Status of Human Rights in Manipur submitted to UN
Source: Hueiyen News Service

Imphal, December 01 2011: The Civil Society on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN (CSCHR) have submitted the Status of Human Rights in Manipur to the office of the High Commission for Human Rights, United Nations for consideration in the second round of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Government of India to be held in May, 2012 .

Addressing media persons at a press conference Dr Laiphangbam Debabrata Roy, Convenor, CSCHR ,a conglomeration of 14 different human rights groups of Manipur, said that the UPR is a new mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council established in 2006 to review the international human rights obligations of each of the 193 member states of the UN by other member states.

He said that the first round of UPR was completed in 2011 and India was reviewed on April 10, 2008 wherein the Governments of UK, Germany and Canada raised the issue of "Armed Forcers (Special Powers) Act"and 18 recommendations were issued to India by the Human Rights Council.

The second cycle of UPR is beginning in 2012 when the Government of India will be reviewed again in the last week of May 2012 .

Speaking on the occasion Babloo Loitongbam, Director, Human Rights Alert, said that for this review, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) will place three documents for the review including the report submitted by the Government of India, the compilation of the records of UN human rights mechanism on India, and the summary of stakeholders' reports from NGOs and National Human rights Institutions.

He further said that the submission of the CSCHR focused on the trend of human rights violations of the Government of India in Manipur since the first review of India's human rights in 2008.The failure to implement the key recommendations from the UN was highlighted relevant to Manipur.

The prevalence of extrajudicial executions, forced disappearance and torture, denial of indigenous people's collective rights, increasing intrusion and alienation of indigenous people's land and natural resources, denial of livelihood and survival resources through construction of Mega-dams, etc.

negating the right to free, prior and informed consent were the focus of the report from CSCHR.

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