d d e f i n e d a n a t i o n a l h u m a nr i g h ts i n s t i tu t i o n a s a n o p ti o n f o r th e r e g i m e . W h e n t h e m a s s a c r e p r e s e n t e dt h e r e g i m e w i t h a n i n t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s p r o b l e m , t h e r e s p o n s e w a s t od r a w o n t h e o p t i o n s th a t i n t e r n a t io n a l a c t o r s h a d d e f i n e d b e f o r e h a n d . I n d e e d ,r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s b e g a n c a l l i n g f o r th e c r e a t i o n o f an a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n a t a h u m a n r i g h ts w o r k s h o p h e l d j o i n t l y b y I n d o n e s i a 'sD e p a r t m e n t o f F o r e i g n A f f a i rs a n d th e U n i t e d N a t i o n s i n J a n u a r y 1 9 91 , a l-m o s t e l e v e n m o n t h s b e f o r e t he e v e n ts o f N o v e m b e r 1991 ( N a t io n a l H u m a nR i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n o f I n d o n e s i a 1 9 9 5 ) . O b s e r v e r s h a v e c l a i m e d t h a t t h e h u -m a n r ig h t s c o m m i s s i o n w a s m o d e l e d o n a N a t i o n a l C o m m i s s i o n o f I n q u ir y(Komisi Penyelidkan Nasional) tha t Suhar to had se t up to inves t iga te Di l i and tha th e d i d s o t o f i g h t f a c t i o n a l i s m w i t h i n t h e m i l i t a ry (S A H R D C 1 9 9 8 : 3 6 -3 7 ) . T h i sm ay we l l be cor rec t , bu t i t s ti ll ov e r looks the fac t tha t the Un i ted Na t ions p ro mo tedand de f ined the c rea t ion of a human r igh t s ins t i tu t ion as a v iab le op t ion in the f i r s tp l a c e , a n d th a t w i d e s p re a d i n t e rn a ti o n a l c o n d e m n a t i o n t h e n m a d e t h e c r e a ti o n o fs u c h an i n st it u ti o n e v e n m o r e d e si r ab l e . F u r t h e r m o r e , i t w a s t h e m i n i s t e r o f

f o re ign a f f a ir s th a t c o n v e n e d t h e c o m m i t t e e e s ta b l i s h i n g t h e n a t io n a l c o m m i s -s i o n ( I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o u n c i l o n H u m a n R i g h t s P o l i c y 2 0 0 0 : 2 2 ) .

O n e c a n n o t d i s r e g a r d t h e n o n - d e m o c r a t i c n a t u r e o f th e r e g i m e , b u t t hi sf a c t o r m a y h a v e m a t t e r e d m o s t i n c o n s t r a i n i n g t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s r o l e r a t h e r t h a ni n s p i r i n g i t s i n i t i a l c r e a t i o n a n d k e y c h a n g e s . A u t h o r i t a r i a n ru l e m a y e x p l a i n t h ep r i n c ip a l w e a k n e s s e s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n , i n c l u d i n g i ts c o n s p i c u o u s l a c k o f

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3 8 H u m a n R i g h t s R e v i e w , O c t o b e r - D e c e m b e r 2 0 0 2

p l u r a l is m , w e a k r e g i ona l ne t w or k , a nd a t t a c h m e n t t o a s ta t e ide o l ogy (Pancasila)t h a t i n s o m e r e s p e c t s i s a n t i t h e t i c a l t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s n o r m s( S A H R D C 2 0 0 0 ) . W h i l e th e s e is s u e s h a v e s h a p e d t h e C o m m i s s i o n i n im p o r -t a n t w a y s , t h e y a l o n e c a n n o t a c c o u n t f o r t h e c o u r s e o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l c h a n g e .

I n d e e d , i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s p l a y e d a n e s s e n t i a l r o l e i n e f f o r t s t o r e f o r mI n d o n e s i a ' s H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n . R e m i n i s c e n t o f w h a t o c c u r r e d e i g h tye a r s e a r l i e r , t he r e g i m e i n 1999 r e s ponde d t o r e ne w e d i n t e r na t i ona l p r e s s u r ef o l l o w i n g a n o t h e r h u m a n r i g h t s c r i s i s i n E a s t T i m o r , i n c l u d i n g t h e i n t r o d u c -t i o n o f a U N p e a c e k e e p i n g f o r c e , b y i s s u i n g a p r e s i d e n t i a l d e c r e e t o r e f o r mt h e C o m m i s s i o n . T h e d e c r e e , w h i c h c o i n c i d e d w i th c o n t i n u e d e f fo r ts t o r e-b o u n d f r o m f i n a n c i a l c r i s i s , c a l l e d f o r c r e a t i n g h u m a n r i g h t s t r i b u n a l s t o t r yt h o s e a l l e g e d t o h a v e c o m m i t t e d g r o s s h u m a n r i g h t s a b u s e s . W h i l e t h e d e c r e eh a s s i n c e b e e n r e j e c te d b y I n d o n e s i a ' s p a r l ia m e n t in f a v o r o f m o r e c o m p r e -h e n s i v e r e f o r m , i t i s n o t e w o r t h y t h at t h e I n d o n e s i a n g o v e r n m e n t a n n o u n c e dr e f o r m o f the C om m i s s i on on l y a f t e r i t at tr a c te d w i de s p r e a d i n t e r na t iona l c on -d e m n a t i o n . I t i s a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t o n g o i n g e f f o r t s t o a m e n d t h e C o m m i s -s i on r e f l e c t m e a s u r e s t ha t i n t e r na t i ona l g r oups l i ke A m ne s t y I n t e r na t i ona l ha vea d v a n c e d . T h e s e p r o p o s a l s i n c l u d e r e c o n s t i t u t i n g t h e C o m m i s s i o n a c c o r d i n gt o l e g i s l a t i v e s t a t u t e r a t h e r t h a n p r e s i d e n t i a l d e c r e e a n d p r o v i d i n g t h e C o m -m i s s i o n w i th s t ro n g e r p o w e r s o f i n v e s t i g a ti o n ( A m n e s t y I n t e r n a t io n a l 1 9 9 9a ).

T h e I n d o n e s i a n C o m m i s s i o n , m o r e o v e r , h a s r e c e i v e d s u b s t a n t i a l i n t e r n a -t i ona l a s s i s t a nc e , a i m e d s pe c i f i c a l l y a t s t r e ng t he n i ng t h i s i n s t i t u t i on . F o r e x -a m p l e , A u s t r a l i a ' s D e p a r t m e n t o f F o r e i g n A f f a ir s a n d T r a d e h a s a s s i s te dI n d o n e s i a ' s C o m m i s s i o n , e s p e c i a l l y t h r o u g h p r o j e c t s a i m e d a t s t r e n g t h e n i n gt h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s c a p a c i t y t o p r o m o t e p u b l i c a w a r e n e s s . L i k e w i s e , t h e C a n a -d i a n H u m a n R i g h t s F o u n d a t i o n ( a n N G O ) h a s t e a m e d u p w i t h C a n a d a ' s g o v -e r n m e n t a l H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n to i m p l e m e n t a p r o j e c t o n i n s ti t u ti o n a lh u m a n r i g h t s c a p a c i t i e s i n I n d o n e s i a , a l s o t a r g e t i n g t h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s p r o m o -t io n a l f u n c t i o n s . M o r e b r o a d ly , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s b e n e f i te d f r o m f o r m a lc o n t a c t s w i t h o t h e r h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s , s u c h a s t h o s e o f C a n a d a a n dI nd i a , a nd f r om m e e t i ngs w i t h s e ve r a l f o r e i gn de l e ga t i ons , i nc l ud i ng t he U n i t e dN a t i ons . A l l t o l d , i n t e r na t i ona l s t a nda r ds a nd a s s i s t a nc e ha ve l e f t a n i nde l i b l em a r k o n t h e c r e a t i o n a n d s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f I n d o n e s i a ' s h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s -s i on .India

A w i d e r a n g e o f o b s e r v e r s h a s v i e w e d t h e c r e a ti o n o f a n a t i o n a l h u m a nr i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n in I n d i a a s an a t t e m p t t o a p p e a s e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c to r s . I n1991 a nd 1992 , a s i n t e r na t i ona l g r oups l e ve l e d c r i t i c i s m s on t he ba s i s o f e a r -l i e r f a c t - f i n d i n g m i s s i o n s , a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l e c o n o m i c d o n o r s r e f e r r e d e x p l i c -i tl y t o d e t e r io r a t i n g h u m a n r i g h t s c o n d i t io n s , t h e I n d i a n g o v e r n m e n t b e g a n t ode ba t e t he c r e a t i on o f a na t i ona l c om m i s s i on , a s d i d m a j o r po l i t i c a l pa r t i e s i n

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their bid for parliamentary elections. Important precedents already existed fordoing so. India's parliament had created two related national commissions in1990 (a National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes anda National Commission for Women), as well as a National Commission onMinorities in 1992 (Norchi 1998:113). The state of Madhya itself had erecteda human rights commiss ion in 1992 (Vijayakumar 2000: 215). Regionally,the Philippines had the only human rights commission, but more promised tofollow in the wake of the 1993 Vienna Conference on Human Rights.

Social advocates and government opponents alike in India viewed the Na-tional Commission as internationally inspired. Prominent human rights advo-cate Ravi Nair portrayed the government's motives in creating the Commission"to circumvent international scrutiny by stating that they have adequate na-tional institutions to investigate these charges" (Nair 1992, cited in Norchi1998: 114). Likewise, a Tamil-based lawyer, Rajeev Dhavan, emphasized the"threat that international economic decisions will carry human rights condi-tionalities" (Dhavan 1993, ci ted in Norchi 1998: 116). India, after all, wasconsidering creating a national commission at the same time that it was nego-tiating an agreement with the IMF. India's home minister, S.B. Chavan, simi-larly declared in March 1992 that the proposed Commission would "counterthe false and politically motivated propaganda by foreign and civil rights agen-cies" (Ministry of Home Affairs n.d., cited in Norchi 1998:116). Along thesame lines, the Congress Party described the Commission's potential findingsas "a corrective to the biased and one-sided reports of the NGOs" as well as"an effective answer to politically motivated international criticism" (Chavan1993, cited in Norchi 1998:116). More colorfully, in a seminar organized byIndia's Bar Council to debate the Commission's creation, Justice V.R. KrishnaIyer described the instrumental nature of the Commission as "an optical illu-sion, cosmetic coloration, opium for the people at home and brown sugar forcountries abroad, a legislative camouflage, a verbal wonder which concealsmore than it reveals" (Vijayakumar 2000: 216).While India has led the way for other national human rights commissions,both regionally and internationally, it also has benefited from its extensive tiesto international actors. Throughout its existence, it has established formal linksto groups like Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the InternationalCommittee of the Red Cross, the International Commission of Jurists, the UNCommissioner for Human Rights, and UNICEE The Commission regularly re-ceives delegates from various European parliaments, the United States Congress,and Commonwealth human rights institutions. Inter-governmentally, India coop-erates formally with other commissions, as evident for example in its Memoran-dum of Understanding with Canada's National Human Rights Commission.

It is true that India long has sought institutional solutions to its human rightsproblems (Norchi 1998: 113-114), but in the absence of international pres-sure, norms, and cooperation, it is unlikely that India would have created a

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n a t io n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n p e r s e . T h e C o m m i s s i o n ' s b a s ic s ta n d a r d s,a f te r a ll , h a v e m i r r o r e d in l a rg e p a r t r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s b y b o t h t h e U n i t e dN a t i ons a nd A m ne s t y I n t e r na t i ona l , a c t o r s a t t he f o r e f r on t o f p r om ot i ng i n t e r -n a t i o n a l n o r m s i n t h i s a r e a . T h e d e m o c r a t i c a n d l e g a l i s t i c f o u n d a t i o n s o f t h eI n d i a n s t a t e h e l p e d t o s t a c k t h e C o m m i s s i o n w i t h a c o m m i t t e d a n d i n d e p e n -d e n t s e t o f m e m b e r s , t h e m a j o r it y o f w h o m c o m e f r o m t h e j u d ic i ar y . Y et s t ro n gi n t e r n a ti o n a l in f l u e n c e , in t h e a b s e n c e o f f u l l g o v e r n m e n t a l c o m m i t m e n t a n do n g o i n g a r m e d c o n f l ic t , h a s m e a n t th a t I n d i a 's C o m m i s s i o n r e m a i n s i n s o m ew a y s w e a k , e v e n i n a c o u n t r y u n d e r d e m o c r a t i c r u l e .Other Cases

S i m i l a r i n t e r n a t i o n a l - n a t i o n a l d y n a m i c s a r e e v i d e n t i n o t h e r c o m m i s s i o n st h r o u g h o u t t h e r e g i o n . N e p a l a n n o u n c e d i t s i n t e n t i o n t o c r e a t e a n a t i o n a l h u -m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n in 1 9 96 , f o l l o w i n g i ts s u p p r e s s i o n o f a M a o i s t u p r i s -i ng a nd r e l a te d i n t e r na t iona l p r e s s u r e ( S A H R D C , 1998: 2 ) . In M a l a ys i a , noneo t h e r t h a n t h e m i n i s t e r o f f o r e i g n a f fa i rs a n n o u n c e d i n A p r i l 1 9 9 9 th a t t h eg o v e r n m e n t w o u l d c r e at e a n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n . L i k e w i s e , t h eS r i L a n k a n g o v e r n m e n t a n n o u n c e d t h e c r e a ti o n o f a n a ti o n a l c o m m i s s i o n att h e U n i t e d N a t io n s H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i t t e e i n J u l y 1 99 5, w h e n t h e C o m -m i t t e e w a s r e v i e w i ng S r i L a nka ' s t h i r d pe r i od i c r e po r t on i t s c om pl i a nc e w i t ht h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o v e n a n t o n C i v i l a n d P o l i t i c a l R i g h t s . M o r e r e c e n t l y , i nA p r i l 1 9 9 9 , t h e g o v e r n m e n t c h o s e t h e U N C o m m i s s i o n o f H u m a n R i g h t s a si t s f o r um f o r a nnounc i ng a p l a n t o i nc r e a s e t he r e s ou r c e s a nd s t r e ng t h o f t heN a t io n a l H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n (A m n e s t y In t e r n a ti o n a l 1 9 9 9 b, 1 99 5;G o m e z 1 9 98 ; S A H R D C 1 99 8: 5 3 - 5 7; C o m m o n w e a l t h H u m a n R i g h t s I n it ia -t ive 1999) .

I n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s h a v e i n f l u e n c e d S r i L a n k a b y c h a l l e n g i n g i t s c o m m i t -m e n t t o h u m a n r i g h t s n o r m s a n d o f f e r i n g s p e c i f i c a d v i c e a b o u t t h e f u n c t i o n -i n g o f i t s H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n . A m n e s t y I n t e rn a t io n a l h a s b e e n e s p e c ia l lyv o c a l i n c a l l i n g f o r b o t h t h e f o r m a t i o n a n d s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n .F o l l o w i n g S r i L a n k a ' s a n n o u n c e m e n t t h at it w o u l d e st a b li s h a C o m m i s s i o n ,A m n e s t y i s s u e d a r e p o r t r e c o m m e n d i n g s p e c i f i c i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s . I m -m e d i a t e l y a f t e r S r i L a n k a c r e a t e d t h e C o m m i s s i o n i n m i d - 1 9 9 6 , A m n e s t y r e -s p o n d e d t o s o m e o f th e p e r c e iv e d w e a k n e s s e s o f th e n e w C o m m i s s i o n b yi s su i n g a n o t h e r re p o r t o n S r i L a n k a ' s " w a v e r i n g c o m m i t m e n t " t o h u m a n r i g h ts( A m n e s t y I n t e r n a t io n a l 1 9 9 6 b , 1 9 9 9 b ) . T h e c r e a t io n o f th e a c tu a l c o m m i s -s i o n a l s o b e n e f i t e d f r o m d i r e c t t e c h n i c a l a s s i s t a n c e b y t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s ,w h i c h a d v i s e d S r i L a n k a ' s g o v e r n m e n t o n r e l e v a n t le g i s la t iv e m a t t e rs . I n a ne f f o rt to r e f o r m t h e y o u n g C o m m i s s i o n , t h e U n i t e d N a t io n s C o m m i t t e e a g ai n stT o r t u r e a ls o r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t it b e s t r e n g t h e n e d ( U n i t e d N a t i o n s n . d .) .

L i k e w i s e , t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s D e v e l o p m e n t P r o g r a m h a s b e e n a s si s ti n g t h eg o v e r n m e n t o f B a n g l a d e s h s i n c e 1 9 96 i n l a y i n g t h e f o u n d a t i o n s fo r a n a t io n a l

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h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n . T h i s h a s i n c l u d e d p r o v i d i n g c o n s u l t a n t s t o a s s i s t i nd r a f t i n g l e g i s l a t i o n a n d o r g a n i z i n g s y m p o s i a o n t h e s u b j e c t . A m n e s t y I n t e r n a -t i o n a l h a s i s s u e d r e p o r t s t h a t c a l l o n B a n g l a d e s h t o a p p l y i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n -d a r d s i n c r e a t i n g a n a t io n a l c o m m i s s i o n . W h i l e i t r e m a i n s t o o e a r l y t o t el l,i n t e rn a t i o n a l s t a n d a rd s a n d a s s i s t a n c e a r e l i k e l y t o s h a p e a fu t u r e h u m a n r i g h t sc o m m i s s i o n in B a n g l a d e s h ( A m n e s t y I n t e rn a t i o n a l 1 9 97 ; S A H R D C 1 99 8: 4 -6 ; U n i t e d N a t i o n s n . d . ) .

I n g e n e r a l , i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s h a v e p l a y e d a c r u c i a l r o l e i n c r e a t i n g a n ds t r e n g t h e n i n g n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s i n A s i a . N o t o n l y h a v e t h e ys e t a n d p r o m o t e d i n t e r n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s , w h i c h h a v e f o u n d t h e i r w a y i n t o a l ln a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s , b u t t h e y h a v e u n d e r t a k e n a n i n t e n s i v e s e t o f a c t i v i t i e st h a t i n c l u d e s p r o v i d i n g e x p e r t s , o r g a n i z i n g s e m i n a r s , a n d o f f e r i n g t r a i n i n g i ns e v e ra l r e l a t e d a r e a s ( e . g . , h u m a n r i g h t s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , c o n f l i c t r e s o l u t i o n , a n dt h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f s tu d i e s a n d e v a l u a t i o n s ) . T h i s s u p p o r t h a s in v o l v e d t h ep r o v i s i o n o f fi n a n c i a l , t e c h n i c a l , a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s k il ls , o r t h e e x a c t r e -s o u r c e s t h a t c o u n t r i e s s e e k i n g t o c r e a t e t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s o f t e n l a c k .

N a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s m a y b e p o p u l a r i n p a r t b e c a u s e i n t e r -n a t i o n a l a c t o r s h a v e d e f i n e d t h e m b r o a d l y a n d o n m u l t i p l e l e v e l s : a s d e m o -c r a t i c i n s t it u t io n s , s i g n s o f c o m m i t m e n t t o i n t e r n a t i o n a l n o r m s , a n d e m b l e m so f m e m b e r s h i p i n a li b e ra l c o m m u n i t y o f st a te s . B y t a p p i n g i n to a c r o s s - s e c -t i o n o f m o r e b a s i c s t a te i n t e re s t s , n a ti o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s a p p e a le v e n t o h i g h l y d i v e r s e s t a t e s . T h e s e c o m m i s s i o n s t h u s r e s o n a t e w i t h d e m o c -r a t i z in g s t a t e s, s u c h a s t h e P h i l i p p i n e s , w h i c h a r e u n d e r g o i n g r e g i m e c h a n g ea n d s e e k i n g t o d e v e l o p t h e i r i n s ti t u ti o n a l c a p a c i t i e s i n t h e a r e a o f h u m a n r i g h ts .A t t h e s a m e t i m e , t h e y a p p e a l t o f u l l y d e m o c r a t i c a n d n o n - d e m o c r a t i c s t a t e sa l i k e , s u c h a s I n d i a a n d I n d o n e s i a , w h i c h v i o l a t e i n t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t sn o r m s b u t w a n t t o p o r t r a y t h e m s e l v e s a s c o m m i t t e d t o t h e se n o r m s . I n t er n a -t i o n a l f a c t o r s t h e r e f o r e e x p l a i n w h y e v e n v e r y d i f f e r e n t s t a t e s h a v e c r e a t e ds u c h s i m i l a r n a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s .

T h e i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r i g i n o f n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s a l s o h a s l e f t a n i m p o r t a n tl e g a c y in t h e i r s tr u c t u r e a n d e f f e c t i v e n e s s . A l l th r e e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n sh a v e b e e n u n a b l e t o e n f o r c e t h e i r r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s i n th e f a c e o f c o n c e r t e dg o v e r n m e n t o p p o s i t i o n , d e s p i t e b a s ic d i f f e r e n c e s in th e i r o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a u -t h o r i t y a n d m a n d a t e . I n a l l c a s e s , n a t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t s h a v e c u r t a i l e d t h ep o w e r o f th e s e i n s ti t u ti o n s , a l b e it to v a r y i n g d e g r e e s . W h e n g o v e r n m e n t o f f i-c i al s h a v e n o t h a d a n i n t er e s t in i m p l e m e n t i n g t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s o f t h e seC o m m i s s i o n s , t h e y s i m p l y h a v e n o t d o n e s o. A n d i n th e c o n t e x t o f c o u n t e r -i n s u r g e n c y c a m p a i g n s , t h e m i l i t a r y i n a l l t h r e e c o u n t r i e s h a s a t v a r i o u s t i m e sb e e n a b l e t o o b s t r u c t th e w o r k o f t h e n a ti o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s . L i k e w i s e , t h e reh a v e b e e n s e r io u s q u e s t i o n s a b o u t t h e c r e d ib i l i ty o f i n d iv i d u a l c o m m i s s i o n -e r s , a n d a l l t h r e e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s h a v e f a i l e d t o h o l d t h e g o v e r n m e n tf u l l y a c c o u n t a b l e f o r p a s t v i o l a t i o n s , d e s p i t e t h e i r p u b l i c c o m m i t m e n t t o t h ec o n t r a r y . W h i l e i n s o m e c a s e s t h e y h a v e c o m p e n s a t e d h u m a n r i g h t s v i c t i m s

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42 Hum an Rights Review, October-December 2002o r t h e i r f a m i l i e s , m o r e o f t e n t h a n n o t t h e y h a v e f a i l e d t o p r o v i d e c o m p r e h e n -s iv e fo r m s o f re d r e s s . P r o b l e m s o f i n d e p e n d e n c e , t r a n s p a r e n c y , a n d r e la t i o n sw i t h N G O s b e d e v i l a l l t h r e e c o m m i s s i o n s ( S A H R D C 1 9 9 8 ) . T h e s e b a s i c w e a k -n e s s e s , m o r e o v e r , h a v e b e e n p r e s e n t i n b o t h r e l a t iv e l y d e m o c r a t i c a n d n o n -d e m o c r a t i c s t a t e s . T h e y h a v e b e e n c o m m o n t o a l l t h r e e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s ,c u t t i n g a c r o s s d i f f e r e n c e s in p o l i t ic a l , s o c i a l , a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n a l s t r u c tu r e s .

W h a t i s p e r h a p s m o s t s u r p r i s i n g , h o w e v e r , i s t h a t d e s p i t e t h e i r c o m p a r a b l ei n t e r n a t i o n a l o r i g i n s a n d w e a k n e s s e s , a l l t h r e e c o m m i s s i o n s h a v e p r o v e d t ob e m o r e i n f l u e n t i a l t h a n i n i t i a l l y e x p e c t e d . B y o f f e r i n g a c r i t i q u e o f t h e s t a t ef r o m w i t h i n t h e s t a t e , n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s a r e c o n t r i b u t i n g t o a n o t i c e a b l e i fl i m i t e d t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f s o v e r e i g n t y . I d e t a i l t h e s e e f f e c t s b e l o w , h i g h l i g h t -i n g t h e s u b t l e a n d u n i n t e n t i o n a l w a y s i n w h i c h n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m -m i s s i o n s a r e r e d r a w i n g t h e b o u n d a r i e s o f s t a t e - s o c i e t y r e l a t i o n s .

T r a n s f o r m i n g S o v e r e i g n t yG o v e r n m e n t s a c r o s s t h e A s i a - P a c i f i c r e g i o n m a y h a v e c r e a t e d n a t i o n a l h u -

m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s l a r g e l y t o a p p e a s e i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s a n d c o n t r o lc h a l l e n g e s t o t h e ir s o v e r e ig n t y . O n c e c r e a te d , h o w e v e r , t h e s e c o m m i s s i o n sh a v e h a d t h e p a r a d o x i c a l e f f e c t o f p r o d u c i n g a n e v e n g r e a t e r c h a l l e n g e to t h es t a t e ' s a u t h o r i t y . I n t h i s s e c t i o n , I e x a m i n e t h e i n d e p e n d e n t i m p a c t o f n a t i o n a lh u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s io n s , f o c u s i n g m o s t l y o n t h e c a se o f In d ia . I n d i a 's N H R Ci l l u s tr a t e s b o t h t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s f a c e d b y a n a t i o n al c o m m i s s i o n a n d i t s p o t e n t ia lc o n t r i b u t i o n to t h e a d v a n c e m e n t o f h u m a n r i g h ts . T h e I n d i a n r e g i m e , a f t e r a ll, ise n g a g e d i n a h i g h l e v e l o f v i o l a ti o n s b u t e n m e s h e d i n a s y s t e m o f d e m o c r a t i cg o v e r n a n c e a n d r u l e o f l a w . Wh i l e q u e s t i o n s o f i n s t i t u t i o n a l i m p a c t a r e c o m p l e x ,I i d e n t if y f o u r sp e c if ic a r en a s in w h i c h I n d i a ' s N H R C h a s e n c r o a c h e d o n s ta t es o v e r e i g n t y : a g e n d a s e t t i n g , r u l e c r e a t i o n , a c c o u n t a b i l i t y , a n d s o c i a l i z a t i o n .

P e r c e p t i o n s o f t h e i m p a c t o f In d i a ' s N H R C t e n d t o b e s h a r p l y p o l a ri z e d .S u p p o r t e r s a s s e r t t h a t t h e n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n i s u n i q u e l y s i t u a t e d t o p r o m o t eh u m a n r i g h t s n o r m s f r o m wi t h i n t h e s t a t e . De t r a c t o r s i n s i s t t h a t i t i s a n e x t e n -s i o n o f t h e s a m e s t a t e a p p a r a t u s t h a t e n g a g e s i n h u m a n r i g h ts v io l a ti o n s, h e n c ei ts l a c k o f e n f o r c e m e n t p o we r s. A c l o s e e x a m i n a t io n o f t h e NH R C s u g g es ts , h o w-ever , tha t i t s impac t i s more complex than e i the r i t s suppor te r s o r c r i t i c s con tend .

I t s i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r i g i n s n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g , I a r g u e t h a t t h e N H R C p o s e s al i m i t e d b u t s i g n i f i c a n t c h a l l e n g e t o t h e s t a t e . B e f o r e d e t a i l i n g t h i s i n f l u e n c e ,t wo c a v e a t s a r e i n o r d e r . F i r s t , I d i s a g g r e g a t e t h e s t a t e i n t o m u l t i p l e i n s t i t u -t i o n a l u n i t s a n d a g e n c i e s . M y a s s u m p t i o n i s t h a t n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s a r e o n et y p e o f s t a t e i n s t i t u t i o n ; t h e y c a n c h a l l e n g e s o m e a c t o r s b u t n o t n e c e s s a r i l yo t h e r s w i t h i n t h e s t a te . S e c o n d , I u n b u n d l e t h e n o t i o n o f d o m e s t i c s o v e r e i g n t y .W h i l e d o m e s t i c s o v e r e i g n t y r e f e r s t o t h e s t a t e 's r i g h t t o o r g a n i z e i t s e l f i n t e r-n a l l y a n d t o e x e r t a u t h o r i t a t i v e c o n t r o l i n t h e n a t i o n a l d o m a i n , I a s s u m e t h a t i tc a n t a k e v a r i o u s f o r m s . N a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s , t h a t i s , m a y c h a l l e n g e t h e d o -

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m e s t i c a u t h o r i t y o f s t a t e a c t o r s b u t d o s o i n v e r y s p e c i f i c wa y s . I f s o v e r e i g n t yi s a c o m p l e x c o n s t r u c t , c h a l l e n g e s a n d r e s p o n s e s t o s o v e r e i g n t y m a y b e n ol e s s m u l t i f a c e t e d .Agenda Setting

O n e a r e a i n w h i c h n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s h a v e c u r t a i l e d s t a t es o v e r e i g n t y i s a g e n d a s e t t in g . B y e l e v a t i n g t h e s ta t u s o f a g i v e n i s su e , n a -t io n a l c o m m i s s i o n s c a n s h a p e t h e c o n t o u r s o f th e s t a t e 's h u m a n r i g h t s a g e n d a .I n d i a 's N H R C h a s h e l p e d t o e n h a n c e t h e p ro f il e o f a b r o a d s p e c t r u m o f i ss u e s,r a n g i n g f r o m q u e s t i o n s o f c u s t o d i a l d e a t h a n d p r i s o n c o n d i t i o n s t o t h e ri g h t so f th e m e n t a l l y il l a n d p r o b l e m s o f c h i l d l ab o r. P a r t o f s h a p i n g t h e s t a t e ' sa g e n d a h a s e n t a i l e d t h e N H R C i n s e r t i n g o r a t l e a s t p r o m o t i n g n e w i d e a s i n t os t at e d i s c o u r s e , in c l u d i n g p r o p o s a l s f o r " s y s t e m i c " r e f o r m o f t h e p o l i c e a n d a" p a r a d i g m s h i ft " a w a y f r o m p u n i s h i n g t o r e h a b i l it a t in g p r i s o n e r s ( N H R C ,Human Rights Newslet ter a n d Annual Report). W h e t h e r o r n o t s u c h i d e a s t a k eo r g a n i z a t i o n a l h o l d i s n o t a s i m p o r t a n t f r o m t h e p e r s p e c t i v e o f s o v e r e i g n t y a st h e f a c t t h a t t h e y b e c o m e p o l i t i c a l l y s a l i e n t .

M o r e s p e c if i ca l ly , t h e C o m m i s s i o n p l a c e s o r el e v a t e s h u m a n r ig h t s i s su e so n t h e s t a t e ' s a g e n d a t h r o u g h s e v e r a l m e a n s . I t c a n m a k e s t r o n g l y w o r d e d ,c o n d e m n a t o r y s t a t e m e n t s ; i s s u e s p e c i f i c r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s ; d i r e c t s t a t e a g e n -c i e s t o t a k e c o n c r e t e a c t i o n ; c a l l f o r g u i d e l i n e s t o b e e l a b o r a t e d ; a n d p r o m o t eu n i f o r m n a t i o n a l s t a n d a r d s . T o a n e v e n g r e a t e r e x t e n t t h a n i n I n d i a , t h e r e is ac o n s e n s u s t h a t t h e st r e n g th o f I n d o n e s i a ' s H u m a n R i g h t s C o m m i s s i o n h a sb e e n i t s h a r d - h i t t i n g s t a t e m e n t s , i n c l u d i n g c o n t r o v e r s i a l i s s u e s l i k e s t a t e - s p o n -s o r e d " d i s a p p e a r a n c e s " a n d a b u s e s in E a st T i m o r ( S A H R D C 2 0 0 0 ; I n t e rn a -t i o n a l C o u n c i l o n H u m a n R i g h t s P o l i c y 2 0 0 0) . I n d i a ' s N H R C a l so h a s p u ti s su e s o n t h e a g e n d a b y q u e s t i o n in g t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s c o m m i t m e n t t o h u m a nr ig h t s. T h e C o m m i s s i o n t h u s n o t e d t h at u n l es s t h e g o v e r n m e n t e m p o w e r s it t oi n q u i r e m o r e e f f e c t i v e l y i n to h u m a n r i g h t s v i o l a t io n s b y t h e a r m e d f o r c e s , itm a y " e r o d e t h e c re d i b i li t y o f t h e G o v e r n m e n t o f I n d ia i n it s c o m m i t m e n t tor e s p e c t h u m a n r i g h ts " ( N H R C , Human Rights Newsle t ter J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1 ) .

C r i t ic s m a y b e c o r r e c t in n o t i n g t h a t t h e N H R C t a r g e ts l o c a l a u t h o r i t ie sm o r e th a n t h e c e n tr a l g o v e r n m e n t , c o l l u d e s w i t h th e g o v e r n m e n t in k e e p i n gc e r t a i n n a t i o n a l s e c u r i t y i ss u e s o f f th e a g e n d a , a n d o f t e n f o l l o w s r a t h e r th a nl e a d s h u m a n r i g h t s i n it i at iv e s . A s a n e v e r - g r o w i n g n u m b e r o f i s su e s c o m e tot h e a t te n t i o n o f t h e N H R C , m o r e o v e r , m e m b e r s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n a r e h a rdp r e s s e d to d e c i d e w h i c h i s su e s to p r io r i ti z e ( N H R C 2 0 0 1 b ) . H o w e v e r a c c u -r a t e , t h e s e c o n c e r n s o v e r l o o k a p o t e n t i a l l y s i g n i f i c a n t d y n a m i c . T h e e x i s t e n c eo f a n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n c a n a l l o w t h e s ta t e to s a v e f a c e b y c r e d i t i n g t h ec o m m i s s i o n , a n i n d i g e n o u s a n d n o t i n t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r , w i t h a s h i f t i n p o l i c y .T h u s , f o l l o w i n g p r e s s u re f r o m t h e N H R C i n 1 99 7, I n d i a 's p r i m e m i n i s t e r c o n -v e n e d a h i g h - l e v e l m e e t i n g t o d i s c u s s t h e c o u n t r y ' s a c c e s s i o n t o t h e C o n v e n -

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t i o n A g a i n s t T o r t u r e . R e g a r d l e s s o f t h e a c t u a l m o t i v e s p r o p e l l i n g I n d i a t o s i g nt h e t r e a t y s h o r t l y t h e r e a f t e r , t h e N H R C ' s r o l e w a s p o r t r a y e d a s c r u c i a l . L i k e -w i s e , a f t e r t h e g o v e r n m e n t t a b l e d a p ro p o s a l t o i n t r o d u c e a p r e v e n t i o n o ft e r r o r i s m b i l l i n 2 0 0 0 , w h i c h t h e N H R C h a d o p p o s e d p u b l i c l y , t h e p r i m e m i n -i s t e r r e f e r r e d t o th e s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e p l a y e d b y t h e C o m m i s s i o n , a l t h o u g h o p -p o s i t i o n t o t h e d r a f t b i l l h a d e m a n a t e d f r o m v a r i o u s q u a r t e r s ( N H R C , H u m a nRigh t s N e w s le t t e r J u l y a n d A u g u s t 2 0 00 ; N H R C 2 0 0 1 b ).

S h a p i n g t h e s t a t e ' s a g e n d a c o n s t i t u t e s a b a s i c c h a l l e n g e t o s o v e r e i g n t y i n -s o f a r as it s e rv e s to r e d e f i n e t h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s p r i o r i ti e s a n d g o a l s . H o w e v e ri n n o c u o u s t h e d y n a m i c s o f a g e n d a s e tt in g m a y s e em , a t a m i n i m u m t h e y c a nc r e a t e g r e a t e r p o l i ti c a l s p a c e f o r o t h e r a c t o rs ( i n c l u d i n g n o n - g o v e r n m e n t a la n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l o n e s ) t o c o n f r o n t t h e s t a te m o r e f o r c e f u l l y . C o n s e q u e n t l y , i nt h e g i v e - a n d - t a k e o f a g e n d a s e t t in g , n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n s c a nre o r i e n t s t a t e d i s c o u r s e . A s a l e a d i n g N G O a c t i v i s t r e m a rk e d , p e rh a p s t h e m o s tn o t e w o r t h y c o n t r ib u t i o n o f I n d i a' s N H R C is th a t t h e s u b je c t o f h u m a n r ig h t si s n o l o n g e r p e r c e i v e d a s b e i n g " a n t i - n a t i o n a l " ( N a i r 2 0 0 1 ) .Rule Creat ion

O n e o f t h e p r e r o g a t iv e s o f a n y s o v e r e i g n s t a te i s t o o r g a n i z e i t s e l f d o m e s t i -c a l l y a s i t s e e s f i t , i n c l u d i n g t h e r i g h t t o c r e a t e i t s o w n ru l e s . T h e C o m m i s s i o nh a s c h a l l e n g e d t h e s t a t e ' s a u t h o r i t y t o m a k e a d e q u a t e r u l e s b y i s s u i n g r e g u l a -t i o n s a n d g u i d e l i n e s o f i ts o w n f o r s t a te a g e n c i e s . T h e N H R C t h e n d i s s e m i -n a t e s t h e s e ru l e s a c ro s s t h e s t a t e a p p a ra t u s .

M a n y o f t h e ru l es c r e a t e d b y t h e N H R C h a v e f o c u s e d o n i s su e s o f c r im i n a lj u s t i c e , s u c h a s c u s t o d i a l d e a t h s a n d p o l i c e a r r e s t s ( N H R C 2 0 0 0 a ) . R u l e c r e -a t io n s o m e t i m e s h a s c o n s i s t e d , f o r e x a m p l e , o f h e l p i n g t o d e v i s e f o r m s f o rs t a t e o f f i c i a l s t o u s e i n r e p o r t i n g h u m a n r i g h t s a b u s e s . T h e C o m m i s s i o n a l s oh a s f a c i l i t a t e d t h e c r e a t i o n o f n e w r u l e s b y u s i n g i t s s t a t u t o r y p o w e r o f t a k i n gc e r t a i n i s s u e s b e f o r e t h e S u p r e m e C o u r t ; t h u s n e w g u i d e l i n e s w e r e c r e a t e d i nr e c e n t y e a r s f o r i n te r p r e t in g t h e w i d e l y a b u s e d A r m e d F o r c e s ( S p e c i a l P o w -e r s ) A c t . I n o t h e r i n s t a n c e s , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s h e l p e d t o e s t a b l i s h n e w s t a t ei n s t i t u t i o n s , s u c h a s t h e fo rm a t i o n i n 1 9 9 9 b y v a r i o u s s t a t e s ' p o l i c e h e a d q u a r -t e rs o f h u m a n r i g h t s c e ll s. T h e N H R C p r o m o t e d t h e i d e a o f th e s e c e ll s a n dt h e n i s s u e d g u i d e l i n e s f o r h o w t h e s e u n i t s s h o u l d f u n c t i o n ( N H R C , H u m a nRigh t s N e w s le t t e r a n d Annua l Re por t ) .

R u l e c r e a t i o n is c l e a r ly n o t r u l e i m p l e m e n t a t i o n , b u t w h a t i s i m p o r t a n t i st h a t t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s r e f r a m e d t h e c o n t e x t i n w h i c h t h e b r o a d e r s t a t e a p -p a r a tu s c a n o p e r a t e . T h u s, t h e N H R C h a s e n a c t e d s e v e r a l r u l es r e g u l a t i n gc u s t o d i a l d e a t h s a t t h e s a m e t i m e t h a t th e n u m b e r o f c u s t o d i a l d e a t h s a p p e a r st o h a v e r i s e n . C o n c u r r e n t l y , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s i s s u e d g u i d e l i n e s r e q u i r i n gs t a t e a u t h o r i t i e s t o c h a n g e t h e i r s t a n d a r d o p e r a t i n g p r o c e d u r e s : s t a t e a u t h o r i -t ie s m u s t r e p o r t a n y d e a t h s i n c u s t o d y w i t h i n t w e n t y - f o u r h o u r s a s w e l l as

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s u b m i t p o s t - m o r t e m r e p o r t s t o t h e C o m m i s s i o n , a n d t h e y a r e t o d o s o o n f o r m sp r e p a r e d b y t h e C o m m i s s i o n ( N H R C , Annual Report). N a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t sc o m m i s s i o n s a r e d e f y i n g c o n v e n t i o n a l s t a t e c o n t r o l o v e r r u l e m a k i n g .Accountability

T h e N H R C a l s o i s b e g i n n i n g t o h o l d t h e s t a t e a c c o u n t a b l e f o r h u m a n r i g h t sv i o l a t i o n s . I t d o e s t h is i n t w o m a j o r w a y s : i n v e s t i g a t i n g s t a t e p r a c t i c e s a n dr e c o m m e n d i n g th a t th e g o v e r n m e n t c o m p e n s a t e v i c t im s . W h e n i t i n v e st ig a t est h e s t a te ' s a l l e g e d a b u s e o f h u m a n r i g h t s, t h e N H R C c a ll s i n to q u e s t i o n t h ea u t h o r i t y o f a n y s ta t e i n s ti t u t io n c o m m i t t i n g v i o l a t io n s . A c c o r d i n g t o t h eN H R C , " t h e p r o v is i o n o f a n i n v e st ig a t in g m e c h a n i s m o f its o w n i n t h e C o m -m i s s i o n g i v e s i t t h e a d v a n t a g e o f n o t b e i n g r e q u i r e d t o r e ly o n t h e S t a t e m a -c h i n e r y f o r i n q u i r in g i n t o c o m p l a i n t s o f v io l a t io n o f h u m a n r i g h t s w h e n t h ea l l e g a t i o n o f v i o l a t i o n is a g a i n s t th e S t a t e m a c h i n e r y i t se l f " ( N H R C , HumanRights Newsletter S e p t e m b e r 2 0 0 0 ). T h e i n v e s t i g a to r y r e a c h o f t h e N H R C ,w h i c h h a s i n c l u d e d c a s e s o f i l l e g a l d e t e n t i o n a n d s e v e r e t o r t u r e , e s s e n t i a l l yc h a l l e n g e s t h e s t a t e ' s r i g h t t o e v a d e t r a n s p a r e n c y .

I t i s s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t t h e C o m m i s s i o n d e r i v e s i t s a u t h o r i t y f o r c o n d u c t i n gi n v e s t i g a t i o n s f r o m i t s s t a t u t o r y s t a n d i n g a s a n i n d e p e n d e n t n a t i o n a l b o d y .A c c o rd i n g l y , i t c a n i n i t i a t e i n q u i r i e s suo motu (u s u a l l y c o m i n g t o i t s a t t e n t i o nv i a t h e m e d i a ) o r b a s e d o n p e t i t i o n s s u b m i t t e d b y h u m a n r i g h t s v i c t i m s o rp e r s o n s o n t h e i r b e h a l f ( N H R C 1 9 94 , S e c t i o n 2 a ). I ts p o w e r to in v e s t i g a t eh u m a n r i g h t s v i o l a t i o n s p e rp e t r a t e d b y t h e s t a t e i s a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t i n s o fa r a s i tc o m p l e m e n t s t h e w o r k o f t h e j u d ic i a ry , a f u n c t io n e m p h a s i z e d b y m o s t m e m -b e r s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n ( N H R C 2 0 0 1b ) . T h e j u d ic i a r y i ts e l f c a n e m p o w e r t h eN H R C t o c o n d u c t a n in v e s t i g a ti o n o n i ts b e h a l f a n d it h a s d o n e s o o n s e v e r a lo c c a s i o n s , i n c l u d i n g i n a c o n t r o v e r s i a l c a s e i n v o l v i n g i l l e g a l c r e m a t i o n s i nt h e P u n j a b ( N H R C , Human Rights Newsletter J a n u a r y 2 0 0 1 ) .

I n t h e c o u r s e o f in v e s t ig a t io n , m o r e o v e r , th e N H R C i s e m p o w e r e d t o a c t inw a y s t h a t m a y c h a l l e n g e i n d i v i d u a l s t a t e a c t o r s . T h e C o m m i s s i o n , a m o n g o t h e rt h i n g s , c a n s u m m o n a n d f o r c e w i t n e s s e s t o a p p e a r b e f o r e i t a n d t h e n e x a m i n et h e m u n d e r o a t h . I t a l s o c a n c o m p e l t h e d i s c o v e r y a n d p r o d u c t i o n o f r e l e v a n td o c u m e n t s , i n c l u d i n g e n t e r i n g a n y b u i l d i n g t o o b t a i n s u c h d o c u m e n t s . I n i t sp r o c e e d i n g s , t h e N H R C is e n d o w e d w i t h all t h e p o w e r s o f a ci v il c o u r t ( N H R C1 9 9 4 , c h a p t e r I I I ) . M o s t e v i d e n c e i n f a c t s e e m s t o i n d i c a t e t h a t s t a t e o f f i c i a l s ,e s p e c i a l l y a t t h e h i g h e r a n d m i d - l e v e l e c h e l o n s , p e r c e i v e C o m m i s s i o n i n v e s t i g a -t ions a s a cha l lenge to the i r au thor i ty . To avoid rece iv ing publ ic subpoenas , manyo f fi c ia l s r e p o r t e d l y a g r e e t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h t h e N H R C a f t e r t h e m e r e t h r e a t o fa s u b p o e n a ( S A H R D C 2 0 00 : 2 4 -2 5 ; A n o n y m o u s 2 0 01 ; N H R C 2 0 0 1 b) .

A n i n v e st ig a t io n b y t h e N H R C b e a rs o n c h a n g i n g n o t i o n s o f s o v e r e i g n tyb e c a u s e i t c h a l l e n g e s t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f s t a t e - s p o n s o r e d a c t i o n s t h a t a r e i l l e g a li n t e rn a t i o n a l l y . T h i s c l a i m i s v a l i d r e g a rd l e s s o f w h e t h e r a n i n v e s t i g a t i o n l e a d s

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t o c h a n g e s i n s ta t e b e h a v i o r a n d r e g a r d l e s s o f t h e fa c t t h a t th e C o m m i s s i o n ' si n v e s t i g a t o r y m a c h i n e r y i s o v e r b u r d e n e d a n d s t a f f e d b y f o r m e r s t a t e s e c u r i t yo f f ic i a ls . I n v e s ti g a t io n s a ls o a r e h a m p e r e d b y t h e N H R C ' s c i r c u m s c r i b e d m a n -d a t e , w h i c h l i m i t s i ts j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r c a s e s in v o l v i n g th e m i l i ta ry , d e f i n e s h u -m a n r i g h t s a l m o s t e x c l u s i v e l y in t e r m s o f c i v i l a n d p o l it i c a l ri g h t s , a n d o n l ye m p o w e r s t h e C o m m i s s i o n t o i n v e s t i g a t e c o m p l a i n t s a l l e g e d t o h a v e o c c u r r e dw i t h i n t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r . E v e n s o , a n e c d o t a l e v i d e n c e s h o w s t h a t i n v e s t i g a t i o n ss o m e t i m e s l e a d t o a c tu a l c h an g e . F o l l o w i n g a c o m p l a i n t f r o m a n N G O a l le g i n gt h a t t w e n t y p e o p l e ( i n c l u d i n g c h i l d r e n ) w e re b e i n g k e p t i n a s t o n e q u a r ry i n t h en o r t h e r n s t a te o f H a r y a n a , t h e N H R C c o n d u c t e d a n in d e p e n d e n t i n v e st ig a t io n .D i s t r ic t o f f i c ia l s e v e n t u a l l y c o n c e d e d t o r e le a s e t h e g r o u p a n d p a y t h e m r e l i e f( N H R C , Human R igh t s News l e t t e r A p r i l 2 0 0 0 ) . W h i l e o n l y a s m a l l f r a c t i o n o fc a s e s a r e r e s o l v e d o r r e s u l t i n p u n i s h m e n t , t h e a c t o f i n i t i a t i n g a n i n v e s t i g a t i o ns e rv e s i n a n d o f i t s e l f t o c o n t e s t t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f s t a te v i o l a t i o n s .

A d d i t i o n a l l y , t h e N H R C h a s b e e n s u r p r i s i n g l y s u c c e s s f u l , e v e n a c c o r d i n gt o i t s s t a u n c h e s t c r i t i c s , i n p e r s u a d i n g t h e s t a t e t o p a y c o m p e n s a t i o n t o h u m a nr i g h ts v i c t i m s . B a s e d o n s e c t i o n 1 8 (3 ) o f th e P r o t e c t i o n o f H u m a n R i g h t s A c t1 99 3, t h e C o m m i s s i o n m a y r e c o m m e n d t h e g r a n t in g o f " i m m e d i a t e in t e r imr e l i e f " t o a v i c t im o f h u m a n r i g h t s a b u s e o r t h e i r fa m i l y . S i g n i f ic a n t l y , th eC o m m i s s i o n c a n m a k e t h is r e c o m m e n d a t i o n as s o o n a s it a s c e r t a in s t h at t h e reh a s b e e n a h u m a n r i g h t s v i o l a t i o n , w i t h o u t p r e j u d i c e t o a n y s u b s e q u e n t c o u r tr u l i n g s .

A c c o r d i n g t o t he N H R C , c o m p e n s a t i o n c o n s t i tu t e s a n im p l i c it a d m i s s i o nb y s t a te o f f i c ia l s o f w r o n g d o i n g . C l a i m a n t s t h e m s e l v e s , h o w e v e r , o c c a s i o n -a ll y h a v e r e j e ct e d m o n e t a r y c o m p e n s a t io n a w a r d e d b y t h e C o m m i s s i o n o nt h e g ro u n d s t h a t i t f a i l e d t o a d d re s s b ro a d e r i ss u e s o f s t at e r e s p o n s i b i l it y (N H R C ,Hum an R igh ts New s l e tt e r J a n u a r y 2 0 01 ). W h e t h e r o r n o t c o m p e n s a t i o n a m o u n t st o a n a d m i s s i o n o f r e s p o n s i b i l it y , a q u e s t i o n t h a t m e r i t s c l o s e a t t e n t io n , t h ed e m a n d b y t h e N H R C t h a t s t at e a u th o r i t ie s c o m p e n s a t e v i c t im s o f a b u s e isc o n s e q u e n t i a l . I t d e m a r c a t e s t h e s t a t e ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y v i s - a - v i s i t s v i c t i m s ,t h e r e b y c h a l l e n g i n g a t r a d i t i o n a l r e a l m o f s t a t e a u t h o r i t y .Social izat ion

B o t h o n t h e s o c i e t a l a n d s t a t e f r o n t s , t h e N H R C h a s s h a p e d e x p e c t a t i o n sa b o u t t h e l e g i t i m a t e s c o p e o f s ta t e a u t h o r it y . I t h a s d o n e t h is b y p r o m o t i n gi n t e r n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s n o r m s a n d s o c i a l i z i n g d o m e s t i c a c t o r s . A t t h e l e v e lo f c i v i l s o c i e ty , th i s h a s l e d t o a r i s e i n h u m a n r i g h t s c l a i m s b r o u g h t t o t h eC o m m i s s i o n , e v e n i f m a n y o f th e s e p e ti ti o n s a r e i n it i at e d b y N G O s a n d h u -m a n r i g h t s a w a r e n e s s b y t h e p u b l i c a t l a r g e r e m a i n s l i m i t e d . B e t w e e n 1 9 9 6a n d 1 9 99 a l o n e , p e t it io n s t o t h e N H R C d o u b l e d f r o m a p p r o x i m a t e l y 2 0 , 0 0 0t o 4 0 , 0 0 0 ( N H R C , Annual Repor t ) . S i m i la r d y n a m i c s h a v e o c c u r r e d e l s ew h e r e ,i n c l u d i n g i n I n d o n e s i a w h e r e " [ s ] o o n a f t e r i t s c r e a t i o n " t h e C o m m i s s i o n " b e -

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c a m e a l ig h t n in g r o d f b r co m p l a i n ts f r o m e v e r y c o r n e r o f I n d o n e s i a " ( S A H R D C1 9 9 8 : 3 5 ) . I n I n d i a , t h e N H R C h a s p r o m o t e d h u m a n r i g h t s a w a r e n e s s m o s t l yt h r o u g h t h e u s e o f w o r k s h o p s , w h i c h it ha s o r g a n i z e d w i t h d o m e s t i c a n d i n-t e r n a t i o n a l a c t o r s , a n d i n c r e a s i n g l y t h r o u g h t h e m e d i a . S o c i a l i z a t i o n , h o w -e v e r, h a s n o t y e t ta k e n t h e t b r m o f b r o a d p u b l i c c a m p a i g n s , a p p a r e n t l y d u e t ot h e g o v e r n m e n t ' s i n t r a n s i g e n c e i n t h e fa c e o f a la r g e p o p u l a t i o n a n d c u m b e r -s o m e b u r e a u c r a c y ( N H R C 2 0 01 b ).

A t t h e l e v e l o f t h e s t a t e , t h e C o m m i s s i o n h a s s e n s i t i z e d o f f i c i a l s t o h u m a nr i g h t s i s s u e s , n a m e l y b y f o s t e r i n g t h e i d e a t h a t v i o l a t i o n s c a n b r i n g c o n s e -q u e n c e s . T h i s h a s n o t n e c e s s a r i l y e n t a i l e d a d e c l i n e i n a b u s e s , b u t i t h a s s i g -n a l e d a r e d e f i n i t i o n o f w h a t c o n s t i t u t e s p u b l i c l y a c c e p t a b l e s t a t e b e h a v io r .T h e N H R C h a s s o c i a l i z e d s t a t e a g e n t s p r i m a r i l y t h r o u g h t r a i n i n g p r o g r a m s . I na d d i t i o n t o p r e p a r i n g t r a i n i n g m a t e r i a l s f o r p o l i c e p e r s o n n e l , f o r e x a m p l e , t h eN H R C h a s h e l p e d to o r g a n i z e s e m i n a r s o n s u b j e c t s l ik e f o r e n s i c s c i e n c e a n dp r i s o n m a n a g e m e n t . I t a l s o h a s n e t w o r k e d w i t h o t h e r s t a t e a g e n c i e s t h a t p l a ya r o l e in h u m a n r i g h ts s o c i a l i z a ti o n , i n c l u d i n g s e n i o r o f f i c e r s c h a r g e d w i t ht r a in i n g p o l i c e p e r s o n n e l a n d p a r a m i l i t a r y f o r c e s. I n o t h e r c a se s , t h e C o m m i s -s i o n h a s s u p p o r t e d i n n o v a t i v e m e a n s o f s o c ia l i z in g s t a te a g e n t s , i n c l u d i n g t h ei n i ti a ti o n o f a " p o s t c a r d " s y s t e m o f h u m a n r i g h ts " d o ' s a n d d o n ' t s " t h a t a r m yp e r s o n n e l c a n c a r r y w i t h t h e m a s w e l l a s a n a n n u a l h u m a n r i g h t s d e b a t e c o m -p e t i ti o n t b r m e m b e r s o f th e s e c u r it y a n d a r m e d f o r c e s ( N H R C , Human RightsNewsletter a n d Annual Report: A n o n y m o u s 2 0 0 1 ) .

M o s t m e m b e r s o f t h e C o m m i s s i o n i d e n t i fy s o c i a li z a ti o n , o r t h e li f ti n g o f" e n t r e n c h e d a t ti t u d e s, " a s t h e si n g l e g r e a t e s t o b s t a c l e t o h u m a n r i g h ts r e f o r m( N H R C 2 0 0 1 b ) . W h i l e t h e e f f e c t s o f s o c i a l iz a t i o n i n f a c t h a v e b e e n l i m i t e d ,t h e y a r e n o t n e g l i g i b l e . B y p ro v i d i n g c i v i l s o c i e t y w i t h i n s t i t u t i o n a l a c c e s s t ot h e s t a te , t h e N H R C h a s p ro m o t e d t h e i d e a t h a t m e m b e r s o f s o c ie t y h a v e ri g h tsv i s -a -v i s the s ta te . F or gov ern m ent o f f i c ia l s , the Com miss io n has sh aped a t t i tudest o w a rd w h a t t h e s ta t e sh o u l d a n d s h o u l d n o t d o . P u t d i f f e r e n t l y , t h e N H R C h a sc h a l l e n g e d t h e s t a t e ' s b a s i c c o n t r o l o v e r w h a t c o n s t i t u t e s a p p r o p r i a t e a n d a c -c e p t a b l e s t a t e b e h a v i o r .

C r i t i c s m a y d i s m i s s t h e s e t r a n s fo rm a t i o n s a s a c a s e o f " t o o l i t t l e , t o o l a t e . "B u t t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f a s ta t e i n s t it u t i o n m o v i n g i n a r e l a t i v e l y s h o r t t im e s p a nf ro m b e i n g " a t o o t h l e s s t i g e r " to r e d e f i n i n g h o w t h e s ta t e a n d s o c i e t y r e l a t e too n e a n o t h e r s h o u l d n o t b e o v e r l o o k e d . E v e n o t h e r g o v e r n m e n t s a r e b e g i n -n i n g to l e a rn t h at n a t io n a l c o m m i s s i o n s c a n p o s e u n e x p e c t e d c h a l l e n g e s . O n ec o m m e n t a t o r d e s c r i b e s th i s k i n d o f p e r v e r s e l e a r n i n g i n N e p a l , w h e r e t h eg o v e r n m e n t m a y h a v e d e l a y e d c r e a t in g a h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n p r e c i s e l yt o a v o i d t h e c h a l l e n g e s f a c e d b y n e i g h b o r i n g g o v e r n m e n t s ( N a i r 1 9 9 8 : 4 5 ) .N a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h t s c o m m i s s i o n s m a y n o t h a v e t h e i r i n t e n d e d e f f e c t s , d i s-a p p o i n t i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l s u p p o r t e r s a n d s t a t e p o l i c y m a k e r s a l i k e . B u t i n p e r -f o r m i n g s e v e r a l o v e r l o o k e d f u n c t i o n s - - a g e n d a s e t t i n g , ru l e c r e a t io n ,a c c o u n t a b il i ty , a n d s o c i a l i z a t i o n - - n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s c a n c o n t ri b u t e to

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e m b e d d i n g i n t e r n a t i o n a l n o r m s i n l o c a l s t r u c t u r e s a n d t r a n s f o r m i n g n o t i o n so f s t a t e s o v e r e i g n t y .

C o n c l u s i o n sT h e A s i a n c a s e s e x a m i n e d h e r e s h o w t h a t t h e i n i t i a l i m p e t u s f o r c r e a t i n g a

n a t i o n a l h u m a n r i g h ts c o m m i s s i o n g e n e r a l l y e m a n a t e d f r o m i n t e rn a t i o n a l a c-t o rs , d e s p i t e d i f f e r e n c e s i n d o m e s t i c s t ru c t u r es . T h e A s i a n c a s e s a l so r e v e a lh o w n a t i o n a l c o m m i s s i o n s i n t h e r e g i o n h a v e h a d u n i n t e n d e d a n d m i x e d e f -f e c t s, i n c l u d i n g o n d o m e s t i c c h a l