INDIA: Extrajudicial executions and torture are defining characters of India’s security establishment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ALRC-CWS-29-02-2015 June 08, 2015 Written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Extrajudicial executions and torture are defining characters of India’s security establishment The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, after his visit to India from 19 to 30 March 2012 has filed a report to the 23rd Session of the Human Rights Council held in 2013. To the observations made by the Rapporteur in his report, the Government of India has filed comments on 27 May 2013. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) supports the report made by the Rapporteur, particularly concerning the following subjects, to […]

INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women

ALRC-CWS-28-003-2015 March 03, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women 1. After the infamous New Delhi rape case of 2012, and other cases of gender based violence subsequently reported by the media, the Government of India initiated a series of measures to curb violence against women. The government’s initiatives have, however, been limited to sensitising communities and instructing the local police to register complaints upon receipt. Amendments were made in 2013 to the Indian Penal Code 1860, The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, The Indian Evidence Act 1872, and to The […]

INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women

ALRC-CWS-28-003-2015 March 03, 2015 A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Criminal justice reforms elementary to control violence against women 1. After the infamous New Delhi rape case of 2012, and other cases of gender based violence subsequently reported by the media, the Government of India initiated a series of measures to curb violence against women. The government’s initiatives have, however, been limited to sensitising communities and instructing the local police to register complaints upon receipt. Amendments were made in 2013 to the Indian Penal Code 1860, The Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, The Indian Evidence Act 1872, and to The […]

INDIA: Addressing Poor Sanitation & Access to Water a Must to Fight Disease & Child Malnutrition

ALRC-CWS-27-03-2014 September 1, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty seventh session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water and sanitation A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Addressing Poor Sanitation & Access to Water a Must to Fight Disease & Child Malnutrition 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) draws the attention of the Human Rights Council to the persistent problem of a lack of sanitation coverage for a majority of the Indian population. Estimates reveal that around 600 million people, or around 60% of the country’s population, defecate in the open. While […]

INDIA: Reinforcing subordination of women in law and practice

ALRC-CWS-26-16-2014 June 9, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Discrimination against Women A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Reinforcing subordination of women in law and practice 1. To formally recognize the existence of discrimination against women in India, both in law and in practice, the country has acceded to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in 1993, undertaking obligation to eliminate “any distinction, exclusion or restriction” made on the basis of sex which impairs or nullifies “the recognition, enjoyment or exercise” women’s “human […]

INDIA: Omnipresent corruption affects all

ALRC-CWS-26-11-2014 June 5, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Omnipresent corruption affects all 1. There is not a single state run institution in India that has not succumbed to corrupt practices. Right from the four pillars of democracy – the executive, the judiciary, the legislature, and the media – all public institutions in India are riddled with corruption. Widespread corruption directly impacts the lives of a majority of Indians. 2. While corruption affects all, the worst affected are poor Indians, who comprise 312 million out of a 1.2 […]

INDIA: Extrajudicial Executions

ALRC-CWS-26-04-2014 May 30, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty sixth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debates A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Extrajudicial Executions 1. High prevalence of extrajudicial executions in a jurisdiction indicates deep problems within its rule of law framework. The higher the number and frequency of such murders, state sponsored or otherwise, the more rooted the problems in the criminal justice process. To this direct correlation, India is no exception. 2. There are, however, no credible statistics available regarding the number and frequency of such killings in India. Neither does the state, which includes the human rights commission, […]

INDIA: Remedies to human rights violations a mirage

ALRC-CWS-25-14-2014 February 27, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty fifth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Remedies to human rights violations a mirage 1. India has one of the most commended and emulated legal systems in Asia. The jurisprudence developed by the country’s courts is model to developing and advanced jurisdictions alike in interpreting state responsibility on safeguard human rights guarantees. The judiciary in India enjoys a unique position, shared with only three other jurisdictions in Asia – Japan, Hong Kong and South Korea – concerning independence and absolute non-interference by the executive and by […]

INDIA: Hurt, Hunger and Humiliation for the Refugees of the Republic

ALRC-CWS-25-10-2014 February 25, 2014 HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL Twenty fifth session, Agenda Item 3, General Debate A written submission to the UN Human Rights Council by the Asian Legal Resource Centre INDIA: Hurt, Hunger and Humiliation for the Refugees of the Republic 1. The Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) draws the attention of the Human Rights Council to the disastrous aftermath of the sectarian attacks in September 2013 on the religious minorities in Muzaffarnagar and neighboring areas of Uttar Pradesh in India. The government of Uttar Pradesh has recently admitted in front of the Supreme Court of India that out of the 65 deaths, 50 came from the minority community alone. […]