HRA for scaling up AFSPA repeal demand
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, June 02 2012:
While various nations of the world are mounting pressure on India to revoke AFSPA and stop human rights violation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), people of the state need to scale up their demand for repealing AFSPA, Babloo Loitongbam, Executive Director of Human Rights Alert (HRA) has observed.
Addressing a press meet at the office of HRA at Kwakeithel Thiyam Leikai here today, Babloo, who returned from Geneva after attending the review process of the UNHRC as a representative of Civil Societies Coalition on Human Rights (CSCHR), informed that India's human rights record was reviewed under the second round of Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council on 24 May 2012.Government of India was represented by a 19-member strong inter-ministerial delegation headed by Goolam E.Vahanvati, Attorney General of India.
Eighty governments spoke and a draft report of the review adopted by the Working Group on UPR on 30 May 2012 (document A/HRC/WG.6/13/L.8) list 169 recommendations.
The Government of India could not respond immediately and deferred it till the plenary session of the Human Rights Council in September 2012 .
The highlight of the review process, from the perspective of Manipur, was Slovakia's recommendation to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 (AFSPA) supported by Switzerland and France.
Many other governments also made recommendations pertaining to AFSPA, Babloo said.
Slovakia recommended repeal of Armed Forces Special Powers Act or adopt the negotiated amendments to it that would address the accountability of security personnel, the regulation concerning detentions as well as victims' right to appeal in accordance to international standards.
France also recommended carry out an annual review of the 1958 Armed Forces Special Powers Act aiming to gradually reduce its geographic scope.
Spain recommended guaranteeing an effective access to justice in cases of human rights violations committed by security forces personnel with regard to the use of torture, Babloo recalled.
Convenor of CSCHR Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy also attended the press meet.