From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord@igc.apc.org>
Newsgroups: soc.rights.human
Date: 28 Sep 92 10:16 PDT
Subject: India: AI welcomes improved HR
Nf-ID: #N:cdp:1476700536:000:3841
Nf-From: cdp.UUCP!hrcoord    Sep 28 10:16:00 1992


From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: India: AI welcomes improved HR

/* Written  6:33 pm  Sep 27, 1992 by aiusala in cdp:ai.general */
Amnesty International
International Secretariat
1 Easton Street
London WC1X 8DJ
United Kingdom

DATE: 18 SEPTEMBER 1992

ADDITION TO WEEKLY UPDATE SERVICE 37/92

INDIA: AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL WELCOMES CALLS FOR IMPROVED HUMAN RIGHTS

Amnesty International welcomes recent debate within the Indian government
about improving human rights in the country, but is urging the government
to make sure that any changes are effective.

At a conference of Chief Ministers of all India's states on 14 September,
the Prime Minister P.V.  Narasimha Rao expressed his determination that
human rights violations in India should not be tolerated and said that the
government will take concrete steps to protect human rights - especially
those of the most vulnerable groups.

Amnesty International is encouraged by the conference's resolution to deal
firmly and quickly with crimes against people in custody after the Prime
Minister and the Home Minister Shankarrao Chavan emphasized the need to
hold officials involved fully and p romptly accountable.  Amnesty
International also welcomed the government's earlier decision to respond to
the specific allegations of human rights violations described in Amnesty
International's latest report on India, published in March 1992.

Amnesty International is keenly interested in proposals that legislation
concerning custodial deaths may be strengthened and that a human rights
commission will be established in India.  The work of such a commission can
obviously best be set by human righ ts experts in India.  However, such a
commission could give an important focus to the need to halt human rights
violations in India and also enhance the protection of human rights -
provided it is made into an effective instrument to protect human rights in
India.

Among other means, the effectiveness of such a commission would be enhanced
through the appointment to the commission of individuals of known
impartiality, independence and integrity; by providing it with a proper
legal foundation and clear mandate; by gr anting it full powers to initiate
and conduct investigations, including powers to require the attendance of
witnesses and production of documents; by equipping it with sufficient
financial and other resources to enable it to carry out its functions
throug hout the country in a speedy and effective manner; and by ensuring
that its work is conducted in an open and accessible manner with full
public accountability.

To ensure the effectiveness of any such human rights commission, a
commitment will also be required on the part of the government, both at
central and state level, whatever findings and recommendations the
commission may make.

However, in addition to the creation of a human rights commission, concrete
measures must also be taken at the central and state level if custodial
violence is to be halted in India.  Full impartial inquiries by an
independent authority have only been con ducted into a handful of the 415
specific reports of custodial deaths listed in Amnesty International's
March report.  Legal safeguards providing for mandatory inquiries by a
magistrate have not been followed in many cases, the families of many
victims co ntinue to be denied access to police information reports, post
mortem and other reports and in less than a dozen of the 415 cases are
those allegedly responsible for causing deaths of people in their custody
known to have been sentenced to imprisonment.

Amnesty International continues therefore to urge the Indian government to
implement specific recommendations made by Amnesty International in its
March 1992 report, which set out a ten point program of steps needed to
halt torture in India.