The United Nations has adopted an international treaty against forced disappearances, called the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances. Amnesty International, the International Commission of Jurists, the International Federation of Human Rights, and Human Rights Watch said that this a great step forward in the fight against forced disappearances, and […]
Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch
recently wrote an article stating that although the Indian government
has recently acknowledged its role in the 1984 pogroms, it still has a
long way to go in addressing the systematic perpetration of human
rights violations by Indian security forces.
Last
month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh apologized for the 1984 anti-Sikh
pogroms, saying that it […]
Amnesty International has sent a briefing paper to the UK Presidency of the European Union stating that India should abolish the death penalty. The Amnesty International paper suggested that the EU use the September 7 EU-India summit to encourage India to set an example for the rest of Asia and abolish the death penalty.
“As […]
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made a three-day visit to the United States from July 17 to July 20, during which he held talks with President Bush and addressed a joint session of Congress. This visit is part of an effort to build a stronger partnership between the two countries, especially in the areas of […]
In June, Amnesty International began its campaign to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 (AFSPA). The AFSPA was introduced along with other “special” security legislation in response to increased militancy, and has resulted in violence and numerous human rights abuses against Indian civilians.
The AFSPA’s provisions enable security forces to arrest people and enter […]
Students and supporters of the People’s Tribunal of Orissa have started an online petition
in protest against the Sangh Parivar’s violent targeting of the Indian
People’s Tribunal on Environment and Human Rights (IPT) on June 14,
2005, in Orissa, where the Tribunal was conducting hearings to
investigate issues of communalism. During a hearing with Hindu
nationalist organizations, a fax arrived […]
The U.S. Department of State released its 2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices on February 28, 2005.
The report highlights the continuing impunity for disappearances in Punjab and police violations of human rights. The report also discusses the failure of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to pursue the mass cremations case in Punjab.
In […]
Ranjit Bhushan wrote a column in The Indian Express regarding the failures of India’s criminal justice system. In it, he points to failures by the police preventing victims from obtaining justice.
These are not ordinary quirks of the justice process. They are evidence of a rotting criminal justice system. The trouble is that the lawmakers, judicial bodies, bar associations, […]
In late July, the government of Dr. Manmohan Singh proposed a new law to combat communal violence. In August, a group of human rights activists, jurists, and retired police officials released a draft model law, called the Prevention of Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity Act 2004. In December, another collection of human rights groups proposed […]
On December 6, the Lok Sabha (lower parliamentary house) approved the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Bill, and approved the bill to repeal the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA). POTA has raised concerns because of issues such as its vague definitions of membership and support for “terrorist organizations,” its lack of pre-trial safeguards, and insufficient guarantees of […]