Human Rights Enforcement in the Northeast

Siehzahau T Singsit *

Human Rights Defenders silent protest condemning State muzzling of freedom of speech at Keishampat on July 25 2014 :: Pix - Deepak Oinam

The world conference on Human Rights at Vienna in June, 1993 while reaffirming the international Bill of Human Rights and fundamental freedoms all over the world has made the categorical statement- "All human rights are universal, indivisible and interdependent and interrelated..." The process of promoting and protecting human rights should be conducted in conformity with the purposes and principles of the charter of the United Nations and International Laws." (para 5 and 7)

The people of the North-east have considerably perceived the repressive law like Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Power Act, 1958, Assam maintenance of Public Order (Autonomous) Dist. Act, 1953, National Security Act, 1980, Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention)Act, 1957 and Punjab Security of the State Act, 1953 among others as a direct, naked violation of the fundamental human freedoms and inalienable human rights.

The restive people have been agitating against the invocation and promulgation of laws of State terrorism, despite the constant terrorization of the mass by the Statute book of a democratic set-up. The British colonial power did not step beyond the 'offences against the state' as provided in chapter VI of the colonial Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) which is still enforce by the anti-colonial government. When the British colonial definition of the offences against the state and the capital punishment system is very much fondly applied by the non-colonial state, the adoption of hypertrophy of laws of state terrorism demolishes the essence of man and rapes the very human spirit which transcends the basic of the animal world.

The lowest ranking officials, many of whom are drawn from among village desperadoes and urban lumpens are made powerful enough to shoot any good citizen of the country and they are immune from prosecution. The law-making process has been abused to such an extent that you have given the name of law to the most barbaric and lowest form of brutality of the leviathan. The British colonialists, therefore, did not step beyond chapter VI of the colonial IPC which is still a vogue in the country, lest they should have torn apart the wafer-thin boundary between man and beast in the name of upholding the national integration of the British empire.

It is time that laws which give license to state terrorism to be removed from the statute book of our civilized society. A decent society does not reply in this way to individual or group terrorism or liberation movements. Civilisation is safe at the hands of those whom having the power to destroy it yet restrain themselves from doing so, without burdening themselves with the uphill task of averting the inevitable course of human history, which is notoriously independent and ferociously self-willed.

It is worthwhile to recall those innocent civilians are also victims of irresponsible militancy and armed conflicts like war. The Amnesty International, has, therefore, being the leading world NGO deprecates the Human Rights violations by the 'Organised Armed Opposition Groups', the international Humanitarian Law, so far denounces the murder of unarmed civilians. The Nuremberg Principles, following the Tokyo and Nuremberg Trials, uphold the 'individual responsibility' of the officers and individuals who commit crimes against humankind like Genocide. Human Rights are sacrosanct in all situations, including armed conflicts.

Besides, the individual human right as cited above, the Northeast people perceive that collective human rights like the right to Development, Right to sustainable development , Rights of Indigenous people and right to self determination, among the others, have been marginalised and even dumped in to dustbin by the government. There is sufficient evidence to ballast regional perception. Reports of the Human rights Committee, UN,1991 States very clearly about the laws of State Terrorism in India and several provisions of the Armed Forces (Special Power) Act ,the National Security (Amendment) Act, and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, seemed to be incompatible with articles 6,9 and 14 of the covenant."(International Covenant On Civil and Political Rights, which India has accepted. The Committee has "urgent the state party (India) to ratify the Optional protocol to the Covenant." (para 312).

The committee felt that India's reservation to the article 1 of the Covenant (Right of Nation and people to self Determination) amounted to restrictions with number of articles and the possibility of whole sections of the covenant not being applied (para 262). It may be added that the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, 1993 (VIENNA, only hereafter) insists on 'universal ratification of international human rights treaties and protocols' (para 100) and urges upon the state to limit the reservation (para 5). It is high time that an Asian power like India should no longer hold up the Right to self Determination article 1 of the Covenant, because this international conduct speaks about India's vulnerability in the absence of the suppression and denial of the right of the people and nation and also about India's attitude towards such inalienable rights of the people.

Amnesty International – a dreaded word in India's corridors of power – in its Report INDIA "Operation Bluebird." 10th October,1990 observes that the armed Forces Special Power Act, 'not only facilitates human rights violations but also encourages violations'(page 60), that the power to shoot and kill anybody in the disturbed area as provided by Sec.4(a) of the above Act, derogates Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and political rights which prohibits arbitrary deprivation of human life (p. 64), that article 4(a) of the above Act should withdrawn (p. 61) and that no immunity be given to extra judicial killings (p. 65).

International opinion is very clear and categorical in asserting that the repressive laws should have to be revoked. The just definition of law should never be abused by defending that Nazi laws, Genocide laws and Idi Amin's law are invariable laws. They are not good laws. King Herod's law promulgated that children below two years have to be faithfully executed in the hope that one of the million to be executed might have been the damned Jesus Christ; but that law led to Herod's ignominious downfall. Civilised societies should attempt to make and promulgate good and just laws which alone are inspiring and durable.

Vienna re-affirms that right of self – determination (pa. Caps.11/2), democratization and economic reforms (pa. 9), right to development (pa.10), alleviation of external debt burden of developing countries (pa. 12), elimination of racism, xenophobia (pa. 15), step to combat terrorism (pa. 17), elimination of gender based violence (pa. 18), minority rights (pa. 19), rights of child (pa. 21), right to seek asylum and return to one's country (pa.23), codification of human rights instruments (pa.26), step against genocide and ethnic cleansing in any parts of the world (pa. 28), observation of international humanitarian law (pa. 29), role of national human rights institutions (pa. 36), and importance of regional arrangements (pa. 37).

Part II of Vienna provides for increased coordination on human rights within the United Nations system, equality, dignity and tolerance, individual accountability for crimes of ethic cleansing, rights of the indigenous people, migrant workers, human rights for women, elimination of all discrimination against women by 2000 AD (pa. 39), access of women in all decision making posts (pa. 43), universal ratification of the Covenant on child by 1995 (pa. 46), protection of child during armed conflicts (pa. 50), freedom from torture, protection of persons from enforced disappearance (pa. 62), right of disabled person, strengthening of human rights, adequate national human rights structures ( pa. 69), major role of the NGO's (pa. 73) human rights education, and recommendation for setting up human rights Commissioner (pa. 18), among others.

Implementation and monitoring methods like domestic legislation (pa. 83), multiple reporting requirements (pa. 47), accession by all states to Geneva Convention of 12 August, 1949 (pa. 93), and assumption by the UN of a more active role on Human Rights (pa. 96), are also provided for. In the follow up procedure, annual review of the progress of Vienna and goal of universal ratification of human rights treaties are also provided for Vienna was the outcome of North-South equations in their respective perceptions of human right and the priorities. India disfavoured elaboration of indigenous people and self determination and the installation of UN Human rights commissioner, while it ensured the retention of the paragraph on terrorism in the text.

The South did not encourage the primacy of civil and political rights over the economic rights while the Nordic wanted interventionists role and strengthening the growing trend in international law which recognize the individual as subject of international law for limited purposes. Although the self determination provision is subjected to other provisions of the UN Charter, the Committee of 24 or, the Decolonization committee of the UN is not at all disturbed.

The committee of 24 in the post Vienna does not abdicate its monitoring power of alien domination, foreign occupation, dependency and colonialism of all forms and reporting to all UN bodies including the UN Security Council, which will take care of maintaining the world peace and security under the provisions of Chapter vi and vii of the UN Charter.

Vienna has political and economic indicators in the new world order. Paul Kenned's "The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers: 1500 to 2000 (1988) and 'Preparing for the Twenty First Century' (1993) along with Toffler's works including 'powershift' (1991) indicates the rise of economic and information power in lieu of the conventional military power and indicate the process of wider political fragmentation in the world followed by its antithesis – the increasing economic globalisation and the rise of the pacific rim.

Asia will be on the rise, but on the human rights front Asia lacks a regional charter, commission and court which the European region had already possessed long back.

India has an opportunity to take the lead in the Asian Human rights front. To start with, it has to cleanse its house first. The Indian ruling clique should forsake its long inherited political lineage adopted by 'Manu' against the indigenous and back-ward people of India ( see Laws of Mani, Penguin,1992) and the convention of eliminating the small nations as provided by 'Arthshastra' part ix and xii (see Kautilya, tha Arthshatra' Penguin 1992) It is time that Vienna should encourage the inbuilt anti-human rights attitude and culture of the chosen ruling clique in India to be drastically reoriented. The constitution and laws would remain ordinary scraps of papers, until the dominant clique overturns its undercurrent attitude to human beings and races at large and the small nations, to be specific.

Vienna poses a challenge and an opportunity to all republic of India, besides being a member of the UN, has been leading the South and the NAM in several ways. Considering the special regional importance of the country, the government of India should resolves to universally ratify all the Human Rights instruments without reservations, initiate a few small yet important steps like its accession of the reservation to article 1 of the 1966 Civil and Political Covenant, Signature on the Anti-Torture Convention.

Human rights are gradually stepping into the Customary International Law and some of them had already been within the Jus Cogens. The proposed installation of UN human rights Commissioners and creation of International Criminal Court would take the International Community in the long way. The repressive, black laws which are promulgated and enforced are a Slur on the Spirit and integrated essence of MAN and the colonia-lists too did not overstep themselves beyond the last frontier of humanity by way of confining the state Leviathan within the bounds of the colonial Indian Penal code (1860) with which the British rule empire in India. A republic should not Venture to be more brutal, and ruthless than the dreaded and ignominious British colonialists.

The repressive laws promulgated in the Northeast had also been incompatible with the International Bill of Human Rights, towards the enforcement of which India has state and international responsibility. The national human rights structures and institutions have to be strengthened as per the Vienna declaration and programmed of action.

The Constitution of Human Rights Commission would be a good yet modest beginning, provided it could be shelved from the pandora's box. The legislature, the executive and the judiciary would also be made more sensitive to the human rights issues a prerogatives in the ethos of the spirit of the time and civilization of this age.