Experts in a roundtable discussion on Thursday said that national human rights institutions should play a pivotal role in promoting and protecting human rights. However, despite its mandate, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has faced ongoing challenges related to its independence, credibility, and effectiveness in holding public institutions accountable, they were of the view. Concerns regarding legal and operational constraints have surfaced, limiting the Commission's ability to function as an independent, impartial and credible monitoring body. Recent developments and growing calls for institutional reform have created an opportunity for national stakeholders to come together and discuss the pathways needed to strengthen the NHRC. They said that a fully independent and credible NHRC is essential for upholding the rule of law, safeguarding people's rights, and rebuilding public trust. The roundtable discussion titled “Towards an Independent and Credible NHRC: Agendas for Reform” was jointly organized by UNDP's Strengthening Institutions, Policies, and Services (SIPS) project, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). Advocate and human rights activist, Jyotirmoy Barua, delivered the opening speech. Conforming to the NHRC Act 2009, he said the commission should be an independent body. But it is seen that the appointment of the chairman raises questions. In the past years it has been seen that a secretary of the government was selected as chairman for three terms whereas it is expected that people from the administration should be kept away from this task. Read: NHRC chairman, 5 members resign He proposed that NHRC should be reformed as an advisory body with allocation of enough funds and mandate to inquire allegations of human rights violations. Former NHRC chairman Dr. Kamal Uddin Ahmed proposed a mechanism to address the situation when recommendations of the NHRC are not complied with, and said there should be budget allocation for ensuring the independent functioning of the NHRC. Sabina Yasmein Lubna, senior programme manager of Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Embassy of Switzerland said that human rights is one of the priority areas of SDC. She stressed on the capacity building of NHRC staff and enhancing regional presence. Anowarul Huq, assistant resident representative of UNDP, said, they want a credible and independent NHRC that should be people-centric and accountable to the people. The commission should be open to receiving complaints of human rights violations and provide effective redress. NHRC Act 2009 should also be amended to address the flaws in the present law. The recruitment process should be made transparent and the service of NHRC should be decentralized, he added. The dialogue brought together key stakeholders, including legal and human rights experts, media representatives, civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and representatives from the NHRC to discuss challenges and chart a forward-looking strategy for reform. Read more: Time to prioritise electoral system reform with focus on human rights: NHRC The discussion centered on several key concerns including discussion on the (NHRC Act 2009), legal and policy reforms, addressing legal constraints in the appointment of NHRC Chairman and members, mandate, investigative powers, functions, independence, operational challenges, examining issues and political wills related to operational independence, independence of fund, resource allocation of the commission, exploring the CSO and media’s role in strengthening NHRC's public image and accountability. The discussion also emphasized on formulating concrete steps and proposals to enhance NHRC's credibility and trust among people.