AFSPA counters democratic norms: Christof Heyns
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, May 06 2013:
UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions (SR EJE) Christof Heyns reiterated that retaining a law such as AFSPA runs counter to the principles of democracy and human rights and its repeal will bring domestic law more in line with international standards, and send a strong message that the Government is committed to respect the right to life of all people in the country.
Releasing his report on the main findings of his official visit to India in March 2012, today, Heyns highlighted that the level of extrajudicial executions in India still raises serious concerns and recommended to the Government of India to proceed with necessary legal reforms and policy measures in order to fight impunity, diminish the level of unlawful killings and ensure better protection of the right to life for its citizens.
His report, which is to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva in June, 2013, Heyns pointed out that during his mission to India, he received a series of complaints regarding violations of the right to life by State actors, including "deaths resulting from excessive use of force by security officers with little adherence to the principles of proportionality and necessity as defined under international human right law standards" .
The SR EJE's attention was drawn to the deaths caused by the disproportionate use of force during demonstrations, deaths occurred in police custody as well as to the imposition of death penalty in the country noting that India has recently moved to extend, rather than reduce, offences for which the death penalty may be imposed, despite the existence of a de facto moratorium on executions that had been in place since 2004 .
"The situation regarding the use of force in India is exacerbated by what in effect though not in law could constitute emergency measures.
In this regard, AFSPA, enacted in 1958, regulates instances of use of special powers by the Armed Forces in so-called "disturbed areas" of the country.
In order for AFSPA to be applied in an area, the area must be defined disturbed or dangerous to the extent that the use of armed force is deemed necessary.
AFSPA first found application in the north-eastern States of Manipur and Assam as a way to address the continued unrest in the area, and was also extended to other areas, including in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura.
In 1990, the Jammu and Kashmir Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, containing nearly identical provisions to those stipulated in AFSPA, was enacted in Jammu and Kashmir.
AFSPA provides wide-ranging powers to the Indian armed forces in respect of using lethal force in various instances, and fails to provide safeguards in case of excessive use of such powers, which eventually leads to numerous accounts of violations committed in areas where AFSPA is applied" the report noted.
The Special Rapporteur pointed out that the Supreme Court of India held that the declaration of a "disturbed area" under AFSPA must be "for a limited duration and there should be periodic review of the declaration before the expiry of six months".
He found, however, that this procedure is not followed in practice, and AFSPA remains effective for prolonged periods without a review of the context in the respective area.
The Special Rapporteur underlined that several international bodies have called for the repeal or reform of AFSPA, including the former United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.
Furthermore, Indian authorities at various levels have also expressed their support for the repeal of AFSPA.
Meanwhile, The Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) and Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights in Manipur and the UN (CSCHR) have welcomed the report of (SR EJE) .
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