Review process Highlights at Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the UN Human Rights Council

Imphal, 2 June 2012:

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 nineteen member strong inter-ministerial delegation headed by Mr. 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, is 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 the AFSPA, some of which are listed below:

138.4. Ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and end impunity for security forces accused of committing human rights violations (United States of America);

138.35. Review the law on the special powers of the armed forces to align it with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Switzerland);

138.44. Repeal the 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 (Slovakia);

138.45. Carry out an annual review of the 1958 Armed Forces Special Powers Act aiming to gradually reduce its geographic scope (France);

138.119. Guarantee effective access to justice in cases of human rights violations committed by security forces personnel with regard to the use of torture (Spain);

138.120. Implement effective judiciary proceedings making possible the bringing to justice security forces personnel who have committed human rights violations (France);

138.169. Continue its efforts to achieve balance between its counterterrorism strategies and the need to forestall the spread of xenophobia (Trinidad and Tobago).

Some other recommendations which have a direct bearing on the situation in the region are as follows:

1. Ratify the ILO convention 169 concerning Indigenous and Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries (Ghana and Iraq)

2. Ratify Rome Statue of the International Criminal Court

3. Ratify Convention Against Torture as soon as possible by passing an appropriate domestic legislation and ensure that the instrument of ratification is fully consistent with the Convention

4. Ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearances

5. Extend a permanent moratorium on death penalty by ratifying the second optional protocol on International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

CSCHR emphasises that this is the first time that the issue of AFSPA has reached the political arena of the UN debate in a significant way. The recommendation to repeal AFSPA 1958 or review in accordance with the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has now reached the level of the UN Human Rights Council finally.

It may be recalled that the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations System. The UNHRC is the successor to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR), and is a subsidiary body of the United Nations General Assembly. The council works closely with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and engages the United Nations' Special procedures. On 18 June 2007, one year after holding its first meeting, the UNHRC adopted its Institution-building package, which provides elements to guide it in its future work. Among the elements was the Universal Periodic Review. The Universal Periodic Review assesses the human rights situations in all 193 UN Member States.

CSCHR considers the arrival of the AFSPA issue at the UNHRC as a major achievement of the sustained peoples’ campaign for the repeal of AFSPA that has continued for the last over five decades. This campaign has seen many personal and collective commitments, sacrifice, tears, and bloodshed. It has also witnessed the consistent and violent resistance of the state authorities to ignore, criminalise or deny the people their legitimate voice of freedom and self-determination. AFSPA is a racist legislation that blatantly violates every sense of decency and dignity in human society. It is an affront to humankind; and the tragedy is that a country such as India, so proud of its religious and mythological history that professes every conduct is based on dharma, with its aspirations and hopes as a modern nation continues to present a transparent façade that fails to veil a dominant society’s sustained assault on the indigenous peoples’ right to self-determination in the North East region of India.

Over the past about three decades, civil society and human rights defender organisations, such as the Naga People’s Movement for Human Rights (NPMHR), Committee on Human Rights Manipur (COHR), Centre for Organisation Research & Education (CORE), United NGO Mission Manipur (UNM-M) and others have engaged repeatedly, individually and collectively, with organs of the UN system such as the Human Rights Committee, Working Group on Indigenous Populations the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), and the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights defenders, the rights of indigenous peoples, torture and extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, various significant UN conferences and meetings raising the issue of AFSPA as a legislation that is discriminatory, racist and violating international human rights law.

CSCHR would like to recall and express our gratitude to the momentous efforts put in by the human rights defenders from the region for making foundation on which such a debate could be generated. We mourn the sacrifice of many who lost their lives and their dear ones as a consequence of this law. We pay our respects to those who have been martyred by this unjust oppression of the people, particularly Pebam Chittaranjan. We applaud Irom Sharmila for her steadfastness and resolution to protest in silence against this Act. But all these efforts could not have come about without the strength of the resurgent peoples’ protests against this draconian law that has no place in any dignified human society. CSCHR also applauds the role of the media in Manipur for their positive role and support to the struggle against AFSPA.

(Dr Laifungbam Debabrata Roy)
Convenor
CIVIL SOCIETY COALITION ON human rights in Manipur AND THE UN
Imphal 795001
Manipur, india
Email: cschrmanipur(at)gmail(dot)com
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