If the Manmohan Singh government has its way, India will soon adopt a law against torture that will make a mockery of our obligations as a democracy, a civilised society, and a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT). India signed CAT in 1997 and is meant to pass standalone domestic legislation outlawing this barbaric crime. Unfortunately, the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010 falls far, far short in this regard. Indeed the draft law, if passed unchanged by the Rajya Sabha, will make the elimination of torture and the punishment of its practitioners more difficult than it is under existing law. To begin with, the Bill’s definition of torture makes two unwarranted departures from international norms. Where CAT speaks of torture and “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment” and builds its definition around the inflicting of severe pain or suffering, the proposed law raises the bar of what constitutes unacceptable treatment much higher. Only acts that cause grievous hurt — defined in the Indian Penal Code in relation to damage to limbs and organs — or which endanger the life, limb, or health of a person will be considered torture. Excluded thus are torture techniques that cause intense pain and suffering but no permanent damage to the victim. Secondly, only torture inflicted in the course of an interrogation will attract the sanctions of the new law — but not torture inflicted to punish, coerce, or intimidate an individual, which CAT covers.
Her Excellency Sheikh Hasina,
Hon. Prime Minister
Prime Minister’s Office
Old Sangsad Bhaban
Tejgaon, Dhaka-1215
The People’s Republic of Bangladesh
27th August 2010
Madam,
SAHR appeals to Release the Garment Leaders
Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter
South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR) would like to urge the Government for a proper investigation to the cases filed on the charges that Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter provoked the street protests that occurred in early August,2010.
On 14 August Ms. Kalpona Akter and Mr. Babul Ahkter, the leaders of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity (BCWS), were arrested at 2:00 am by twenty armed policemen. BCWS is a prominent organisation working on worker rights. It conducts worker rights training and legal and public advocacy to improve labour practices. Kalpona Akter, the Executive Director, is a former child labourer herself. Babul Ahkter is the Executive Director of the Bangladesh Garments and Industrial Workers Federation. The leaders were arrested on unsubstantiated charges of fomenting worker unrest. At 20 cents per hour, Bangladesh has by far the lowest wages of any major apparel producing country. Also, more arrest warrants have been issued against hundreds of workers and several labour rights leaders in the recent past.
The Human Impact of Climate Change in India Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill 2010
Siddharth Varadarajan
You know you’ve hit rockbottom when an intelligence operative in the Indian mission in Kathmandu calls up a member of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly and threatens to have his daughter’s provisional admission in the embassy-run Kendriya Vidyalaya revoked if he dœsn’t vote a particular way.
Welcome to the diplomatic brilliance of a rising India, a country which is bedevilled with intractable political problems in Kashmir, its forested heartland and the North-East but which dœsn’t think twice about plunging headlong into the cesspit of day-to-day politics in a neighbouring nation. The threatening phone call was made by the Indian embassy official on the eve of the fourth round of voting in the CA earlier this month between the Maoist candidate for prime minister, Prachanda, and the Nepali Congress (NC) candidate, Ram Chandra Poudel. Given the prospect of fence-sitting Madhesi political parties moving over en masse to the Maoist camp, the Indian effort was aimed at ensuring this didn’t happen and that the stalemate between the two candidates continued.
For the record, Indian officials deny the allegation made by the CA member, Ram Kumar Sharma, but there is hardly anyone in Nepal who dœsn’t believe it is true. Even by the interventionist standards of the past, the threat marks a new low. Leaving aside the moral and diplomatic implications raised by this unpleasant episode, the threat of punitive action against a young girl suggests a wider, even catastrophic, failure of Indian policy. In the past, India always had the ability to work behind the scenes with a wide cross-section of players in order to produce a political outcome that broadly benefited both Nepal and itself. Today, that is no longer the case. Even when they play their hands in the open, our men in Kathmandu are unable to ensure a stable outcome.
Last week, I followed the lead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s special envoy to Nepal, Shyam Saran, who had just been in Kathmandu, and met senior leaders cutting across all major political trends: from the Maoists, who are the biggest party with 40 per cent of the seats in the CA, the NC, the Unified Marxists-Leninists and the different Madhesi factions. Even though their views on the current political crisis varied sharply, virtually all the politicians I met agreed that Indian interference in the politics of the country had reached a new high. Many blamed this interference for the failure of these parties to establish some sort of modus vivendi among themselves.
BARUN PANERU
DADELDHURA, Aug 15: He was taken from his home in Bagarkot-5 on charge of espionage and left for dead after being shot in the waist by the Maoists following 11 days of detention during the armed insurgency.
Bam Bahadur Thapa fortunately survived to fight another day, but the second life has not been exactly kind to the wheelchair bound conflict victim who has lost all his property in treatment. Neglected by the state, Thapa now struggles to make ends meet with the sole income of his wife Shanta who works as a peon.
Thapa was abducted on June 13, 2004, from his home on charge of spying for the army. “They detained me for 11 days and left me for dead in a jungle after shooting me in the waist,” Thapa recalls.
He was first taken to Dadeldhura by Nepal Red Cross Society on the initiative of locals who found him at the jungle. He remained at the TEAM Hospital in Dadeldhura for seven days and then taken to Nepalgunj and Kathmandu for further treatment. He has since been limited to a wheelchair with paralysis from waist down.
The Women’s Commission in the Indian state of West Bengal has announced an inquiry into allegations that a tribal woman was forced to parade naked.
Officials say she was forced to walk without her clothes for nearly 10km (6 miles) through three villages and was filmed on a mobile phone.
They say that she was also molested and jeered by a large crowd.
Locals say she was being “punished” because of an illicit love affair with a man from a different community.
A similar thing happened to another woman three years ago in the neighbouring state of Assam.
A cycle of violence has erupted again in India’s troubled Kashmir valley since 11th June 2010 with the shooting to death of a schoolboy by Indian troops. Until 29th June 2010, eleven Kashmiri youths have been killed by the…
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Nepal breaks into news with regularity, and that gives an indication of the human rights (HR) situation in the country. Its role cannot be underestimated in times when the lacklustre law and order situation and impunity stalk the social scene. It has been in existence as a constitutional body. It functions as a statutory body to complement the legal system of the country. Though it cannot prosecute anyone for human rights violations on its own right, it does make the necessary recommendations to the government for further action. Despite its well-researched recommendations, the government response that is the implementations aspect accordingly does not show any silver lining. The only valid point is perhaps the assertion that the government has compensated the victims in cases on which the NHRC worked and forwarded the recommendations to the government. But, the whole process of delivering justice does not stop at this; it is mandatory to take appropriate legal action against the perpetrators as identified by the NHRC. On this front the government has not given due importance to what the NHRC has forwarded to it. That is enough to reflect the status of impunity offered to the human rights violators.
Government assurances to NDC and OHCHR
to implement court verdicts on caste-based discrimination
21 July, Kathmandu,
Local Government authorities, including the Senior Superintendent of Police of Mahakali zone and the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Baitadi have assured the National Dalit Commission (NDC) and the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR) to swiftly implement two ground breaking discrimination related verdicts. The first verdict issued in January 2009, relates to a sentence of two years imprisonment issued by the Baitadi district court to the main perpetrator and a fine of rupees twenty five thousand. In this case, twelve Dalits were physically assaulted and robbed after they refused to follow discriminatory rituals. The second decision, issued by the same court in March 2010, is in relation to an assault of the father of a Dalit groom during a wedding ceremony for practicing “rituals reserved for high-caste communities”.
Despite repeated calls by human rights organisations, including the NDC, the National Human Rights Commission and OHCHR, the court decisions have yet to be implemented and have remained pending for many months. The members of a joint OHCHR-NDC mission raised serious concerns regarding this matter and urged the authorities to take the necessary action in accordance with the law.
OHCHR and the NDC welcome the assurance of the local authorities to enforce the verdicts during their meetings and expect appropriate steps to be taken as a matter of urgency. The four-day joint mission, led by the Chairperson of the NDC, was aimed at assessing the overall human rights situation of Dalit communities in the region.
Bijul Kumar Bishwokarma, the chairperson of National Dalit Commission, stressed that “it is the responsibility of local authorities to enforce law and order, and to effectively implement court orders. I call on the Government authorities to arrest the perpetrators swiftly as ordered by the courts.”
Jyoti Sanghera, the Deputy Representative of OHCHR Nepal added: “OHCHR acknowledges the proper filing of first information reports by the police on allegations of caste-based discrimination and untouchability; however, this mission has brought to light a range of obstacles that continue to prevent Dalit communities from enjoying their fundamental human rights. I call on the Government to undertake all necessary steps to address these challenges, and to execute the court orders as soon as possible.”
Government assurances to NDC and OHCHR to implement court verdicts on caste-based discrimination
21 July, Kathmandu,
Local Government authorities, including the Senior Superintendent of Police of Mahakali zone and the Deputy Superintendent of Police in Baitadi have assured the National Dalit Commission (NDC) and the Office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal (OHCHR) to swiftly implement two ground breaking discrimination related verdicts. The first verdict issued in January 2009, relates to a sentence of two years imprisonment issued by the Baitadi district court to the main perpetrator and a fine of rupees twenty five thousand. In this case, twelve Dalits were physically assaulted and robbed after they refused to follow discriminatory rituals. The second decision, issued by the same court in March 2010, is in relation to an assault of the father of a Dalit groom during a wedding ceremony for practicing “rituals reserved for high-caste communities”.
Despite repeated calls by human rights organisations, including the NDC, the National Human Rights Commission and OHCHR, the court decisions have yet to be implemented and have remained pending for many months. The members of a joint OHCHR-NDC mission raised serious concerns regarding this matter and urged the authorities to take the necessary action in accordance with the law.
Parliamentary Speaker Abdulla Shahid this morning cancelled parliamentary sittings until the government releases MP Abdulla Yameen from MNDF “protection” on ‘Aarah’, the presidential retreat.
The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has meanwhile issued a statement calling on the government to release Yameen from his ‘protection’ at Aarah.
“On July 15 the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) arrested Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, and since then it has been five days and he has not been presented to court,” HRCM said in a statement.
“He is held in custody against article number 49 of the constitution,” the commission claimed.
“Although he was isolated for his own protection, violating article 49 is unconstitutional, and therefore the HRCM calls on the government to follow the constitution and release Yameen immediately.”