India has poor record of Human Rights: Amnesty

NI Wire

New Delhi

Thu, 29 May 2008: 

A day before, on May 28 India made a rank in the list of Amnesty International's Annual Report '2008' among other contemporary Asian countries, but all for the wrong reasons.

India is heading towards development, progress and economic power and is far ahead of other Asian developing countries, but simulteously lagging far behind in establishing and protecting human rights.

Violation of human rights has become the order of the day, the Amnesty International report has said in its 2008 annual appraisal.

The Global Human Rights Watchdog, Amnesty International (AI) while publishing its 2008 report on “State of the World's Human Rights” said, “Injustice, inequality, and impunity are the hallmarks of the world today.”

Apart from India, the AI lambasted the world leaders for human rights' violation in Drafur, Zimbabwe, Gaza, Iraq and Myanmar and demanded immediate action to establish law and order and protect people from violation by ignoring and suppressing human rights. Government must act hard to slackening the yawning gap between promise and performance.

West Bengal, Orissa, and Jammu & Kashmir are the worst affected human rights violation state in India. Reminding India, as a well-established liberal democracy with a strong legal tradition of human rights and an independent judiciary, should be a role model for other nations but before that the report said, “It needs to be more forceful in its domestic implementation and more forthright in its international leadership of human rights.

"What leadership can we expect from emerging powers such as India, South Africa or Brazil, if they remain failed in protecting human rights of their own nationals?”

Sixty years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations, People are still tortured or ill-treated globally in at least 81countries, face unfair trials in at least 54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries.

Alone in India a number of human rights abuses were reported in India last year comprising unlawful killings, forced evictions, excessive use of police force, violence against women and harassment of human rights defenders.

“Institutional mechanisms failed to protect civil and political rights or ensure justice for victims. The failings extended to economic, social and cultural rights, particularly of already marginalised communities,” said Mukul Sharma, head of Amnesty International India.

A range of human rights violations occurred in Nandigram generated by the local militia supported by the ruling Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the state government just neglected the abuse. In Orissa not less than 50 people were injured in the struggle carried out by farmers against their forceful eviction by the government supporting steel plant project.

Dr. Binayak Sen a well-known activist was arrested and charged under the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act 2005 and the amended provisions of the Unlawful activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958, is still not repealed despite widespread protests in north-eastern countries.

In Myanmar the military junta had neglected the referendum, and has struck down the peaceful protests led by Monks. It also found China, Russia, USA and other developed countries as accused of human rights violations.