UNHRC apprised on rights abuse, conflict in Manipur
Source: Chronicle News Service

Imphal, July 16 2024: Babloo Loitongbam, representing the Extrajudicial Execution Victim Families Association, Manipur (EEVFAM) and Human Rights Alert (HRA), delivered an oral statement at the United Nations Human Rights Committee, highlighting severe human rights abuses, and the current conflict in Manipur.

The formal briefing, held at Palais Wilson in Geneva coincided with Anti-Repression Day in Manipur, a day of remembrance and protest against state oppression.

Babloo began by recounting the historic protest 20 years ago.

On July 15, 2004, 12 mothers from Manipur staged a unique naked protest in front of the Kangla Fort, the old palace of the erstwhile kingdom of Manipur, then occupied by the Assam Rifles.

This protest was a reaction to the rape and murder of Thangjam Manorama by Assam Rifles personnel.

The incident sparked months of sustained public protests, which subsided only after then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh promised that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) will be replaced by a more humane act.

Despite the promise, the AFSPA remains in effect.

The Act was closely scrutinised during the 2nd and 3rd periodic reviews of India by the UN Human Rights Committee.

However, the Supreme Court of India upheld its constitutionality in 1997 and ignored the Committee's request to examine the compatibility of AFSPA with international covenants.

Fifteen years later, during the first official visit by the Special Rapporteur on Summary, Arbitrary, or Extrajudicial Execution, Prof Christof Hynes expressed confusion over the Supreme Court's decision.

He noted that the powers granted under AFSPA exceed those permissible under a state of emergency, effectively suspending the right to life without the safeguards typically applicable during emergencies.

Babloo challenged the Government of India's claim that "in genuine instances the Government of India has accorded sanction for prosecution" .

He stated this is simply untrue, citing petitions by EEVFAM and HRA to the Supreme Court of India seeking justice for 1,528 cases of extrajudicial executions.

While a Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered 39 FIRs and submitted 36 final reports, criminal trials have only commenced in cases involving the police.

All cases involving the Armed Forces have been denied prosecution sanctions under section 6 of the AFSPA, despite clear prosecutable evidence laid out by the CBI.

He invited the UNHRC to review eight specific cases detailed in their report, along with the SIT/CBI final reports stating that he had attached the details as annexure.

Babloo urged the Committee to declare AFSPA incompatible with the Covenant both in law and practice and also address the ongoing violence in Manipur since May 3, 2023 stating that the state has witnessed at least 230 reported deaths, destruction of 13,247 infrastructures including residential homes and places of worship, and the displacement of over 60,000 people now living in cramped relief camps without adequate aid.

The Central government's decision to take direct control of law and order in Manipur on May 4, along with the appointment of a security advisor and the deployment of additional troops, initially raised hopes of containing the violence.

However, this move instead intensified the conflict, with armed militant groups, under SoO (Suspension of Operation) or outside of this arrangement, exploiting the situation to further their agendas by donning the role of the saviour of their respective ethnic communities.

The indifference of the armed forces exacerbated the crisis, leading to increased civilian deaths and cycles of raids and counter-raids.

The violence has resulted in a climate of ethnic hatred and the ghettoisation of communities, severing all ties of co-existence.

Despite this, the Government of India and the Government of Manipur continue to promote an end to the violence, reconciliation between warring ethnic communities, and the restoration of normalcy, while taking no visible measures to stop the conflict or heal festering wounds.

Individual citizens of Manipur, irrespective of gender, age, religion, or ethnicity, have been deprived of their most basic human rights as the Government of India systematically abdicates its responsibility to protect the population.

Babloo concluded by requesting the UNHRC to formulate an appropriate recommendation in line with state obligations under the Covenant, in conjunction with relevant principles of international law.

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