I
105TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 1802
To suspend United States development assistance for India unless the Presi-
dent certifies to Congress that the Government of India has taken certain
steps to prevent human rights abuses in India.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 5, 1997
Mr. BURTON of Indiana (for himself and Mr. CONDIT) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on International Relations
A BILL
To suspend United States development assistance for India
unless the President certifies to Congress that the Gov-
ernment of India has taken certain steps to prevent
human rights abuses in India.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This act may be cited as the ‘‘Human Rights in India
Act’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
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(1) In India, tens of thousands of political pris-
oners, including prisoners of conscience, are being
held without charge or trial under special or preven-
tive detention laws.
(2) The special and preventive detention laws
most frequently cited by human rights organizations
are the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Preven-
tion) Act (TADA) of 1987, the National Security
Act of 1980, the Armed Forces (Punjab and
Chandigarh) Special Powers Act of 1983, the Armed
Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act of
1990, and the Jammu and Kashmir Public Safety
Act of 1978.
(3) Although TADA expired in March 1995,
India continues to hold prisoners under it.
(4) These laws provide the military and police
forces of India sweeping powers of arrest and deten-
tion with broad powers to shoot to kill with virtual
immunity from prosecution.
(5) These laws contravene important human
rights standards established under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which
India is a party, such as the right to liberty and se-
curity, the right to a fair trial, the right to freedom
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of expression, and the right not to be subjected to
torture or arbitrary arrest and detention.
(6) Throughout India, political detainees are
often held for several months, and in some cases a
year, without access to family, friends, or legal coun-
sel.
(7) Throughout India, the torture of detainees
has been routine, and scores of people have died in
police and military custody as a result.
(8) Throughout India, scores of political detain-
ees have ‘‘disappeared’’ and thousands of people are
reported to have been extrajudicially executed by
military and police forces.
(9) On September 6, 1995, human rights activ-
ist Jaswant Singh Khalra was detained after he pub-
lished a report regarding the cremation of Sikhs who
have died in police custody. Since that date, Mr.
Khalra has been neither charged nor released.
(10) A July 22, 1996 report from India’s
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to India’s Su-
preme Court, documenting nearly 1,000 cases of un-
identified bodies having been cremated by the police
after being labeled ‘‘unidentified’’, lends credence to
these charges.
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(11) In Punjab, the Government encouraged
extrajudicial executions by offering bounties for the
killing of militants and paid over 41,000 such boun-
ties between 1991 and 1993, according to State De-
partment and human rights reports. In March of
1996, a leading human rights advocate was brutally
murdered by Indian military forces in Kashmir. Mr.
Jalil Andrabi, the Chairman of the Kashmir Com-
mission of Jurists, was abducted and slain two
weeks before he was to travel to Geneva to testify
before the United Nations Human Rights Commis-
sion.
(12) Abuses by the military and police forces of
India are particularly widespread in the states of
Punjab, Assam, Manipur, Nagaland, and the portion
of the territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the
control of the Government of India.
(13) Many victims come from underprivileged
and vulnerable sectors of society in India, particu-
larly the scheduled castes and tribes. The Dalit, or
‘‘black untouchables’’, have also been victims of
widespread human rights abuses.
(14) While the Indian Government should be
praised for forming a National Human Rights Com-
mission, the Commissioners powers have been ex-
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that individuals not taking part in hostilities should
at all times be treated humanely.
SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE FOR
INDIA UNLESS CERTAIN STEPS ARE TAKEN
BY THE GOVERNMENT OF INDIA TO IMPROVE
HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA.
(a) LIMITATION.—The President may not provide de-
velopment assistance for India for any fiscal year unless
the President transmits to Congress a report containing
a certification for such fiscal year that the Government
of India meets the following requirements:
(1) The Government of India has released all
prisoners of conscience in India.
(2) The Government of India ensures that all
political prisoners in India are brought to trial
promptly and fairly, and have prompt access to legal
counsel and family members.
(3) The Government of India has eliminated the
practice of torture in India by the military and po-
lice forces.
(4) The Government of India impartially inves-
tigates all allegations of torture and deaths of indi-
viduals in custody in India.
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(5) The Government of India has established to
the best of its ability, the fate or whereabouts of all
political detainees in India who have ‘‘disappeared’’.
(6) The Government of India brings to justice
promptly those members of the military and police
forces responsible for torturing or improperly treat-
ing prisoners in India.
(7) The Government of India permits citizens of
India who are critical of such Government to travel
abroad and return to India.
(8) The Government of India insures that
human rights monitors in India are not targeted for
arrest or harassment by the military and police
forces.
(9) The Government of India permits both
international and domestic human rights organiza-
tions and international and domestic television, film,
and print media full access to all states in India
where significant human rights problems exist.
(10) The Indian Government has thoroughly in-
vestigated allegations of cremations of Sikhs who
have died in police custody and has made every ef-
fort to bring those responsible to justice.
(11) The repressive laws cited in section 2,
paragraph 2 have been repealed.
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(b) REQUIREMENT
FOR
CONTINUING
COMPLI-
ANCE.—Any certification with respect to the Government
of India for a fiscal year under subsection (a) shall cease
to be effective for that fiscal year if the President trans-
mits to Congress a report containing a determination that
such Government has not continued to comply with the
requirements contained in paragraphs (1) through (11) of
such subsection.
(c) WAIVER.—The limitation on development assist-
ance for India contained in subsection (a) shall not apply
if the President transmits to Congress a report containing
a determination that providing such assistance for India
is in the national security interest of the United States.
(d) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
(1) DEVELOPMENT
ASSISTANCE.—The term
‘‘development assistance’’ means assistance under
chapter 1 of part I of the Foreign Assistance Act of
1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq.).
(2) INDIA.—The term ‘‘India’’ includes the por-
tion of the disputed territory of Jammu and Kash-
mir under the control of the Government of India.
(e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The prohibition contained in
subsection (a) shall apply with respect to the provision of
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development assistance beginning nine (9) months after
the date of enactment of this Act.
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