U.N. urges India to curb powers of security forces in Kashmir

22 Jan 2011
NEW DELHI (AlertNet) – The United Nations has called on India to repeal a controversial law which gives security forces, who are battling militancy in the troubled regions of Kashmir and the northeast, sweeping powers to search, arrest or shoot people.
Human rights groups say the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) is a draconian law which the military is arbitrarily using to violate the fundamental freedoms of innocent civilians. But the authorities and the Indian army dismiss the allegations, saying the legislation is essential to root out insurgents.
Following a ten-day fact-finding mission to India, the U.N.'s Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights Defenders urged New Delhi to end this law, which she said was only causing suffering to ordinary people, but also those speaking out against violations such as lawyers and journalists. "While I acknowledge the security challenges faced by the country, I am deeply concerned about the arbitrary applications of security laws at the national and state levels such as in Jammu and Kashmir and in the northeast of India," Margaret Sekaggya told a news conference.
"The Armed Forces Special Powers Act … should be repealed and application of other security laws which adversely affect and safety of human rights defenders should be reviewed." Sekaggya, a Ugandan lawyer and academic, said that she had visited five states, including Kashmir and Assam, where she heard numerous testimonies from families of human rights activists who had been killed, tortured, ill-treated, disappeared, threatened or arbitrarily arrested and detained. The repeal of the AFSPA was one of the main demands of protestors in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir last year which led to serious unrest.
Between June and September, over 100 people were killed by government forces during the biggest protests since a separatist rebellion in 1989, fuelling anger in Kashmir where sentiment against Indian rule runs deep. The violence raised fears that anger at New Delhi could spin out of control and that if the government failed to check the protests, deaths and rights violations, the region could slide into a renewed phase of armed uprising, as happened in 1989.
The AFSPA allows an officer of the armed forces to fire upon or use force, even to point of causing death, against anyone acting in contravention of any law against assembly of five or more persons or possession of deadly weapons. Officers can also arrest without a warrant anyone who has committed or is suspected of committing certain offenses. The entry and search of any premise in order to make such arrests is also permitted. The act also bestows legal immunity to the officials, which means that they can not be sued or prosecuted.
Sekaggya said she met with senior government officials including the foreign secretary and the home secretary and recommended that they repeal the Act, as well as other laws affecting the human rights of Indians. "The government said 'We have the issue of security, we have the issue of terrorism,' and so they are explaining it that way," she said. "But the issue is how do you balance between security and the freedoms of the people?"

(Courtesy : www.trust.org)

UN body to aid search for persons missing in J&K

Sunday, Jan 2, 2011

Srinagar : The UN human rights body has come to the aid of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP), which is championing the cause for the people allegedly missing in the custody of security forces for the last 20 years in Jammu and Kashmir.

APDP is among 204 organisations that have been selected for the financial grant under the UN Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture (UNVFVT) for 2010 by the office of the high commissioner for human rights (OHCHR). It is for the first time in 20 years of turmoil that UN body has sanctioned the financial aid to any human rights organization in Kashmir.

APDP, headed by Parveena Ahangar whose son Javid Ahmad Ahangar is missing in custody since 1990, has been given the financial assistance under the medical, psychological and legal category.

“We have received the first installment of the grant and have been told to conduct a survey of the people who are missing in custody”, said Ahangar. APDP has started a door-to-door survey in different part of the valley to collect the data of the actual number of people missing in the custody of the security forces in the last 20 years.

“We have 400 members in our organisation whose children have gone missing in the custody of the security forces. But there are thousands other cases in different and far flung areas which have gone unreported so far. Our focus is to collect all details and background of the people who have gone missing”, said Ahangar.

The financial grant has been sanctioned even as the UN deleted Kashmir from the list of long pending disputes recently bringing relief to New Delhi, which has been battling hard to do away with international tag attached with Kashmir issue.

“I had gone to Geneva where I had a threadbare discussion on the issue of disappearances. Then a representative visited Kashmir and had a long meeting with us, which paved way for the grant”, said Ahangar. Human rights organisations say there are 8000 to 10,000 people missing in custody. However, the Jammu and Kashmir government has given contradictory figures about the disappeared people.

Figures presented in the state assembly in 2009 revealed that 3429 persons have gone missing from their homes while only 110 persons have disappeared after arrest in the state from 1990 to July 2009. Of the total missing persons, 2367 belong to Jammu zone and 1062 hail from Kashmir province.

But in 2010, the government has come up with another list of figures in the assembly. In a written reply to a question, the government said 1105 persons are reported to have disappeared from the state since 1989 and around 530 cases of ex-gratia relief has been provided to the affected families so far.

“Our data will be comprehensive with all details of the people missing in custody. This will be submitted to the OHCHR for further action”, said Ahangar. 

(Courtesy : www.dnaindia.com)