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Human Rights Watch World Report 2009


Related to this project: SOS Kashmir
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Human Rights Watch World Report 2009
India - Excerpts:

Despite an overarching commitment to respecting citizens' freedom to express their views, peacefully protest, and form their own organizations, the Indian government lacks the will and capacity to implement many laws and policies designed to ensure the protection of rights. There is a pattern of denial of justice and impunity, whether it is in cases of human rights violations by security forces, or the failure to protect women, children, and marginalized groups such as Dalits, tribal groups, and religious minorities. The failure to properly investigate and prosecute those responsible leads to continuing abuses.

While India claims that its national and state human rights commissions ensure protection of human rights, these commissions are not fully independent, their members and chair are appointed by the government, they lack sufficient resources to conduct their own investigations and they are not empowered to investigate violations by the army.

Violence continues in secessionist conflicts in northern Jammu and Kashmir and in Manipur, low intensity insurgencies in other parts of the northeast, and• the Maoist conflict in several states of central India. In efforts to contain the armed groups, Indian security forces are• responsible for extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, due process violations, and ill-treatment in custody. Laws such as the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act sanction impunity.

Protests in Jammu and Kashmir:

While the level of violence has decreased, failure to investigate human rights violations transparently and prosecute those responsible remains a strong reason for public anger. Kashmiris believe that many of the thousands "disappeared" over the last
two decades were dumped into unmarked graves. The government has ignored calls for an independent investigation by human rights groups to determine the fate of the victims.

Widespread protests erupted in Jammu and Kashmir after a state government decision in May 2008 to transfer forest land to a Hindu trust to build temporary shelters during an annual Hindu pilgrimage called "Amarnath Yatra." Several people were killed and many injured in the protests, and the issue fueled religious tension. Security forces used tear gas and opened fire using live ammunition as well as rubber bullets to control protesters who set fires, damaged government property, hurled stones, and in some cases attacked policemen. Separatist groups announced a boycott of state assembly elections in late 2008 and called for demonstrations.

Violence in Manipur and Other Northeastern States:

Violence has continued in the northeast, particularly in Manipur, where over 300 people, including nearly a hundred civilians, were killed in the armed conflict in 2008. Caught between the armed groups and security forces, civilians also remain victims of human rights abuses.

A series of bomb attacks in Guwahati and other cities in Assam on October 30, 2008, killed 84 people and injured hundreds. Police believe the bombings may have been acts of revenge for earlier attacks on Bangladeshi Muslim settlers by local tribes in which nearly 50 people were killed.

In Manipur, security forces have been responsible for extrajudicial killings and torture. The impunity and free rein given to government forces has led to a culture where many soldiers and police officers appear to believe it is easier to kill suspects than gather evidence to secure convictions.

Naxalite Conflict:

Maoist armed groups, also called Naxalites continue to carry out bombings, abductions, beatings, and killings in several Indian states including Chhattisgarh. Security forces have responded with arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial killings of suspected Naxalites or their alleged supporters.

The Naxalites claim to be fighting for the rights of the marginalized tribal groups, Dalits, and the poor, but have been responsible for forced recruitment and severe punishment of those who refuse to submit to demands for cash, shelter, and protection.


In Chhattisgarh, government security forces and state-government-backed vigilantes called the Salwa Judum are responsible for attacking, killing, and forcibly displacing tens of thousands of people in armed operations against Maoist rebels. The Naxalite rebels retaliate in a brutal manner, abducting, assaulting, and killing civilians perceived to be Salwa Judum supporters. The government has chosen to view those who do not join the Salwa Judum as Naxalite supporters.

Impunity:

While Jaw enforcement is needed to end the violence perpetrated by militants, India continues to provide extraordinary powers to its troops and grants them immunity from prosecution when they abuse those powers and commit human rights violations.

The Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enacted on August 18, 1958, as a short-term measure to allow deployment of the army in the northeast. The law has remained in force in various parts of the country for five decades. It provides the armed forces with sweeping powers to shoot to kill, arrest, and search in violation of international human rights law. The law has led to widespread human rights abuses and protects troops from prosecution for such crimes.

Protection of Vulnerable Communities:

The government has failed to protect vulnerable communities including Dalits, tribal groups, and religious minorities.

Since August 2008, supporters of the Hindu militant groups Vishwa Hinud Parishad and Bajrang Dal in Orissa have attacked Christians, many of them tribal minorities or Dalits. The militants have burned churches, beat priests and nuns, and destroyed property. Several policemen were suspended for dereliction of duty after a nun alleged that she was raped. At this writing, at least 40 persons had died in the violence, with scores injured and thousands internally displaced.

Failure to secure justice for the 2002 Gujarat riots in which more than 2,000 Muslims were killed following an attack on a train carrying Hindu pilgrims has fueled anger amongst Muslims. Police continue to arbitrarily round up and detain Muslims nationwide after bomb blasts; many have alleged they were tortured during interrogation and forced into signing false confessions. Muslims also face discrimination in access to housing and jobs and the Indian government does little to protect them.

Despite a scheme launched four years ago to provide universal education, millions of children in India still have no access to education and work long hours, many as bonded laborers. Many children continue to be trafficked for marriage, sex work, or employment. Others languish in substandard orphanages or detention centers.

In October 2008, police in Bangalore arrested five hijras transgender women and then detained 37 human rights defenders and activists who came to assist them, beating and sexually abusing some of them.

According to the National AIDS Control Organization, more than 2.5 million people are living with HIV. Four southern states (Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka) account for nearly two-thirds of those infected. Although antiretroviral therapy is supposed to be freely available at public health facilities, there are significant regional disparities in implementation of the policy.

Children and adults living with HIV/AIDS, as well as those whose marginalized status puts them at highest risk internal migrants, sex workers, injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and transgender populations face widespread stigmatization and discrimination, including denial of employment, access to education, orphan care, and healthcare.

Human Rights Defenders:

The trial of Dr. Binayak Sen, a physician and human rights activist with the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCl), began in May 2008 in Chhattisgarh. Sen was detained in May 2007 under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act and accused of having links to the Naxalites. In May 2008 police arrested filmmaker and PUCL member Ajay TG under the same act for alleged links to unlawful Maoist organizations. He was granted bail in August after the government failed to file charges within the mandatory 90 days stipulated in the act.

Key International Actors:

As a strong emerging economy, India has built crucial trade links with the European Union and United States. After signing a deal with the US to secure nuclear supplies for civilian use, in 2008 India won a waiver from the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group to lift restrictions on nuclear commerce. The restrictions were imposed after India carried out its first nuclear test in 1974.

In 2008 several key international partners were disappointed by India's refusal to take a strong public position against ongoing human rights violations in Burma and Sri lanka. In response to the renewed crackdown on dissent in Burma, New Delhi stopped the supply of lethal weapons to the Burmese military but otherwise offered only a tepid response, saying it believed in private engagement with the Burmese regime.

India initially refused to join the international community in demanding better human rights protections during the ongoing war in Sri lanka. In September 2008 India finally expressed concern amid unconfirmed reports that civilians were increasingly being caught in the middle of the fighting, at risk from both government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

India has routinely ignored recommendations from UN human rights bodies including, UN committees on the elimination of racial discrimination and discrimination against women. India is a member of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) and in 2008 came up for Universal Periodic Review by the HRC, agreeing to several recommendations including that it sign and ratify UN treaties banning torture and enforced disappearances.

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Madness all around...


Related to country: Pakistan
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

I am based in Pakistan... a medium sized Muslim country sitting between Afghanistan and India.

Most of the world thinks that Pakistan is an extremist terrorist state (notice I did not use "Muslim terrorist" state). People in the West think that all people in Pakistan are uneducated, blinded by extremist false religious teachings and anti-West. This my friends is not true.

Pakistan has always been a moderate country, where, though religion is an important part of our culture and life, it is not something that dominates our minds all the time.

Most people in Pakistan work hard to earn their wages, life for an average Pakistani is not easy, in fact it's very hard.

Women in Pakistan have their rights... yes you heard me correctly. If you know a bit about Pakistan, you would know that Pakistan is the only country where we have had a female Prime Minister twice in our short history as an Independent country. This something which even USA has not experienced in the last 200 plus years.

Women hold many top key positions in government and politics in Pakistan. In the Pakistan military, women are not only recruited in the education and medical corps but also in fighting arms (battalions). We have women fighter pilots as well as women commercial pilots flying the latest passenger aircrafts around the globe.

In some remote and backward villages, an isolated incident against women may occur once in a while. Which is dealt with by the government / NGO / Human Rights groups. Unfortunately at times the incident is blown out of proportions by poor media reporting and militant / hostile entities that may be from within the country or may be from outside the country.

The fact of the matter is that we are trying to increase awareness through education. As the remote villages become more accessible through road and railway networks, such issues would be dealt with more effectively.

Terrorism in Pakistan is the biggest threat. A threat for the people of Pakistan. Although most people around the world think that Pakistan is the biggest producer of terrorists, the truth is that we are the biggest victims of terrorism. Pakistan came under terrorist attacks when the militant fighters from Afghanistan fled from Afghanistan and entered Pakistan under the guise of refugees. Today the North Western parts of Pakistan are badly infested with foreign terrorists. They have taken people of these regions hostage. But our Government and Military are constantly trying eliminate and eradicate such militant insurgents from Pakistan's territory.

The recent peace deal in the Swat valley in Pakistan is a widely criticized issue. The Western nations think that we have given in to the demands of the terrorists. That is absolutely ridiculous. We have only made peace with the Pakistanis who the US and NATO had wrongly declared terrorists. These people are Pakistanis and have nothing to do with Taliban or Al-Qaida. Just because they have beards and wear turbans does not make them extremists. Anyway, ever since these people's demands have been met (Which basically means that they wanted Sharia or Islamic system of justice) they have not only stopped fighting, but have also declared carrying or display of weapons illegal. These people have also assured the Pakistani Government that they will fight extremist insurgents, report to the government if any foreign terrorists is seen in the Pakistan's territory and defend Pakistan from all threats.

Recently, Swat valley administration has started looking in to redeveloping tourism and making it a safe tourist location like it used to be two years back.

Even USA is looking at the possibility of talking to Taliban in Afghanistan. USA has realized or at least beginning to realize that classifying all Afghans as Al Qaida is not going to work. It was the blind war by the USA that started creating anti-America sentiments across Afghanistan and Pakistan. America has to realize that terrorists take advantage of such flawed policies and exploit it for their own advantage. USA has to isolate the militants by befriending the locals. Just like Pakistan is doing in the North Western areas (FATA).

As a Pakistani I want the people across the world to please understand that Pakistan is not a terrorist state, we do not produce terrorists, yes these used to be freedom fighter training camps which were setup by USA / CIA to fight Soviets. These camps received direct aid (financial and weapons) from USA. On top of that Pakistan was also supporting millions of Afghan refugees. It is true Pakistan received financial assistance at the time but hundreds and thousands of these refugees never left Pakistan after the war. This had a huge social, economic and cultural negative impact on the people of Pakistan.

After USA stopped helping / funding these training camps, fighters (mostly Afghans, Uzbeks etc.) started using their weapons, fighting skills against Pakistanis in the form of killings, assassinations, kidnappings, bank robberies etc. They were further used by external agencies belonging to hostile neighbors to do damaging acts towards Pakistan.

Today the organized groups of fighters armed with latest weapons, vehicles and enough ammunition and fuel to wage war against an Army is not a coincidence. These militants are trained soldiers getting funded to fight against Pakistan. They are fighting someone else's proxy war. Someone sitting across the borders.

As a Pakistani I appeal to all citizens of planet Earth, please stop this hatred towards other nations, religions, castes, cultures, creeds...

We have only one enemy and that is the only enemy we need to worry about... it is hate. When we destroy this enemy, all other problems on our tiny blue planet will automatically come to an end. Religion, skin color, cultures etc. are all superficial things. It is the real humanity that is what makes us humans and as humans we must learn to act unlike animals.

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