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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Volume XV No. 6 June 2018
 Advisors: Bejon Mishra
President :Dr. A. Shanker Manoj Kar
Editor :Dr. Girija B. Nanda Prof. Sanjay Chandwani
Managing Editor :Dr. Srimoy Patra
Editorial Team :Dr. Arpita Verma UP Chapter
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(A Monthly Publication of Manavadhikar Samajik Manch)

Human Touch is a platform for non-partisan portrayal of human rights issues in their different forms. Be it
the rights of the weaker sections of our population such as the women, the children, the aged and the
physically challenged, or the victims of some social customs, cultural traditions and economic & non-economic
policies, the publication brings out the issues objectively and in a manner that would give succour to the
people whose rights are either violated or put in jeopardy.

Human Touch acts as a forum for scholars, activists, concerned individuals and the common men &
women to ventilate their grievances, express their views and to highlight cases of human rights violations,
so that appropriate ameliorative actions can be taken by the concerned agencies. It is meant to help the
helpless and to speak for those whose voices are not heard. It engages in constructive and incisive debate
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 In this issue...
World Environment Day: 5
Beat Plastic Pollution: If you can’t reuse it, refuse it

World Day Against Child Labour: 8

Improve the Safety and Health of Young Workers and End Child Labour.

World Refugee Day: 10

Need to be Protected

National News 13

News from the National Human Rights Commission 16

International News 21

Sexual Harassment & Sex Education: 24

Aware, Empower and Eradicate

Asaram Case: 26
Need for Witness and Victim Protection in India

Counterfeit Medicines: 28
Corporate Charity & Social Responsibility

Good Governance: 31
Bliss for All
 From the President’s Desk …
June 21 was declared as the International Day of Yoga by the United Nations General Assembly
on December 11, 2014. As claimed, Yoga, is more than 6,000 year-old physical, mental and
spiritual practice having its origin in India. It aims to transform the body and the mind.

There is an official website which is maintained by the Ministry of External Affairs of Govt. of
India. The declaration of this day came after the call for the adoption of 21 June as International
Day of Yoga by PM Narendra Modi during his address to UN General Assembly on September
27, 2014 wherein he stated:

"Yoga is an invaluable gift of India's ancient tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body;
thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach
to health and well-being. It is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness within
yourself, the world and the nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can
help us deal with climate change. Let us work towards adopting an International Yoga Day."

Narendra Modi further stated that "Yoga embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action;
restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature; a holistic approach to health and
well being." In suggesting June 21, which is the Summer Solstice, as the International Day of
Yoga, Narendra Modi had said that the date is the longest day of the year in the Northern
Hemisphere and has special significance in many parts of the world.

From the perspective of yoga, the Summer Solstice marks the transition to Dakshinayana. The
first full moon after Summer Solstice is known as Guru Poornima. According to Sadhguru
Jaggi Vasudev, in the yogic lore, the first transmission of yoga by Shiva, the first Guru, is said
to have begun on this day. Dakshinayana is also considered a time when there is natural support
for those pursuing spiritual practices. Govind Gurbani Yog Guru / Vice President of Rajasthan
Swasthya Yog Parisad Jaipur India informed that on 21 June fifty thousand followers of Yoga
will perform Yoga in Rajasthan.

Even though it is good that Yoga has found a place in the UN observance days which will
attract global attention, it has not been without controversy. There have been allegations that
this is another attempt to break the secular fabric of the country. But, let us wait and watch
how the present government pans this out to the world or whether it will remain another bright
idea without sustainability.
Dr. A. Shanker

Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018 4

 World Environment Day:
Beat Plastic Pollution: If you can’t reuse it, refuse it
"On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use.
Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world."
H
umans are both creatures and
moulders of their
environment, which gives
them physical sustenance and affords
them the opportunity for intellectual,
moral, social and spiritual growth. In
the long and tortuous evolution of the
human race on this planet a stage has
been reached when, through the rapid
acceleration of science and
technology, humans have acquired
the power to transform their
environment in countless ways and
on an unprecedented scale.
The United Nations, aware that the
protection and improvement of the
human environment is a major issue,
which affects the well-being of
peoples and economic development
throughout the world, designated 5
June as World Environment Day. The
celebration of this day provides us
with an opportunity to broaden the
basis for an enlightened opinion and
responsible conduct by individuals,
enterprises and communities in
preserving and enhancing the
environment. Since it began in 1974,
it has grown to become a global
platform for public outreach that is
widely celebrated in more than 100
countries.
“Beat Plastic Pollution”
Each World Environment Day is
organized around a theme that
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
— Secretary-General, António Guterres
focuses attention on a particularly
pressing environmental concern. The
theme for 2018, “Beat Plastic
Pollution,” is a call to action for all of
us to come together to combat one
of the great environmental challenges
of our time. The theme invites us all
to consider how we can make
changes in our everyday lives to
reduce the heavy burden of plastic
pollution on our natural places, our
wildlife – and our own health. While
plastic has many valuable uses, we
have become over-reliant on single-
use or disposable plastic – with
severe environmental consequences.
“Beat Plastic Pollution”, the theme for
World Environment Day 2018, is a
call to action for all of us to come
together to combat one of the great
environmental challenges of our time.
Chosen by this year’s host, India, the
theme of World Environment Day
2018 invites us all to consider how
we can make changes in our
everyday lives to reduce the heavy
burden of plastic pollution on our
natural places, our wildlife – and our
own health.
While plastic has many valuable uses,
we have become over reliant on
5
single-use or disposable plastic – with
severe environmental consequences.
Around the world, 1 million plastic
drinking bottles are purchased every
minute. Every year we use up to 5
trillion disposable plastic bags. In
total, 50 per cent of the plastic we
use is single use.
Nearly one third of the plastic
packaging we use escapes collection
systems, which means that it ends
up clogging our city streets and
polluting our natural environment.
Every year, up to 13 million tons of
plastic leak into our oceans, where it
smothers coral reefs and threatens
vulnerable marine wildlife. The
plastic that ends up in the oceans can
circle the Earth four times in a single
year, and it can persist for up to 1,000
years before it fully disintegrates.
Plastic also makes its way into our
water supply – and thus into our
bodies. What harm does that cause?
Scientists still aren’t sure, but plastics
contain a number of chemicals, many
of which are toxic or disrupt
hormones. Plastics can also serve as
a magnet for other pollutants,
including dioxins, metals and
pesticides.
If you can’t reuse it, refuse it
This year’s World Environment Day
provides an opportunity for each of
us to embrace the many ways that
we can help to combat plastic
pollution around the world. And you
don’t have to wait until 5 June to act.
There are so many things that we can
do – from asking the restaurants you
frequent to stop using plastic straws,
to bringing your own coffee mug to
work, to pressuring your local
authorities to improve how they
manage your city’s waste. Here are
some other specific ideas:
- Bring your own shopping bags
to the supermarket
- Pressure food suppliers to use
non-plastic packagin
- Refuse plastic cutlery
- Pick up any plastic you see the
next time you go for a walk on
the beach
Check this space in the coming weeks
for more details of this year’s
campaign, and don’t forget to sign up
to receive all of our updates in the run-
up to World Environment Day 2018.
Background
History of the plastic shopping bag
A rare novelty in the 1970s, plastic
shopping bags are now an
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
omnipresent global product,
produced at a rate of one trillion a
year. They are showing up in the
darkest depths of the oceans to the
summit of Mount Everest to the polar
ice caps – and creating some major
environmental challenges.
How did this happen?
1933 Polyethylene, the most
commonly used plastic, is created by
accident at a chemical plant in
Northwich, England. While
polyethylene had been created in
small batches before, this was the
first synthesis of the material that was
industrially practical, and it was
initially used in secret by the British
military during World War II.
1965 The one-piece polyethylene
shopping bag is patented by the
Swedish company Celloplast.
Designed by engineer Sten Gustaf
Thulin, the plastic bag quickly begins
to replace cloth and plastic in Europe.
1979 Already controlling 80% of the
bag market in Europe, plastic bags
go abroad and are widely introduced
to the United States. Plastic
companies begin to aggressively
market their product as superior to
paper and reusable bags.
6
1982 Safeway and Kroger, two of the
biggest supermarket chains in the
United States, switch to plastic bags.
More stores follow suit and by the
end of the decade plastic bags will
have almost replaced paper around
the world.
1997 Sailor and researcher Charles
Moore discovers the Great Pacific
Garbage Patch, the largest of several
gyres in the world’s oceans where
immense amounts of plastic waste
have accumulated, threatening
marine life. Plastic bags are notorious
for killing sea turtles, which
mistakenly think they are jellyfish and
eat them.
2002 Bangladesh is the first country
in the world to implement a ban on
thin plastic bags, after it was found
they played a key role in clogging
drainage systems during disastrous
flooding. Other countries begin to
follow suit.
2011 Worldwide one million plastic
bags are consumed every minute.
2017 Kenya bans plastic bags, making
it one the most recent of the more
than two dozen countries that have
 pursuing the determination expressed
Secretary-General's Message at the Conference.” The date
coincides with the first day of the
A healthy planet is essential for a prosperous and peaceful future. We all landmark Conference.
have a role to play in protecting our only home, but it can be difficult to
know what to do or where to start. That’s why this World Environment Also on 15 December, the General
Day has just one request: beat plastic pollution. Assembly adopted another resolution
(A/RES/3000 (XXVII)) that led to the
Our world is swamped by harmful plastic waste. Every year, more than creation of the United Nations
8 million tonnes end up in the oceans. Microplastics in the seas now Environment Programme (UNEP),
outnumber stars in our galaxy. From remote islands to the Artic, nowhere the specialized agency on
is untouched. If present trends continue, by 2050 our oceans will have environmental issues.
more plastic than fish.
Since the first celebration in 1974,
On World Environment Day, the message is simple: reject single-use the World Environment Day has
plastic. Refuse what you can’t re-use. helped UNEP to raise awareness and
generate political momentum around
Together, we can chart a path to a cleaner, greener world. growing concerns such as the
depletion of the ozone layer, toxic
- António Guterres chemicals, desertification and global
warming. The Day has developed into
a global platform for taking action on
sought to reduce plastic bag use Human Environment, or the urgent environmental issues. Millions
through fees or bans. Stockholm Conference, its goal was of people have taken part over the
to forge a basic common outlook on years, helping drive change in our
2018 #BeatPlasticPollution is chosen how to address the challenge of consumption habits, as well as in
as the theme of World Environment preserving and enhancing the human national and international
Day, hosted this year by India. environment. environmental policy.
Companies and governments around
the world continue to announce new Later that year, on 15 December, the Please subscribe to
pledges to tackle plastic waste. General Assembly adopted a
resolution (A/RES/2994 (XXVII)) Human Touch
History of World Environment designating June 5 as World and support us for
Day Environment Day and urging creation of a just and
The year 1972 marked a turning point “Governments and the organizations
in the development of international in the United Nations system to equitable society and
environmental politics: the first major undertake on that day every year Contribute Articles and
conference on environmental issues, world-wide activities reaffirming their Support Our Cause in
convened under the auspices of the concern for the preservation and
United Nations, was held from June enhancement of the environment, Creating a Just and
5-16 in Stockholm (Sweden). with a view to deepening Equitable Society
Known as the Conference on the environmental awareness and to

Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018 7

 World Day Against Child Labour:
Improve the Safety and Health of Young Workers and End Child Labour.
T
he International Labour
Organization (ILO) launched
the World Day Against Child
Labour in 2002 to focus attention on
the global extent of child labour and
the action and efforts needed to
eliminate it. Each year on 12 June,
the World Day brings together
governments, employers and
workers organizations, civil society,
as well as millions of people from
around the world to highlight the
plight of child labourers and what can
be done to help them.
The Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), adopted by world leaders in
2015, include a renewed global
commitment to ending child labour.
Specifically, target 8.7 of the
Sustainable Development Goals calls
on the global community to: "Take
immediate and effective measures to
eradicate forced labour, end modern
slavery and human trafficking and
secure the prohibition and elimination
of the worst forms of child labour,
including recruitment and use of child
soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour
in all its forms."
Generation Safe & Healthy
This year, the World Day Against
Child Labour and the World Day for
Safety and Health at Work shine a
spotlight on the global need to
improve the safety and health of
young workers and end child labour.
This joint campaign aims to
accelerate action to achieve
Sustainable Development Goal target
8.8 of safe and secure working
environments for all workers by 2030
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
and SDG target 8.7 of ending all
forms of child labour by 2025.
Achieving these goals for the benefit
of the next generation of the global
workforce requires a concerted and
integrated approach to eliminating
child labour and promoting a culture
of prevention on occupational safety
health.
The returns on the investment in
ending child labour are incalculable.
Children who are free from the
burden of child labour are able to fully
realize their rights to education,
leisure, and healthy development, in
turn providing the essential foundation
for broader social and economic
development, poverty eradication,
and human rights.
We must move much faster if we are
to honour our commitment on ending
child labour, and we need to do it
together.
Child Labour
Today, throughout the world, around
218 million children work, many full-
time. They do not go to school and
have little or no time to play. Many
do not receive proper nutrition or
care. They are denied the chance to
be children. More than half of them
are exposed to the worst forms of
child labour such as work in
hazardous environments, slavery, or
other forms of forced labour, illicit
activities including drug trafficking
and prostitution, as well as
8
involvement in armed conflict.
Guided by the principles enshrined in
ILO's Minimum Age Convention No.
138 and the Worst Forms of Child
Labour Convention No. 182, the ILO
Programme on Child Labour (IPEC)
works to achieve the effective
abolition of child labour.
What is meant by child labour?
Child labour is work carried out to
the detriment and endangerment of a
child, in violation of international law
and national legislation. It either
deprives children of schooling or
requires them to assume the dual
burden of schooling and work. Child
labour to be eliminated is a subset of
children in employment. It includes:
- All “unconditional” worst forms
of child labour, such as slavery
or practices similar to slavery,
the use of a child for prostitution
or for illicit activities;
- Work done by children under the
minimum legal age for that type
of work, as defined by national
legislation in accordance with
international standards.
Labour Standards
One of the major aims set for the
International Labour Organization
(ILO) at its founding in 1919 was the
abolition of child labour. Historically,
the ILO’s principal tool in pursuing
the goal of effective abolition of child
labour has been the adoption and
supervision of labour standards that
embody the concept of a minimum
age for admission to employment or
work. Furthermore, from 1919
onwards the principle that minimum
age standards should be linked to
schooling has been part of the ILO’s
tradition in standard setting in this
area. Convention No. 138 provides
that the minimum age for admission
to employment shall not be less than
the age of completion of compulsory
schooling.
The ILO’s adoption of Convention
No. 182 in 1999 consolidated the
global consensus on child labour
elimination. It provided much-needed
focus without abandoning the
overarching goal, expressed in
Convention No. 138, of the effective
abolition of child labour. Moreover,
the concept of the worst forms helps
set priorities and can be used as an
entry point in tackling the mainstream
child labour problem. The concept
also helps to direct attention to the
impact of work on children, as well
as the work they perform.
Child labour that is proscribed under
international law falls into three
categories:
- The unconditional worst forms
of child labour, which are
internationally defined as slavery,
trafficking, debt bondage and
other forms of forced labour,
forced recruitment of children
for use in armed conflict,
prostitution and pornography,
and illicit activities.
- Labour performed by a child
who is under the minimum age
specified for that kind of work
(as defined by national legislation,
in accordance with accepted
international standards), and that
is thus likely to impede the
child’s education and full
development.
- Labour that jeopardizes the
physical, mental or moral well-
being of a child, either because
of its nature or because of the
conditions in which it is carried
out, known as “hazardous
work”.
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
Facts & Figures
- Worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in
employment.
- Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost
half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour.
- In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to
be found in Africa; 62.1 million in the Asia and the Pacific; 10.7
million in the Americas; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5
million in Europe and Central Asia.
- In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19.6%) are in
child labour, whilst prevalence in other regions is between 3%
and 7%: 2.9% in the Arab States (1 in 35 children); 4.1% in
Europe and Central Asia (1 in 25); 5.3% in the Americas (1 in
19) and 7.4% in Asia and the Pacific region (1 in 14).
- Almost half of all 152 million children victims of child labour
are aged 5-11 years.
- 42 million (28%) are 12-14 years old; and 37 million (24%) are
15-17 years old.
- Hazardous child labour is most prevalent among the 15-17 years
old. Nevertheless up to a fourth of all hazardous child labour
(19 million) is done by children less than 12 years old.
- Among 152 million children in child labour, 88 million are boys
and 64 million are girls.
- 58% of all children in child labour and 62% of all children in
hazardous work are boys. Boys appear to face a greater risk of
child labour than girls, but this may also be a reflection of an
under-reporting of girls’ work, particularly in domestic child
labour.
- Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which
includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture,
and comprises both subsistence and commercial farming; 17%
in Services; and 12% in the Industrial sector, including m
9
 World Refugee Day:
Improve the Safety and Health of Young Workers and End Child Labour.

"This not about sharing a burden. It is about sharing a global responsibility, based not only the broad idea
of our common humanity but also on the very specific obligations of international law. The root problems
are war and hatred, not people who flee; refugees are among the first victims of terrorism."
— UN Secretary-General, António Guterres

I
n a world where violence forces
thousands of families to flee for
their lives each day, the time is
now to show that the global public
stands with refugees.
are in exile to escape the effects of
natural or human-made disasters.
regions of origin after time in exile.
Returnees need continuous support
and reintegration assistance to ensure
that they can rebuild their lives at
home.

To do this, the UN Refugee Agency UN Action

launched the #WithRefugees petition
in June 2016 to send a message to
governments that they must work
together and do their fair share for
refugees.
On World Refugee Day, held every
year on June 20th, we commemorate
the strength, courage and
perseverance of millions of refugees.
This year, World Refugee Day also
marks a key moment for the public
to show support for families forced
to flee.
Background
Every minute 20 people leave
everything behind to escape war,
persecution or terror. There are
several types of forcibly displaced
persons:
Refugees
A refugee is someone who fled his
or her home and country owing to
“a well-founded fear of persecution
because of his/her race, religion,
nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion”,
according to the United Nations 1951
Refugee Convention. Many refugees
Asylum seekers
Asylum seekers say they are refugees
and have fled their homes as refugees
do, but their claim to refugee status
is not yet definitively evaluated in the
country to which they fled.
Internally Displaced Persons
Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
are people who have not crossed an
international border but have moved
to a different region than the one they
call home within their own country.
Stateless Persons
Stateless persons do not have a
recognized nationality and do not
belong to any country.
Statelessness situations are usually
caused by discrimination against
certain groups. Their lack of
identification — a citizenship
certificate — can exclude them from
access to important government
services, including health care,
education or employment.
Returnees
Returnees are former refugees who
return to their own countries or
1951 Refugee Convention and its
1967 Protocol
Refugees are among the most
vulnerable people in the world. The
1951 Refugee Convention and its
1967 Protocol help protect them.
They are the only global legal
instruments explicitly covering the
most important aspects of a
refugee’s life. According to their
provisions, refugees deserve, as a
minimum, the same standards of
treatment enjoyed by other foreign
nationals in a given country and, in
many cases, the same treatment as
nationals.
The 1951 Convention contains a
number of rights and also highlights
the obligations of refugees towards
their host country. The cornerstone
of the 1951 Convention is the
principle of non-refoulement.
According to this principle, a refugee
should not be returned to a country
where he or she faces serious threats
to his or her life or freedom. This
protection may not be claimed by
refugees who are reasonably
regarded as a danger to the security
of the country, or having been

Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018 10

convicted of a particularly serious
crime, are considered a danger to the
community.
The rights contained in the 1951
Convention include:
- The right not to be expelled,
except under certain, strictly
defined conditions;
- The right not to be punished for
illegal entry into the territory of
a contracting State;
- The right to work;
- The right to housing;
- The right to education;
- The right to public relief and
assistance;
- The right to freedom of religion;
- The right to access the courts;
- The right to freedom of
movement within the territory;
- The right to be issued identity
and travel documents.
Some basic rights, including the right
to be protected from refoulement,
apply to all refugees. A refugee
becomes entitled to other rights the
longer they remain in the host
country, which is based on the
recognition that the longer they
remain as refugees, the more rights
they need.
Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
The Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), also known as the UN
Refugee Agency, was established on
14 December 1950 by the United
Nations General Assembly. The
agency is mandated to lead and
coordinate international action to
protect refugees and resolve refugee
problems worldwide. Its primary
purpose is to safeguard the rights and
well-being of refugees. It strives to
ensure that everyone can exercise the
right to seek asylum and find safe
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
refuge in another State, with the
option to return home voluntarily,
integrate locally or to resettle in a third
country. It also has a mandate to help
stateless people.
UNHCR's mandate distinguishes it
from other humanitarian actors,
requiring it to provide international
protection to refugees who do not
enjoy the protection of their
governments. It also recognizes that
international cooperation and support
are needed to complement the efforts
of the host country, which bears the
primary responsibility for meeting the
needs of refugees.
Rebuilding Lives in Peace and
Dignity
UNHCR provides legal protection for
refugees and seeks long-lasting
solutions to their problems, by helping
them either return voluntarily to their
homes or settle in other countries. Its
objective is to help refugees and other
forcibly displaced persons rebuild
their lives in peace and dignity.
The agency aims to uphold the rights
of all displaced people, including
women, children, older persons and
people living with disabilities. Its
seeks to reunite them with their
families, protect them from sexual
exploitation, abuse, violence and
military recruitment, and offers
education and training, health
services, etc.
When there is a massive influx of
refugees or internally displaced
persons (IDPs) in a region, UNHCR
can dispatch 300 skilled personnel in
less than 72 hours following a crisis
and leads the relief action to provide
refugees and IDPs with emergency
shelter — refugee camps, collective
centres, makeshift shelters — and
essential goods, including tents,
blankets and plastic sheeting.
11
UNHCR also helps build clinics,
schools and water wells for shelter
inhabitants and gives them access to
health care and psychosocial support
during their exile. It coordinates
family reunification activities and
demobilization, disarmament and
integration programmes for children
associated with armed forces.
Repatriation and Integration
A refugee’s voluntary repatriation to
her or his country or region of origin
is considered the most successful
outcome of all. Upon a refugee’s
return home, UNHCR organizes “go-
and-see” follow-up visits and provides
safety information while engaging in
community reconciliation activities
and providing legal aid.
Refugees who cannot return home
often locally integrate into host
societies or resettle in a third country.
In such cases, UNHCR supports
integration programmes, such as
cultural orientation, language and
vocational training, and offers legal
advice as well as psychological
support to ensure that people are well
integrated and resettled into societies
in peace.
United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in
the Near East (UNRWA)
Out of the estimated 15.2 million
refugees in 2011, 4.8 million were
Palestinian refugees registered with
United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East (UNRWA).
The United Nations Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the
Near East provides assistance,
protection and advocacy for
registered Palestine refugees.
UNRWA offers education, health
care, relief and social services, camp
infrastructure and improvement,
 Secretary-General's Message
World Refugee Day is an expression of solidarity with people who have been uprooted from their homes by war
or persecution. The latest figures from the UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, show that at least 65.6 million people
-- 1 of every 113 members of the human family -- have been forcibly displaced within their own countries or
across borders.

While Syria remains the world’s largest source of refugees, South Sudan is the biggest and fastest growing new
displacement emergency, with 1.4 million refugees and 1.9 million internally displaced, the vast majority of them
under 18 – a further blow to the future prospects of the world’s youngest nation. Behind these vast numbers lie
individual stories of hardship, separation and loss; of life-threatening journeys in search of safety; of gargantuan
struggles to rebuild lives in difficult circumstances. It is heartbreaking to see borders being closed, people
perishing in transit, and refugees and migrants alike being shunned, in violation of human rights and international
law. The human cost is profound: millions of jobs lost, millions of children thrust out of school, and lives
haunted by trauma and intolerance.

I have called for a surge in diplomacy for peace to prevent new conflicts from emerging and escalating, and to
resolve those that have already had their calamitous impact. I am also appealing to Member States to do far more
to protect people fleeing for their lives, buttress the international protection regime, and find solutions so that
people are not left in limbo for years on end. The New York Declaration, adopted nine months ago, maps out a
comprehensive and equitable way to address refugee and migration challenges, building on long-established laws
and practices. The UN’s “Together” campaign offers a platform to promote respect safety and dignity for
refugees and migrants -- and crucially, to fortify social cohesion and change false and negative narratives that
compound the challenges faced by refugees and their hosts.

Throughout history, communities living next to crisis zones, as well as those far from the frontlines, have
welcomed the uprooted and given them shelter – and in return, refugees have given back. Today, 84 per cent of
the world’s refugees are hosted by low- or middle-income countries. We cannot continue to allow a small
number of countries – often the world’s poorest -- to shoulder this weight alone.

This not about sharing a burden. It is about sharing a global responsibility, based not only the broad idea of our
common humanity but also on the very specific obligations of international law.
The root problems are war and hatred, not people who flee; refugees are among the first victims of terrorism.

In recent weeks and months, I have visited refugees and displaced people in Afghanistan, Somalia and elsewhere.
Sitting with these men, women and children, I was impressed by their fortitude despite having had their lives
completely upended. On World Refugee Day, let us all try to stand in their shoes, and stand up for their rights
and our shared future.

- António Guterres

Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018 12

 National Human Rights Update
Kashmiris Need Justice, Not Just
Development
When Major Leetul Gogoi was
recently detained in Srinagar after a
brawl involving civilians, the army
chief vowed “exemplary
punishment.” “If anyone in the Indian
Army, at any rank, does any wrong
and it comes to our notice then strict
action will be taken against him,” Gen
Bipin Rawat said.
But the army chief’s vow will ring
false to many because in April 2017,
when soldiers under Gogoi’s
command, in a patently wrongful act,
tied a Kashmiri man to the front of a
military vehicle and drove him
through the streets as a lesson to
stone-throwing protesters, this same
officer was publicly commended
instead of being investigated and
prosecuted.
Such impunity for security forces
violations has contributed to anger in
Kashmir. In early May 2018,
Mohammad Rafi Bhat, a sociology
professor in Kashmir, was killed in a
military operation shortly after he
joined a militant group. On Facebook,
he had written a few weeks before
he died: “By blocking all peaceful
means of expressing dissent, what
remains is self-defence against the
armed forces.”
Since 2015, gunfights with armed
groups, that include many more
Kashmiris like Bhat, have been
increasing. At the same time, stone
throwing by protesters and the
security forces’ response has injured
thousands. In an effort to contain
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
the use of live ammunition, the
security forces were armed with
shotgun pellets, which have
nonetheless caused serious injuries
including permanent damage to the
eyes and scores of deaths among
protesters and bystanders.
Acknowledging the deteriorating
situation, the government has
declared a halt to security operations
during the Muslim holy month of
Ramzan. Prime Minister Narendra
Modi visited Kashmir and called for
peace. “Every stone or weapon
picked up by the youth of this state
is only meant to destabilize their own
state,” he said. Even as separatist
leaders called for a protest strike
during his visit, the prime minister
offered his response to the violence:
“All problems, all differences have
only one solution,” he said.
“Development, development and
development.”
While development has long been
offered as a solution to conflict, there
is a key difference in the present
government’s approach to Kashmir.
In the past, a driving force in policy
was the belief that the resolution of
the crisis in a Muslim-majority state
like Jammu and Kashmir was
important to India’s secular identity.
To achieve this, and to counter
demands for a plebiscite, Indian
authorities in the past arrested
Kashmiri leaders, rigged elections, but
13
also offered compromises, including
a special constitutional status.
The BJP, however, ran its national
election campaign on a promise of
“universal development” (sab ka
vikas), which is code to stop what
the party considered was the unfair
privileging of minority voter groups
in the country, including Muslims and
Dalits. In Kashmir, the BJP draws its
support from Hindu majority areas,
building on concerns around the
persecution of Hindus who have been
forcibly displaced from the valley.
Many BJP supporters go further and
claim that not just militants but street
protesters are “terrorists” and that
most Kashmiri Muslims, as well as
activists or others who speak up for
their human rights, are anti-India and
closet Pakistan supporters. Some
demand an end to Jammu &
Kashmir’s constitutional status.
Some analysts blame the recent spiral
in violence on the BJP’s “muscular”
approach, which makes little
concession to the protection of
human rights. In 2016, students that
protested violations were accused of
sedition.
India has long failed to ensure
accountability for human rights
violations by its troops, but the recent
crackdown has only furthered public
disenchantment and anger against the
security forces. In several cases,
local residents have physically tried
to disrupt counter-insurgency
operations. Demonstrations and large
public processions routinely mark
funerals of slain militants.
Meanwhile, more and more
Kashmiris are resorting to both guns
and stones.
The first step towards addressing the
crisis in Kashmir is for the
government to confront and ensure
justice for human rights violations.
This includes following up on the
order of the state human rights
commission to investigate unmarked
graves, which many believe also
contain the remains of individuals
forcibly disappeared, allegedly by the
security forces . Charges of
extrajudicial killings and other abuses
are yet to be prosecuted because of
immunity provided to troops,
including under the infamous Armed
Forces Special Powers Act.
If soldiers and officers who abuse
their authority are properly punished
instead of being praised and
rewarded, perhaps it will help those
contemplating violence to believe in
justice instead.
Police Fatally Shoot Copper
Plant Protesters in Tamil Nadu
Authorities in India’s Tamil Nadu state
should conduct a prompt, impartial,
and transparent investigation into the
police shooting of protesters against
a copper plant that left at least 12 dead
and 80 injured, Human Rights Watch
said today. Television news video
footage shows two plainclothes men
firing at protesters from atop a police
van during a demonstration on May
22, 2018.
Since February, residents of the port
city of Tuticorin have protested
against the expansion of a copper
smelting plant and demanded its
closure because of environmental
concerns. Previous protests have
largely been peaceful. On May 22,
protesters clashed with police after
being prevented from marching to the
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
offices of the local administration.
Police said they were compelled to
respond with live ammunition after
demonstrators pelted police with
stones, attacked a government
building, and set vehicles on fire.
“The police have a duty during
protests to maintain law and order,
but lethal force can only be used if
there is an imminent threat to life,”
said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia
director. “Tamil Nadu authorities need
to carry out a prompt and credible
investigation to determine if police
used excessive force and hold those
responsible to account.”
The Tamil Nadu government said that
the police had to take action “under
unavoidable circumstances” to bring
the violence under control. ?Protests
have continued, with one person
reportedly killed by a rubber bullet
and dozens injured on May 23. The
government has ordered an internet
shutdown for five days in three
districts.
Following widespread condemnation
of the killings, the state chief minister
has ordered an inquiry and announced
compensation of 10 lakh rupees
(US$14,600) to each of the families
of those who died.
Sterlite Copper, a business unit of
Vedanta, a United Kingdom-based
multinational mining and metals
conglomerate, set up the copper
smelting plant in 1996. Residents
living in towns and villages nearby
have long alleged that the plant had
damaged their health, water, and
environment.
In 2013, the Tamil Nadu Pollution
Control Board directed Sterlite to
temporarily shut down its copper
plant following allegations of a gas
leak. Days later, India’s Supreme
14
Court ordered the company to pay
damages of 100 crore rupees ($15
million) for environmental
rehabilitation measures.
In an official statement reported in
the media, Sterlite Copper said: “It's
with great sorrow and regret that we
witnessed today’s incidents around
the protest today at Tuticorin. The
company has appealed to government
and authorities to ensure safety of our
employees, facilities, and surrounding
communities. Sterlite Copper plant is
non-operational as we await approval
for the consent to operate.”
On May 23, the Madras High Court,
in an interim order, stayed the
expansion of Sterlite Copper ’s
industrial unit.
The Indian government should
publicly order the police to abide by
the United Nations Basic Principles
on the Use of Force and Firearms by
Law Enforcement Officials. The
Basic Principles state that law
enforcement officials shall “apply
non-violent means before resorting to
the use of force and firearms,” and
that “whenever the lawful use of
force and firearms is unavoidable, law
enforcement officials shall: (a)
Exercise restraint in such use and act
in proportion to the seriousness of
the offence and the legitimate
objective to be achieved; (b) Minimize
damage and injury, and respect and
preserve human life.” Furthermore,
“intentional lethal use of firearms may
only be made when strictly
unavoidable in order to protect life.”
The Basic Principles further provide
that, “[i]n cases of death and serious
injury or other grave consequences,
a detailed report shall be sent
promptly to the competent
authorities.” The findings of the
investigation should be public and
result in appropriate disciplinary
action or prosecution.
“It’s important that the Tamil Nadu
authorities respond to protests in
accordance with international law, but
they should also be addressing
concerns raised about health and
environmental harms,” Ganguly said.
“Protest organizers should take steps
to deter supporters from engaging in
violence, including attacks on law
enforcement officers.”
India Sex Offenders’ Registry
Not the Answer
Reeling from protests across the
country demanding justice for
victims in the recent spate of sexual
assaults, Indian authorities are under
pressure to respond. One step the
government has decided to adopt is
a sex offenders’ database, which will
store the profile and personal details
of convicted offenders and those
accused of such offenses. Children
accused of such crimes may also be
included in the database.
For several years, some senior
government ministers have been
calling for mandatory registration of
sex offenders. It reflects public
concern that children and women are
at grave risk of sexual abuse by
strangers who are repeat offenders.
But this concern is not borne out by
facts. According to 2016 government
data, out of 38,947 cases of reported
rapes in India, the accused was
known to the victim in almost 95
percent of the cases. In nearly 4,000
cases, the accused was a close family
member.
Rape is already underreported in India
largely because of social stigma,
victim-blaming, poor response by the
criminal justice system, and lack of
any national victim and witness
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
protection law. This makes rape
victims highly vulnerable to pressure
to forego reporting the assault from
the accused as well as the police.
Children are even more vulnerable
due to pressure from family and
society.
The fact that the offenders – often
relatives or family friends – will be
recorded in a national database for
all time may actually lead to a decrease
in reporting of such crimes. Even if
the database is not public, the absence
of laws to protect privacy and on data
protection in India will raise further
concerns.
Moreover, studies by Human Rights
Watch and the American Civil
Liberties Union show that sex
offender registries in the United States
have done more harm than good.
Instead of crime prevention, they lead
to harassment, ostracism, and
violence against former offenders,
especially children, and impede their
rehabilitation.
The Indian government should instead
better enforce existing laws and
protection measures. It can start by
ensuring that police officers, judicial
officials, and medical professionals
are sensitized on the proper handling
of sexual violence cases -- and
holding them to account when they
don’t.
HIV positive women seek dairy
booth allotment for earning
livelihood
Ostracised by the society and
shunned by their families, more than
100 HIV positive women seeking a
permanent source of livelihood on
Tuesday demanded dairy booth
allotment feed their families.
Among these women was Laxmi
(name changed) who married Babu
15
(name changed) 10 years ago in Paldi
Meena area of Jaipur and never
realised that her life was going to be
changed forever. Three years after
marriage, when she got pregnant for
the second time, Laxmi, then of 23
years age, during the ANC came to
know that she was HIV positive. She
was infected by her husband Babu,
a truck driver, who died two years
later, leaving Laxmi and two
daughters.
“Soon after the death of my husband,
my in-laws kicked us out of the
house. Since then I am earning bread
for my two children by working as a
domestic help but as kids are growing
up and it has become difficult to meet
the basic needs like food even with
the 1,500 per month income,” said
Laxmi. I need a source of stable
income.”
“NACO Rajasthan fact sheet reveals
that 43 per cent of Women Living
with HIV (WLHIV) are below 30 year
age and 46% of them are widows,”
Brijesh Dubey of Global Alliance of
Human Rights said.
“Importantly 83 per cent of them
were infected by their husband and
52 per cent of them live below
poverty line with monthly income
less than Rs 1,500. Dairy booth
allotment can play significant role to
alleviate income and give them a
permanent source of livelihood so that
they can easily run their nuclear
family,” he added.
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human rights updates.
News From the National Human Rights Commission
NHRC notice to the Government
of West Bengal over reported
killing of a political worker in
Purulia
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of media reports that
a boy, belonging to Dalit Community
in Purulia, was mercilessly beaten till
he died, allegedly, by the workers of
the ruling Trinamool Congress Party
in West Bengal. Later, his body was
found hanging by a tree. Reportedly,
a Poster was also found affixed on
the back of the dead body with a
message written in Bangla language-
"18 bachhor bayose BJP rajneeti. Ebar
bojh" which means, "BJP politics at
the age of 18. Now take this."
Reportedly, he was a worker of
Bhartiya Janta Party and he had called
the family over telephone stating that
he was abducted by a group of men
on bikes.
The Commission has observed that
the contents of the news report, if
true, amount to gross violation of
human rights of the victim.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to
the Chief Secretary, Government of
West Bengal calling for a detailed
report in the matter The DGP, West
Bengal has been asked to intimate the
present status of investigation in the
case and the steps taken to ensure
that such incidents do not recur in
future. They have been given four
weeks to respond.
The Commission also observed that
India is a democratic country.
Difference of opinion and ideology
are obvious in a multi-party
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
democratic political system.
Bloodshed in the name of political
differences is neither desirable, nor
acceptable in a civilized society. Brutal
killings of the party workers in such
a manner are indicative of deficient
law and order situation in the state,
which does not allow rival political
parties to exercise their political
rights. Right to life of the poor Dalit
victim has been grossly violated,
which is a glaring instance that law
enforcing agencies have failed to
protect the precious human life.
According to the media report,
carried on the 31st May, 2018 that
violence continues in Purulia even
after the Panchayat elections are over.
Several other local BJP leaders have
been threatened after the BJP won
many seats in the district. The father
of the deceased has alleged that his
son was killed by the workers of the
Trinamool Congress. They had also
threatened to kill him on the polling
day. The BJP leaders have leveled
allegations against the Trinamool
Congress party stating that the
deceased was killed just because his
ideology differed from that of the
State sponsored goons.
NHRC notice to the Government
of Kerala over media reports
about the arrest of two
policemen on suspicion of their
involvement in the murder of a
youth
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
16
motu cognizance of media reports
that a Dalit, two policemen were
taken into custody and questioned by
the special investigation team on
Wednesday following damning
evidence of their role in helping the
gang that murdered newly married
Kevin Joseph in Kottayam, Kerala.
Kevin, 23, belonging to Dalit Christian
community, was allegedly abducted
by the family members of his wife a
day after their wedding from the
house of his cousin. His badly bruised
body was found two days later in a
rivulet.
The Commission has observed that
going by the contents of the media
reports, the Rights to Life, Liberty
and Dignity of the victim have been
grossly violated. Such kind of
inhuman acts cannot be accepted in
a civilized society. The State has a
responsibility to safeguard the rights
of its citizens from such heinous
crimes.
The Commission therefore takes suo-
motu cognizance of the matter and
directs issuance of notice to the Chief
Secretary and the Director General
of Police, Kerala calling for a detailed
report in the matter within four weeks
along with status of rehabilitation/
protection provided to the family
members of the deceased. The
response is expected within four
weeks.
As per media reports carried today
on the 31st May, 2018, the brother
of the wife of deceased and his father
have been arrested and sent to judicial
custody. One of the accused
surrendered in Peerumedu court. He
was handed over to the police. An
audio tape of conversation between
guilty ASI and the brother of the wife
of the deceased has also been run on
TV channels, which reportedly,
indicates involvement of the police
personnel in the crime. The Finance
Minister of the State has also said that
the incident is an indelible blot on the
state's reputation.
NHRC notice to the DGP, Uttar
Pradesh over reported illegal
detention and torture of a 14
year old girl at a police station in
NOIDA
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of media reports
that a 14 year old girl was detained at
a police chowki and a police station
in Noida for eight days. She was
beaten, burnt with cigarettes and
electrocuted there. Reportedly, the
girl, a domestic help, was detained
after her employer accused her of
theft.
The Commission has observed that
the contents of the media reports, if
true, indicate cruelty of the police
personnel for which the deserve
exemplary punishment so that a
message could be given that such
inhuman acts by a public servant
cannot be accepted at any cost. The
law does not empower the police
personnel to humiliate and harm the
innocent citizens.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to
the Director General of Police, Uttar
Pradesh, calling for detailed report in
the matter within 4 weeks. He is also
expected to send the report about the
steps taken for counselling/
rehabilitation of the victim.
According to the media report carried
today on the 31st May, 2018, the
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
family members of the victim girl
have stated that she was detained by
the police on the 14th May, 2018, at
Salarpur police Chowki, where she
remained till 16th May, 2018. They
were not allowed to meet her and she
was released on the 16th May, 2018.
The police again picked up the girl,
the next day and this time her 17 year
old brother was also taken into
custody. Both of them were finally
released in the night of the 22nd May,
2018, following the intervention by
an NGO, Bachpan Bachao Andolan
and an order from the Child Welfare
Committee (CWC).
Reportedly, the CWC, on the 23rd
May, 2018, also ordered a medical
examination of the girl. The medico
legal case report has revealed
discoloured "brown-shaped circular
discolorations" near her left and right
wrists linking these to burnt marks.
The report also mentions abrasions
on the right forearm near the elbow
and three discoloured abrasions on
both wrists. The report specifically
clarified that all injuries are more than
10 days old, caused by hard and
blunt object.
The SHO of the Police Station
Sector-39, Noida has, reportedly,
denied the allegations of illegal
detention and torture. He has also
claimed that the girl was not a minor.
The MLC however, confirms that the
girl is a minor. On a complaint filed
by the NGO, the National Legal
Services Authority (NALSA) has
sought a report from the Senior
Superintendent of Police, Noida
through Noida District Legal Services
Authority. As mentioned in the news
report, the girl has alleged that the
employer himself came to their house
and demanded that she work as their
domestic help and when she
protested, he took away her on his
scooter in front of the neighbours.
17
NHRC decides to send its own
investigation team to conduct an
on the spot inquiry into the
police firing killing more than 11
protestors in Tuticorin, Tamil
Nadu
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC today decided to
send its own team of officers for
making a fact finding inquiry/
investigation into the incident of police
firing in Tuticorin district of Tamil
Nadu on the 22nd May, 2018,
causing the death of more than 11
protesters demanding closure of
Sterlite Copper plant.
The Commission has asked its
Director General (Investigation) to
depute a team headed by an officer
not below the rank of Senior
Superintendent of Police assisted by
three more officers of the rank of Dy.
SP and Inspectors from its
Investigation Division.
The NHRC team would leave
forthwith and examine all the
concerned including family members
of the victims and independent
witnesses as it deems appropriate and
submit a report to the Commission
within two weeks.
The Commission has given this
direction after considering the
representation made by Mr. A
Rajarajan under W.P. (C) 5779/2018
before the Delhi High Court and the
orders of the Court passed on the 25th
May, 2018, inter alia directing as
follows:
- According to the petitioner, the
respondent/NHRC should
consider the representation made
by the petitioner and trigger an
independent inquiry based on the
provisions of Sections 14 & 17
of the Protection of Human
Rights Act, 1993 (in short 'Act').
- Having regard to the facts and
circumstances of the case and,
given the fact that the
respondent/NHRC has called for
reports, at this stage, the Court
is inclined, only, to give liberty
to the petitioner to appear before
the respondent/NHRC for
obtaining suitable directions.
- Accordingly, the aforementioned
representation filed by the
petitioner will be placed before
the respondent/ NHRC on the
29th May, 2018, for appropriate
directions.
- It is made clear that nothing
stated hereinabove will impact the
merits of the case.
The Commission has observed that
its instant direction in the matter is
independent of the directions already
given by it to the Chief Secretary and
Director General of Police,
Government of Tamil Nadu, vide its
notices issued after taking suo motu
cognizance of the incident on the
basis of media reports on the 23rd
May, 2018. They have been asked to
submit detailed reports in the matter
along with status of the treatment
being provided to the persons who
were injured in police firing within
two weeks..
NHRC concludes Open Hearing
and Camp Sitting at Arunachal
Pradesh
The day long Open Hearing and
Camp Sitting organised by the
National Human Rights Commission,
NHRC to hear the human rights
cases related to Arunachal Pradesh
concluded at Itanagar today. The
Commission considered 57 matters
in three bench sittings during the
Open hearing.
The Commission recommended
monetary relief of Rs. 14.40 lakh in
two cases of prima-facie violation of
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
human rights and in one case of death
in police custody, the State
Government assured that it would
comply with the recommendations of
the Commission made earlier for
payment of Rs. 2 lakh to the next of
kin of deceased. In three cases,
notices were issued to the State
government to show-cause why
monetary relief of Rs. 4.5 lakh may
not be recommended to be paid. Four
cases were closed upon receipt of the
reports and in other cases either
further time was allowed for
submission of reports or reports
submitted taken on record for further
consideration/examination by the
Commission.
The Commission expressed concern
over the delay in submission of
various reports in general and, in
particular, in matters pertaining to
deaths in custody. The State
government assured to direct the
authorities to submit District-wise
details of implementation of the Right
to Education Act an issue circulars
to the authorities including private
schools for such implementation.
The matters considered included
issues such as atrocities on SC/ST
by Chakma and Hajong people, Health
Care, Dilapidated conditions of roads,
Non-implementation of the Right to
Education Act, Lack of basic
amenities for villagers at Indo-China
border, Increase in suicide cases and
lack of mental health care centres,
scarcity of drinking water in Debing
village in East Siang district,
conditions in jails, including
overcrowding, health care and denial
of facilities and implementation of
Central Government flagship
programmes.
The three Single Bench sittings
presided over by NHRC Chairperson,
Mr. Justice H.L. Dattu, Members, Mr.
18
Justice P.C. Ghose and Mr. Justice
D. Murugesan. This hearing was
followed by an interaction with the
NGOs and Human Rights defenders,
who raised many important issues
including lack of basic infrastructural
facilities in remote districts, water
crises in the Damang district,
improper implementation of the PDS
scheme, lack of Internet facility, and
non functioning of Common Service
Centre, the need for up-gradation of
the FSL laboratories, increase in
budget for proper health care and
medicines for the population and the
absence of specialists in various
disciplines for proper health care. The
issues of Rights of indigenous people,
non supply of nutritious food at village
level through Anganwadi Centres and
lack of toilets in districts and villages
were raised. An important issue also
raised was heavy bombing by Indian
Air Force in Kamle district adversely
affecting public life, pollution and
education of children.
The Commission appreciated the
forthcoming attitude of the Chief
Secretary, DGP and all officers who
came forward to commit their full
efforts in addressing all the issues of
human rights in a time bound manner.
Earlier, inaugurating the Open hearing
and Camp Sitting, Mr. Justice H.L.
Dattu, Chairperson, NHRC said that
it is a mechanism to monitor and
review significant issues of human
rights, create public awareness and
provide a voice to the marginalized
sections besides action against the
perpetrators. Deliberation on human
rights issues provided an effective
platform to all the stakeholders to
discuss the issues of human rights
and find the way for the protection
thereof. He emphasized the need for
proper implementation of flagship
programmes and focus on human
trafficking, gender sensitization and
human rights education for all as vital
ingredients for human rights
protection.
Mr. Ambuj Sharma, Secretary
General, NHRC said that development
activities should not ignore human
rights. He also spoke about the
initiatives taken by the Commission
for encouraging the States to
showcase good practices of
governance, which insured
protection of human rights.
Mr. Satya Gopal, Chief Secretary of
Arunachal Pradesh said that the state
over 80% tribal population with 26
tribes. There were no cases of
bonded labour, and there is special
focus on Education, Health and
implementation of Flagship
programmes. There were Legal
Service Authorities in 20 districts of
the state, two Juvenile Justice Boards
and two Human Rights Courts. The
proposal for setting up State Human
Rights Commission has also been
passed for better protection of human
rights.
Mr. G.S Meena, Commissioner,
Home, in his welcome address,
shared the concern of the
Commission for expeditious
submission of reports besides a
watch on Protection of Human Rights
and implementation of the
recommendations made by the
Commission.
NHRC notice to the Government
of Tamil Nadu over killing of
more than 10 people in police
firing in Tuticorin district
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of media reports
that more than ten people were killed
in police firing on anti-Sterlite
protestors when their three month old
agitation turned violent on its 100th
day in Tuticorin district of Tamil Nadu
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
on the 22nd May, 2018. Reportedly,
the protesters attacked the
Collectorate building and the police
personnel posted there, leaving a few
cops injured and some vehicles
torched. Thereafter, the police
retaliated with firing. The fleeing
protesters were reportedly chased
down and beaten up by the police.
The Commission has issued notices
to the Chief Secretary and the
Director General of Police, Tamil
Nadu calling for detailed reports in
the matter along with the status of
the treatment being provided to the
persons who have been injured in
police firing. The response is
expected within two weeks.
The Commission expects that
investigation into the matter will be
conducted as per guidelines laid down
in its letter dated 12th May, 2010
addressed by the Chairperson, NHRC
to the Chief Ministers of all States.
The Commission has also observed
that going by the contents of the
media reports, it appears that the
authorities probably failed to foresee
the tragic violence which took place.
The agitation against the alleged
polluting unit was on for the last more
than three months. Keeping in view
the simmering situation, effective
precautionary measures and
deployment of adequate number of
police personnel may have possibly
averted the unfortunate incident. It
also appears from several media
reports, including those on TV news
channels that the police resorted to
firing on unarmed protesters without
following the Standard Operating
Procedure, which tantamount to
serious violation of human rights and
thus is a matter of concern for it.
According to the media reports
carried on the 23rd May, 2018, the
19
agitation demanding closure of
Vedanta's Sterlite Copper plant started
more than three months back.
Thousands of protesters had,
reportedly, gathered to mark the 100th
day of the agitation at
Kumarattiyapuram village on the
outskirts of the city on the 22nd May,
2018. The district administration had
granted permission only for staging
a protest at the SAV School ground
which was turned down by a majority
of the protesters following which,
the District Collector imposed
regulatory orders u/s 144 Cr.P.C. and
around 1500 police personnel were
deployed to maintain the law and
order.
It is mentioned in the news reports
that the protest began at around 8.30
AM and the protesters marched
towards the Collectorate. The police
tried to stop them at several points
but vastly outnumbered by the
protesters, they were not able to
control the mob.
Reportedly, angered by the firing that
left eight protesters dead, the crowd
blocked the vehicle of Tuticorin
Superintendent of Police. The police
force then opened fire and another
person (Vinitha) died. As mentioned,
the bodies of the dead are yet to be
handed over to the families and
condition of some of the injured
persons is stated to be critical.
The news reports also reveals, that
earlier several NGO's had rallied
people demanding the closure of the
copper smelting unit which they said
was polluting the environment and
causing ailments in the
neighbourhood. It is also mentioned
that the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control
Board is not renewing the license of
the plant which is closed since March,
2018.
The Chief Minister of the State has,
reportedly, announced Rs. 10 Lakh
as compensation to the NOK of the
deceased and Rs. 3 Lakh to the
seriously injured apart from Rs. 1
Lakh to the persons with minor
injuries. The State Government has
also announced an inquiry into the
matter to be conducted by a retired
High Court judge.
NHRC notice to the Government
of Gujarat over the reported
death of a Dalit rag picker due
to beating by five men in Rajkot
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of media report that
a 40 year old Dalit rag picker was
beaten to death at Shapar village in
Rajkot district on Sunday the 20th
May, 2018, allegedly over the issue
of collecting scraps in the area.
Following a complaint lodged by the
victim's wife, police have registered
an offence of murder and other
charges against five unidentified
persons under the IPC and Scheduled
Castes & Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Commission has observed that
the contents of the news report, if
true, raise serious issue of violation
of human rights of the victims.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice to
the Chief Secretary to the
Government of Gujarat calling for a
report in the matter within four weeks
along with measures taken for relief
to the affected families.
According to the media report,
carried on the 21st May, 2018, the
victim, a native of Parnala village of
Surendranagar district of Gujarat,
along with his wife and an
acquaintance was picking rags
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
around a factory in Shapar area. Five
unidentified persons from the factory
had an altercation with them and all
three rag pickers were allegedly
beaten up by them. After beating
them, the women were sent back
while the victim was held by the
miscreants. When the women
returned with some other persons,
they found the victim on the ground.
He was taken to the hospital, where
doctors declared him brought dead.
As reported, the Deputy
Superintendent of Police of the area
has stated that there are wounds on
the body of the deceased which could
have been caused by blunt objects like
sticks. The probe in the matter has
been reportedly initiated by the police
authorities.
NHRC notice to the Delhi Police
Commissioner over reported
incident of a man arrested and
taken naked to police station in
full public view
The National Human Rights
Commission, NHRC has taken suo
motu cognizance of media reports
that Delhi police arrested a man from
his house in West Delhi and took him
to police station naked in full public
view, hurling insults and abuses.
Reportedly, the accused requested the
police to allow him wear clothes but
was instead told that he would be
paraded in this way only.
The Commission has observed that
the contents of the media reports,
if true, amount to inhuman and
unprofessional approach of the
Delhi Police personnel. Humiliating
a person, by parading him naked in
full public view and in front of his
family members is absolutely
unethical and violation of his human
rights. The right to dignity of the
victim has been grossly violated.
Accordingly, it has issued a notice
to the Commissioner of Police,
20
Delhi, calling for detailed report in
the matter within 4 weeks.
According to the media reports,
carried today on the 22nd May, 2018,
a 12 member police team, including
some women police personnel,
reached a resettlement colony in
Inderpuri to arrest the accused who
was bathing at that time. To avoid
arrest, he tried to come down from
the upper story of his house only with
a towel tied to his waist. In an
attempt to escape, he jumped from
the building during which, his towel
dropped and when he fell on the
ground naked, when the police
nabbed him.
The family members of the accused,
reportedly, requested to the police that
he should be allowed to wear his
clothes but they did not listen and
abused him. When allegedly, he
requested to take him to the police
station through a street instead of a
busy road, the police also denied this
request and took him to the police
station in full public view.
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 International Human Rights Update
Trade Union Leaders Freed in
Kazakhstan
After nearly 16 months behind bars,
trade union leaders Nurbek
Kushakbaev and Amin Eleusinov are
finally back home with their families
in western Kazakhstan.
Kushakbaev and Eleusinov were
arrested on January 20 last year after
participating in a peaceful workers’
protest against the unjustified forced
closure of the country’s main
independent union group, the
Confederation of Independent Trade
Unions of Kazakhstan (KNPRK).
Early last month, courts granted
Kushakbaev and Eleusinov parole,
and they were released from prison
two weeks later.
Kazakhstan has long violated
workers’ rights, but the government
is gaining a reputation at the
international level for cracking down
on freedom of association in the
workplace and the right to organize
– rights enshrined in key conventions
of the International Labour
Organization (ILO), to which
Kazakhstan is party.
The trade unionists’ release on parole
coincided with a high-level mission
to Kazakhstan by the ILO, which in
2017 criticized the country’s
“persistent lack of progress” in
addressing worker abuses and
demanded the Kazakh government
take steps to improve, including
amending the country’s restrictive
2014 trade union law and letting the
KNPRK go about its work in peace.
But so far Kazakhstan has taken no
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
meaningful steps to address these, or
other, violations noted by the ILO.
And the ILO is not the only body
that’s voiced its concerns. Last
December, the European Parliament
condemned the forced closure of
KNPRK and urged Kazakhstan to
revise its problematic trade union and
labor laws. The United States Trade
Representative is set to review
Kazakhstan’s labor rights record later
this month too.
If the US trade representative finds
that Kazakhstan is violating
internationally protected workers’
rights (which it should, given
Kazakhstan’s track record),
Kazakhstan could lose more than just
its reputation. Such a decision would
have significant financial
consequences for Kazakhstan, as the
outcome could affect duty-free trade
of Kazakhstan with the US.
The Kazakh authorities should now
have Kushakbaev’s and Eleusinov’s
convictions quashed and lift the
ongoing restrictions on their
engagement in trade union activism
– as well as those imposed on
KNPRK President Larisa Kharkova.
It should also reform its deeply
flawed trade union law, as the ILO
has been demanding for four years.
This would help the country shed its
terrible reputation for labor rights, but
also be the right thing to do for
workers across Kazakhstan.
21
Want to Choose Your Lawyer?
Good Luck in Iran
Iran’s judiciary reportedly created a
very short list of lawyers approved
to represent people accused of
national security crimes – commonly
used to prosecute activists – in
Tehran’s courts during the
investigative stage of the case. Of the
20,000-plus members of Tehran’s
Bar association, only 20 lawyers
made the list, which, unsurprisingly,
excluded women and human rights
lawyers.
Tehran lawyer Amir Raeesian on
Saturday tweeted that authorities told
him and his colleagues that if their
name is not on the list, they cannot
represent anyone charged with
political or security crimes. His name
is not on the list.
Iran’s 2014 criminal procedure law
originally sought to expand detainees’
rights, including access to a lawyer.
Yet an altered version of the law that
went into force requires those
charged with various offenses,
including “national or international
security crimes, political and media
crimes,” select their counsel from a
judiciary-approved pool of lawyers
during the investigation.
Yet no list was approved over the past
four years. During this time, Human
Rights Watch documented a
consistent pattern of prosecutors
refusing to allow such detainees’
access to lawyer during the
investigative phase. Additionally,
revolutionary court judges
occasionally refused to accept
detainees’ lawyers of choice during
the trial.
This is just one more example of
Iran’s judiciary trampling over due
process. Iran has consistently failed
to prevent torture in detention and to
investigate allegations of such abuse
– even several deaths in detention.
Revolutionary courts use confessions
obtained under torture as evidence.
In February, the family of Kavous
Seyed Emami, a prominent
environmentalist and a university
professor who had been arrested,
wrote on social media that authorities
told them Seyed Emami had
“committed suicide” in detention. No
independent investigation has been
conducted into his death.
International law guarantees anyone
accused of a crime access to a lawyer
of their choice at all stages of criminal
proceedings, including during the
investigation, the pretrial proceedings,
and during the trial itself. Announcing
a list of approved lawyers based on
non-transparent criteria is just the
latest example of judiciary’s
interference with detainees’ rights.
The right to access a lawyer of your
choosing is one of the most important
safeguards against abuses in
detention. Yet like other rights, Iran’s
judiciary is busy eroding laws
designed to protect Iranian citizens.
Philippine City Passes Law
Against LGBT Discrimination
The Philippine city of Mandaluyong
has approved an ordinance to protect
the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender people from
discrimination, the latest in a slew of
local laws passed across the country.
Mandaluyong’s anti-discrimination
ordinance “prohibits such
discriminatory acts as denying or
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
limiting employment-related access;
denying access to public programs
or services; refusing admission,
expelling or dismissing a person from
educational institutions due to their
SOGIE (sexual orientation, gender
identity and expression).” It also
prohibits “verbal or written abuse;
unjust detention/involuntary
confinement; denying access to
facilities; and illegalizing formation of
groups that incite SOGIE-related
discrimination.”
The passage of the these local
ordinances are important because
LGBT Filipinos, while widely
accepted in Philippine society, still
face discrimination. This is
particularly true for LGBT students
as well as LGBT people living with
HIV, many of whom suffer even
more from mistreatment by families,
employers, or colleagues. While the
ordinance does not specifically
address HIV-related discrimination,
most HIV infections in the Philippines
occur among LGBT people,
particularly men who have sex with
men. The Philippines has the fastest-
growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-
Pacific region, and a third of all new
HIV infections are recorded in Metro
Manila, which is composed of 16
towns and cities, including
Mandaluyong.
The wave of local ordinances stands
in stark contrast to the Philippine
legislature, which has not passed
similar anti-discrimination legislation.
While the lower House passed a
version of an anti-LGBT
discrimination bill in September, its
Senate version faces stiff opposition
from religious groups and
conservative senators. The recently
appointed Senate president, Senator
Vicente Sotto III, a religious
conservative supported by the
Catholic Church because of his
22
outspoken opposition to LGBT
equality legislation, is likely to strongly
oppose any legislation aimed to
protect the rights of LGBT people.
LGBT rights advocates believe the
strategy to ban SOGIE discrimination
could offset at the local level the
absence of such legislation at the
national level. But those local laws are
also a challenge to the Philippine
government to take the initiative to
pass national anti-LGBT
discrimination legislation to ensure
that all Filipinos enjoy the rights
guaranteed them under the country’s
constitution and international human
rights law.
North Korea: Prioritize Dire
Rights Situation
North Korea remains one of the
world’s most repressive states
despite recent diplomatic openings
with South Korea, the United States,
and other countries, Human Rights
Watch said today in a mid-year update
to its annual summary of the human
rights situation in North Korea. North
Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US
president Donald Trump plan to meet
in Singapore on June 12, 2018, to
discuss nuclear non-proliferation and
other security issues, but human
rights are not on the agenda.
The North Korean government
severely restricts freedom of
expression, assembly, association,
and religion. It prohibits all organized
political opposition, independent
media, independent voices and
organizations, and trade unions. The
government routinely uses arbitrary
arrest and punishment, torture in
custody, forced labor, and executions
to maintain fear and control. In recent
years, the government has tightened
domestic restrictions on travel and
unauthorized cross-border travel
with China, and punished North
Koreans making contact with the
outside world.
“As the Kim-Trump summit in
Singapore approaches, the world
should demand improvements instead
of ignoring the dire human rights
situation facing 25 million people in
North Korea,” said Brad Adams, Asia
director. “Promoting human rights in
North Korea should be a fundamental
aspect of the Singapore summit or
any other diplomatic interaction.”
Colombia: Mend Transitional
Justice Law
The Colombian Constitutional Court
should address significant flaws in
the justice component of the peace
accord with the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC),
Human Rights Watch said today in
an amicus brief to the court. The
court is set to review a bill passed
on November 30, 2017, that details
how the Special Jurisdiction for
Peace, a judicial system negotiated
with the FARC as part of the peace
talks, will operate.
The brief outlines shortcomings in the
bill that could allow war criminals to
escape meaningful punishment. One
of the problems is the definition of
“command responsibility,” the basis
on which military commanders can
be held criminally responsible for
crimes committed by their
subordinates. Human Rights Watch
also asked the court to ensure
meaningful participation by victims
in proceedings before the Special
Jurisdiction for Peace.
“While the peace process is a
landmark opportunity to curb abuses
in Colombia, its justice component
doesn’t do nearly enough to
guarantee justice to victims of the
serious atrocities committed during
the armed conflict,” said José Miguel
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
Vivanco, Americas director at Human
Rights Watch. “The court has a
chance to lay the groundwork for
meaningful accountability both for
senior army officers and FARC
guerrillas who committed war
crimes.”
Human Rights Watch is also
concerned about two provisions in
the bill that could bar human rights
defenders from serving as judges at
the Special Jurisdiction for Peace. The
provisions bar, among others, people
who, during the past five years,
“presented lawsuits before
international human rights tribunals”
or “belonged to organizations” that
worked on judicial cases “linked to
the armed conflict.” Senator German
Varón, who proposed them, told the
media that the provisions were
designed to ensure that judges do not
have an “ideological bias.”
“Barring human rights lawyers from
becoming judges is an absurd policy,”
Vivanco said. “Far from ensuring
judicial impartiality, these provisions
eliminate several candidates who
have precisely the kind of knowledge
and experience needed to preside over
these cases.”
Trump, the Eagles, and Police
Killings
President Donald Trump cancelled
the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia
Eagles’ invitation to visit the White
House yesterday, when it became
apparent that only a small number of
players were actually willing to
attend. The president then used the
embarrassing incident as a pretext to
slam National Football League (NFL)
players who have protested police
violence and racial injustice.
During the 2017 football season, one
Eagles player knelt while the national
anthem played and others stood
23
raising their fists. Eagles players
Malcolm Jenkins, Michael Bennett,
and Chris Long, in particular, have
been vocal about seeking solutions to
racial inequality in the US.
Last month, the NFL, whose players
are 70 percent black, rolled out a new
policy allowing players who do not
want to stand for the national anthem
to remain in the locker rooms while
the song is played, but imposing fines
on teams whose players protest on
the field. The policy has been widely
criticized as an unprincipled effort by
the league, caught between critics
who argue the players should be free
to protest on the field and a president
who has said that players who kneel
“shouldn’t be in the country,” to have
it both ways.
It’s not that the president is against
protests, per se. Last weekend, he
applauded Chicago police for
protesting after a civilian review
board decided to punish an officer
involved in the fatal shooting of two
African Americans, teenager
Quintonio LeGrier and a bystander,
Bettie Jones.
If only Trump responded to issues
of police accountability with the same
dedication and fervor.
Last year, police across the US killed
almost 1000 people. Far too many of
these killings are impossible to justify,
and families often find they have no
meaningful opportunity to secure
justice. Even in the face of live footage
of excessive or lethal force, officers
have often not been held accountable.
NFL players, renowned for
athleticism and skill, should also be
able to use their elevated positions in
society to stand up for justice, rather
than be cajoled into displays of
patriotism.
 Sexual Harassment & Sex Education:
Aware, Empower and Eradicate
A
sort of unwarranted
controversy was recently built
over the issue of imparting
sex education in the educational
institutions in India. The state
governments of Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka
and Chhattisgarh decided to ban sex
education in their respective states.
Similarly Kerala and Orissa seem to
be undecided over the issue and have
suspended it for the time being.
Imparting sex education has been
always a tricky question in this
country which of late is being falling
prey at the hand of hypocrites. The
self proclaimed moral brigade who
are up against the issue of sex
education, themselves may not be
knowing what they are opposing and
why. They are ignorant and for them
their ignorance is bliss but there are
others who are ignorant over certain
basics of life i.e. sex and for them
this ignorance is a curse. Look at the
following data which have come out
from a recently conducted survey.
- Two out of every three children
have been physically abused.
- 17 per cent teenagers have
premarital sex.
- Fifteen per cent of total deliveries
in India involve teenage girls.
- 33 per cent college-going
students have premarital sex.
- 33 per cent are unaware of
‘unsafe’ sex.
- 50 per cent don’t use condoms.
- 75 per cent Indians learn about
sex from friends and porn films.
- RAHI, a Delhi-based
organization that provides
support to victims of sexual
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
abuse, reports that of the 1,000
upper and higher-middle class
college students interviewed, 76
per cent had been abused as
children, 31 per cent by someone
known to the family and 40 per
cent by a family member, and 50
per cent of them before the age
of 12.
- There are 5.2 million people
affected by HIV in the country
and 57 per cent of them live in
rural areas.
In this age of globalization and FDI,
the modern day governments are
never shy of asking for financial help
from the international organizations.
The above mentioned states who are
opposing the sex education
themselves are getting huge funds
and projects from UNICEF, WHO,
World Bank, IMF and may others.
However, in their quest for rhetoric,
what they must not be knowing is
the finding of following survey.
WHO on Sex Education
Way back in 1993, the World Health
Organization (WHO) conducted a
survey of 35 sex education projects
which revealed that sex education in
schools did not encourage young
people to have sex at an earlier age or
more frequently. On the other hand,
the survey showed that early sex
education delays the start of sexual
activity, reduces sexual activity among
young people and encourages those
already sexually active to have safer
sex. Furthermore, the WHO published
a review of 1,050 scientific articles
24
- Monalisa Panda
on sex education programmes.
Researchers found “no support for the
contention that sex education
encourages sexual experimentation or
increased activity. If any effect is
observed, almost without exception,
it is in the direction of postponed
initiation of sexual intercourse and/or
effective use of contraception.”
Failure to provide appropriate and
timely information “misses the
opportunity of reducing the unwanted
outcomes of unintended pregnancy
and transmission of STDs, and is,
therefore, in the disservice of our
youth,” the report called Effects of Sex
Education on Young People’s Sexual
Behavior says. This report was
commissioned by the Youth and
General Public Unit, Office of
Intervention and Development and
Support, Global Program on AIDS,
and the WHO.
Sex Education: A Necessary Tool
Ban on sex education would result
with a young India unaware about
sex and unsafely so.
And how unsafe it could be; the
trends have already started coming
up. The agents of moral policing
must know that awareness brings
empowerment. Awareness about
sex abuse would be another survival
tool for the child. It has come out
from a number of studies that
children usually do not report abuse
because they are unaware, and do
not realize that something
dangerous is happening to them. In
some cases though the young victims
realize the wrong done but they don’t
know how to go about the whole

issue. They are unaware of the
remedial measures, counseling and
more over they are unsure about their
own reactions. Even if the child gets
negative feelings from the act of sexual
abuse, he/she is too scared to report
it to anyone, simply because he thinks
that he himself is to be blamed. A
simple way to keep the child safe is to
educate him as early as possible.
Parents should keep communication
open and talk to their children about
their genitals as freely as they talk
about their eyes, nose or ears.
Remember we are talking about sex
education and not about pornography.
Sex education should be legally,
scientifically and morally approved.
According to available sex data in
India sexual activity is being practised
at a younger age, which is why there
is an increase in the number of STDs
and HIV infections. If these young
people would be made aware of the
pros and cons of sex, won’t it be
beneficial?
Given the fact that India has a dismal
record of child sex abuse the people
who oppose sex education should look
at the practice of some of the western
countries and take a lesson or two
from it. The Netherlands is a country
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
where teenage pregnancy rates
plummeted from 60 per cent to about
25 per cent through aggressive sex
information campaigns in schools.
Similarly United Kingdom made sex
education compulsory for children
between 11 and 14 years to contain
the alarming rise in adolescent sex and
teenage pregnancy. The school
curriculum in England has made
classes on reproductive health and
general sexual health compulsory and
sex and relationship classes optional.
In France, primary and secondary
educations include three courses -
biological, social and psycho-
emotional - on sexuality. The courses
detail French laws on contraception
and sexuality. Teachers are given clear
guidelines on how to approach the
subject. And apart from the obvious
topics they also discuss
homosexuality, sexual violence, incest,
prostitution, and even sex tourism.
Of course one may argue that India
is no UK or France, but children are
children any where. And it’s a fact
that children in India today urgently
need some weapon to deal with the
cases of sexual advances made
towards them. Early awareness of
25
sex and early initiation into sex has
their risk, and the countries in West
are facing this danger too. But they
are trying to minimize the damage
with a sex education that’s
contemporary and informal.
Pushing the problems under the carpet
brings no solution. We must gather the
courage to face the problem. Sex and
sex related crimes have now become
an every day reality in India. Forbidden
fruit is always attractive. The need of
the hour is to properly educate the
future generation Indians, so that they
will be empowered to deal with the
evils of sexual harassment. The UPA
government at the centre must be
congratulated for the bold steps that
have been taken recently. The
government recently expressed its
desire to establish a National
Commission for Protection of
Children’s Rights. Offences against
Children (Prevention) Bill, is at its final
stage to be introduced in the
Parliament. The proposed document
has specific sections dealing with
various crimes against children,
including sale/transfer, sexual assault,
sexual/physical/emotional abuse,
commercial sexual exploitation, child
pornography, grooming for sexual
purpose, incest, corporal punishment,
bullying and economic exploitation.
Educating and enlightening kids about
such issues, helping them distinguish
between “good” and “bad” touch is a
partial answer. Information about the
remedial measures and information on
counseling forms the other part the
solution. Sex education in educational
institutes can be productive, as it
would abridge the gap between
empowerment and eradication, much
to the delight of the future generation
Indians.
(The Writer is a homemaker based
in Orissa and writes on women and
child issues)
 Asaram Case:
Need for Witness and Victim Protection in India
“During night, I get no sleep as I am
in constant fear of death by the
accused’s firing squad…I want to
live at least till I complete my
testimony,” stated Rahul Sachan, a
former personal assistant to Asumal
Harpalani (known as Asaram), in an
affidavit filed with the Supreme Court
in August 2015.
Sachan, a witness in the two rape
trials of Asaram, and a third against
Asaram’s son Narayan Sai went
missing three months later and his
fate is unknown. Earlier that year, he
was stabbed outside a court in
Jodhpur city.
On April 25, Asaram, a multi-
millionaire who reportedly has 20
million followers, was sentenced to
life in prison after being found guilty
of raping a 16-year-old girl in his
ashram in Jodhpur. But in the course
of the trial, which began in 2013,
three witnesses were killed, at least
five others were attacked, one went
missing, and even senior police
officers leading the investigation said
they were threatened. The trials of
Asaram and his son in two other
cases of alleged rape of two sisters
are pending.
Asaram, until recently, counted
among his following top political
leaders of both the ruling and
opposition parties, heightening
challenges for victims of his alleged
crimes to obtain justice.
Asaram may have exceptionally
powerful connections, but as Human
Rights Watch documented in the
November 2017 report “Everyone
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
Blame Me” threats, intimidation, and
harassment from the accused are
routine in cases of sexual violence.
Girls and women who report such
crimes are even more at risk when
they belong to socially or
economically marginalised
communities. If the perpetrators are
influential, police too often pressure
the complainants to “settle” or
“compromise” in such cases. Such
harassment and lack of protection,
along with victim blaming and social
stigma, means many victims fail to
report rape to authorities at all.
For instance, police in UP’s Unnao
instead of prosecuting a ruling BJP
lawmaker accused in the alleged
gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl in
June 2017 arrested the victim’s
father, who died in police custody in
April 2018. The Allahabad High Court
slammed the state police for failing
to file her complaint and arresting the
accused, noting that the report by a
special investigation team ordered by
the state government found that
“medical officers and police officers
— all were hands in glove with the
accused to save them.”
Similarly, in Kathua in Jammu and
Kashmir two police officers have
been charged with trying to cover-
up evidence in the kidnapping, gang-
rape, and murder of an 8-year-old
Muslim girl in January 2017.
26
- Jayshree Bajoria
In August 2017, responding to a plea
from families of victims and
witnesses in Asaram’s case to seek
protection, the Supreme Court issued
a notice to all state governments to
frame a national witness protection
programme.
This was not the first time the
Supreme Court had observed that
India needed a witness protection
scheme. In 2006, the Law
Commission had noted the need to
protect witnesses and victims as well
as the identity of witnesses in case
of serious offenses, not just confined
to terrorism or sexual offenses.
“Witnesses turning hostile on account
of threats having increased in the
cases of such crimes, protection
appears to have become necessary,”
it said.
India has a conviction rate of 26
percent for rape, as compared to 47
percent for other cognisable crimes
under the Indian Penal Code (IPC),
according to 2016 government data.
One reason, activists and lawyers say,
is witnesses, far too often, change
their testimony in court because of
threats.
Both the IPC and the Protection of
Children against Sexual Offences Act
(POCSO) have provisions to protect
victims and witnesses in court such
as conducting in-camera trials,
without the presence of the media or
public. In case of children, POCSO
also provides for special courts that
should ensure that the identity of the
child is not disclosed during the
course of the investigation or trial.
However, India does not have a
national witness or victim protection
law, making witnesses and victims
vulnerable outside the courtroom.
In 2015, Delhi became the only state
to adopt a Witness Protection Scheme.
The Delhi State Legal Services
Authority (DSLSA) passes protection
orders in each case after evaluating
the threat. The police commissioner,
who heads the Delhi police force, is
responsible for the overall
implementation of the witness
protection orders. Protection measures
can include armed protection, regular
patrolling around witnesses’ house,
installing closed-circuit television
cameras, and relocation.
Even in the absence of a witness
protection scheme, courts have
ordered protection for witnesses and
victims in sensitive cases or those
involving high vulnerability. However,
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
as the pattern of threats, attacks,
killings, and abduction in the Asaram
case shows, security is often
inadequate.
Mahendra Chawla, a former personal
assistant to Asaram’s son Narayan
Sai, is another key witness in all the
cases against father and son. In May
2015, two men on a motorbike shot
him in his village in Haryana, leaving
him partially disabled. Chawla was
attacked a day after the police
constable assigned to him was
removed for dereliction of duty,
leaving him without police protection
and vulnerable to attack. After the
attack, he was assigned three
policemen but just before Asaram’s
conviction this week, Chawla asked
for increased protection, claiming he
feared for his life.
Any successful witness protection
scheme will have to evaluate the
27
threat and determine the protection
needs in each case carefully, allow
for flexibility, and include regular
follow-up. At the same time, in
sensitive cases, especially of sexual
violence, the courts should record the
statements and examine the victims
and vulnerable witnesses promptly,
lessening the risk to them from the
accused.
India needs critical justice system
reforms to remove institutional
barriers for sexual violence victims.
And those, like the 16-year-old girl
in this case, who are brave enough
to confront their attackers or provide
their witness testimony against
powerful people, deserve the
protection of a witness and victim
protection law, instead of fearing
for—and sometimes losing—their
lives.
- Source: CNN News18
 Counterfeit Medicines:
Corporate Charity & Social Responsibility
F
ake medicines affect the very
people who really need the
quality drugs: cancer and AIDS
patients and those with heart diseases.
Counterfeit medicines may be defined
as medicines manufactured below
established standards of quality and
therefore dangerous to patients’
health and ineffective for the
treatment of diseases. Counterfeits
are deliberately and fraudulently
mislabeled with respect to identity or
source. Counterfeiting occurs both
with branded and generic products
and counterfeit medicines may
include products with the correct
ingredients but fake packaging, with
the wrong ingredients, without active
ingredients or with insufficient active
ingredients. Counterfeit medicines
represent an enormous public health
challenge. Anyone, anywhere in the
world, can come across medicines
seemingly packaged in the right way,
in the form of tablets or capsules that
look right, but which do not contain
the correct ingredients and, in the
worst case scenario, may be filled
with highly toxic substances. In
some countries, this is a rare
occurrence, in others, it is an
everyday reality.
The United State Department of Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)
estimate that up to 15% of all sold
medicines are fake, and in parts of
Africa and Asia this figure exceeds
50%. It also estimates that fake
medicines comprise approximately
10% of the global medicine market.
In Nigeria and the Ukraine, it is
estimated that 40% of the drug supply
is counterfeit. Fully one-half of all
medicines in Pakistan are believed to
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
be fake. The estimated 192,000
patients killed by fake medicines in
China in 2001 and this give an
indication of the scale of human
suffering. In 1995 during a meningitis
epidemic, more than 50,000 people
were inoculated in Nigeria with fake
vaccines donated by a country which
thought they were safe. The blunder
resulted in 2,500 deaths. The
consumption of paracetamol cough
syrup prepared with diethylene glycol
(a toxic chemical used in antifreeze)
led to 89 deaths in Haiti in 1995.
According to Peru’s Association of
Pharmaceutical Laboratories
(ALAFARPE), in Peru the sale of
counterfeit drugs has risen from an
estimated US$ 40 million in 2002 to
a current US$ 66 million, In 2006,
Russia’s Federal Service for Health
Sphere Supervision (FSHSS)
reported that 10% of all drugs on the
Russian market were counterfeit. In
2005 The Dominican Republic’s
Public Health Department reported
that 50% of the countries pharmacies
operated illegally and 10% of the
medicines that arrived in the country
were fake. In 2005 Indonesia’s
International Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Group (IPMG)
estimated that pirated drugs
constituted 25% of Indonesia’s $2
billion pharmaceutical market. In
2005 in Kenya, a random survey by
the National Quality Control
Laboratories (NQCL) and the
Pharmacy and Poisons Board found
that almost 30% of the drugs in Kenya
were counterfeit.
28
- Monalisa Panda
Counterfeit Medicines: The
Indian Connection.
“Medical Tourism India (a.k.a. Health
Tourism India) is a developing
concept whereby people from world
over visit India for their medical and
relaxation needs. Most common
treatments are heart surgery, knee
transplant, cosmetic surgery and
dental care. The reason India is a
favourable destination is because of
its infrastructure and technology in
which is in par with those in USA,
UK and Europe. India has some of
the best hospitals and treatment
centers in the world with the best
facilities. Since it is also one of the
most favourable tourist destinations
in the world, Medication combines
with tourism has come into effect,
from which the concept of Medical
Tourism is derived.” Behind these
well crafted words there exists a
secret world of fake medicines. A
recent World Health Organization
(WHO) report suggests that India is
responsible for about 35 % of the
world’s production of counterfeit
medicines. One in every four
medicines sold in India is fake, it
says. At least 11 states in India do
not have laboratories for testing
medicines. In 15 states with functional
laboratories, only seven were
adequately equipped and staffed.
Recently in the month of July the
Orissa police have busted a 10-year-
old fake medicine-manufacturing
racket at Kantabanji town in Bolangir
district. A police team raided a factory
owned by Sankarlal Agarwal at
Kantabanji town, and had seized the
fake drugs; district Superintendent of
Police Himansu Kumar Lal, who led

the team, told Human Touch. “We
raided at least 15 medicine shops in
various parts of the district to which
Agarwal supplied the fake drugs from
his unit,’ Lal said, adding, all these
shops have been sealed. During
interrogation, Agarwal confessed that
he had supplied the fake medicines
to the neighboring states of Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, apart from
places in Orissa, he said. The
spurious medicines manufactured by
Agarwal included paracetamol, the
common anti-fever and pain-relieving
drug, the police official added. The
accused was manufacturing and
selling at least a thousand varieties of
fake drugs including some ayurvedic
medicines, Lal said. The counterfeit
drugs, manufactured at the illegal
unit, were in distribution in at least
five western Orissa districts.
Subsequently Raids were being
conducted on medicine shops in
districts of Bolangir, Bargarh,
Nuapada, Kalahandi and Sonepur.
Police claimed that Agarwal had
confessed that he supplied spurious
medicines to Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh as well.
In recent years Orissa has emerged
as the newest hub for manufacturing
counterfeit drugs. According to one
ASSOCHAM report, in states like
Orissa 40 percent of the drugs
supplied to the public health centres
were spurious. As high as 60 percent
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
of drugs did not have the active
ingredient, 19 percent had the wrong
ingredients while 16 percent had
harmful ingredients.
As per one recent report prepared
by the Associated Chamber of
Commerce and Industry of India
(ASSOCHAM) on ‘Counterfeit,
Spurious and Contraband Goods -
Preventive and Remedial Issues’ it is
found that at least 20 percent of the
medicines sold in Uttar Pradesh are
fake. The revelation came in June last
when a fake medicine factory owner
Deepak Verma and his son Mridul
Verma were arrested along with three
employees in Lucknow. It is believed
that the unit was being run in
connivance with some municipal and
health department officials. It is
suspected that they were also
enjoying police protection. During the
interrogation the owner confessed
that he was sending his consignments
not only in Uttar Pradesh but also in
other states like Delhi, Gujarat and
Maharashtra. Unbelievable but what
has come out from the subsequent
investigations in Uttar Pradesh shows
that the fake drug industry in Uttar
Pradesh has been growing under the
shadow of the State Health
Department officials. The drugs
licence and supply system in the
health department throws enough
light on the fact. Recently a team of
the Health Department visited
29
Faizabad, Auraiya, Etawah, Banda,
Hamirpur, Sitapur and checked the
stock of the drug supplied to the Chief
Medical Officers (CMO) and Chief
Medical Superintendents (CMS). To
their surprise the team members
found that order for the supply of
drug was issued to an Indore based
company Endo Laboratories but the
drug was supplied by Medi Plus a
company working from a basement
in Rajajipuram locality in Lucknow.
Each year the Central Medicine Store
Department (CMSD) Uttar Pradesh
gives order to various
pharmaceuticals company for the
supply of drug for distribution in the
government hospitals. With
connivance of the Health Department
officials, the agents of the illegal drug
industry manage to get a diversion
letter. Instead of the original company
to whom the order was issued, the
unscrupulous company supplies the
consignment of drug and even draws
the payment. It is dangerously true
that in Uttar Pradesh the fake drug
business have virtually taken the shape
of cottage industry under the
patronage of the Health Department
itself.
Earlier this month the Jharkhand
Health Minister Bhanu Pratap Shahi’s
father Hemendra Pratap alleged that
his wife’s condition deteriorated at the
Rajendra Institute of Medical Science
in Ranchi after she was administered
fake saline there. The mother of the
health minister, who was suffering
from diarrhoea, was admitted to the
Rajendra Institute of Medical Science.
‘My wife’s condition worsened after
she was given fake saline. She started
vomiting and had convulsions soon
after,’ Pratap charged. ‘I will get the
saline tested. The medicines supplied
to the hospital are fake, but the RIMS
administration flinches from taking
any action against the suppliers,’ he

said. The doctors immediately swung
into action and revived her condition
after administering antidotes. ‘You
can imagine the condition of other
patients when the health minister’s
mother is given fake medicine. The
hospital is involved in the racket,’
Pratap added.
Fake Medicines, Real Murderers:
The proliferation of spurious drugs
across the states in India, and across
the international border, underlines the
urgency to make sweeping changes
in the monitoring and regulatory
system. In many of the sates in India
it is the apathetic Government with a
corrupt administration which has
helped the fake drug market flourish.
And this calls for taking some
definitive steps. Manavadhikar
Samajik Manch (MASM) has drawn
a strong line of action and we are
submitting the same to the
appropriate authorities. We intend to
place the same before our esteemed
readers so that MASM plan of action
can really take the shape of a citizen
charter of demand which is
necessary to put brakes on the giant
killer of fake medicines.
- Establish one National Drug
Authority (NDA) on the lines of
Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) of US. If NDA takes
shape then it will take powers on
to itself and the licensing power
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
contribute to detecting
counterfeits by reporting and
helping to investigate suspicious
cases. Special initiatives will be
launched to make internet users
aware of the risks they run when
purchasing medicines from
unknown sources and to address
consumers in extremely poor
and rural areas where patients
may be unable to make informed
choices and may not be aware
of their rights.
- Government should work on a
of the states which is vulnerable consensus and pass a law
to corruption. prescribing death penalty for the
- Immediate implementation of the people who make fake drugs.
Haathi Committee Report which
recommends one drug inspector - HT Bureau
for every 100 retail outlets and
so for every 25 manufacturing
units along with formation of
intelligence cum legal cells.
- Implementation of Mashelkar Visit our social media page at
Committee report which calls for : https://www.facebook.com/
setting up of special courts to try
humantouchmagazine/
spurious drug cases, making it a
for online
non-bailable offence and
empowering the police to human rights updates.
prosecute the offences.
- It is high time that India develop
a set of principles for the
establishment of appropriate
legislation and penal sanctions
including a clear legal definition
of counterfeit medicines. Advertise with
- The Union Government along
with the state governments must us for
ensure coordinated action at the
local level which is essential Strengthening
between health authorities,
police, customs, and judiciary
our Hands in
institutions to ensure proper
regulation, control, investigation
Promoting
-
and prosecution.
Increased public information is
and
essential for patients, dispensers, Protecting
and doctors who have a right to
know if there are suspect goods
on the market but must also
30
 Good Governance:
E
ndurance is the key parameter
to judge success of any con
cept or an idea or a process of
this world. There are many maxims
which are quoted from time imme-
morial and still stand tall though man-
kind has achieved tremendous
progress in every walk of life. Re-
vered Indian Saint Kabir wrote in
connection with spiritual uplift of hu-
man beings, “Pothi parrhi parrhi jag
muaa, Pandit bhaya na koi; Dhai
akhar prem ka, Parrhe so pandit hoi”.
That is, those who acquire only book-
ish knowledge in this world, are not
enlightened spiritually but those who
develop love for Almighty, attain in-
tuitive knowledge. Another time-
tested maxim “Honesty is the best
policy”, can beat all the wise prac-
tices preached by the contemporary
Human Resource Management Gu-
rus, in the long run of an organiza-
tion.
Similarly, I think ideal governance of
a society/country is full of simplicity
and beauty. If executed appropriately,
it will provide contentment to those
who take part in governance as well
as to those who are governed. It is
not difficult to march towards happy
governance, provided minimum ba-
sic needs of human beings have been
met. Accordingly, governance of a
society/country boils down to a few
basic requirements only, wherein
‘Food’ and ‘Security’ are the two
most essential
aspects. One can survive for long
without adequate clothes, housing or
education but survival without regu-
lar supply of food and adequate se-
curity against fatal assaults will be im-
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
Bliss for All
possible. That is, life cycle of every
living creature breaks down in the ab-
sence of either of these two basic
building blocks for sustenance of life,
viz., Food and Security.
Thus, first of all, the ideal govern-
ance should handle the aforesaid two
primary needs of human beings. But
it is sad to comment that very few
countries in this world address to
these primary requirements of man-
kind, in the manner it should be done.
My primary focus is on governance
in developing countries, in general,
and India, in particular. These are the
countries which usually complain that
their level of governance is unsatis-
factory for want of resources but I
feel that the resources can also be
generated by right governance.
Indian Constitution has granted some
fundamental rights to its citizens, like,
Right to Equality, Right to Freedom,
Right against Exploitation, besides
others. But by mere proclamation
that such and such rights have been
bestowed on the citizens, political
rulers of the country cannot absolve
themselves from the responsibility
they owe towards the good govern-
ance of the nation, including com-
prehensive well being of all the citi-
zens of the country. Various govern-
ments headed by different political
parties have claimed on several oc-
casions that they performed com-
mendably for the uplift of the Indian
masses, in the given time frame, and
31
- Dr. Prem Kumar Sinha
for further development they need
more time. I would call the progress
achieved in India since the Independ-
ence as something like a natural phe-
nomenon, which is evolving the
world over. If we compare from the
primitive ages when man used to wear
leaves then today’s world has cer-
tainly achieved tremendous progress
but most of this is due to evolution
of civilization. Similarly, most of the
progress of India can be attributed
to natural evolution, like, growth of
vegetation in a forest; trees also grow
taller and sturdy in forests without
any gardener being there to monitor
their progress. When there is a gar-
dener, he looks after the welfare of
all the plants in his garden and does
not allow one species of plants to mar
the progress of other species of
plants. Has India been able to unleash
truly inclusive development of all of
her citizens? Perhaps a big NO is the
right answer for the above.
Thus, the progress which has been
achieved by India, since her Independ-
ence in 1947, its credit cannot be at-
tributed solely to our past or present
political masters. Much of the
progress in the lives of people of In-
dia has come about by natural pro-
gression, which can be described by
the word glocalization (combination
of global factors which can be at-
tributed to globalization as well as local
factors at the country level which can
be termed as localization). Thus, the
political masters should cease to
showcase the progress achieved by
a section of the people of the coun-
try, as a result of their good govern-
ance.

Media reports sensationalize some se-
lected reports of people dying of hun-
ger or others losing their lives due to
poor law and order situation in the
various parts of the country, may be,
it provides them ammunition to in-
crease their reach and circulation
among their clientele. Political lead-
ers, too, capitalize on such unfortu-
nate incidents, to increase their mass
following. Do the political leaders,
especially of ruling parties, ever talk
about meaningful measures to allevi-
ate general sufferings being faced by
most of the people of the country on
account of lack of food and/or secu-
rity? Do they ever talk about initiat-
ing comprehensive measures to eradi-
cate abject helplessness experienced
by a vast majority of citizens of the
country?
The answer, to my mind for the
above, is that either these political
bosses are unable to take a compre-
hensive view of the magnitude of the
problem being faced by the people
of India or they realize the enormity
of the problem but are not bold
enough to take rational decisions.
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
Thus they simply buy time by taking
palliative measures which are focused
on different sections of society, keep-
ing in view political dividends they
expect from these sections.
I feel one can beautifully compare
governance of a country with wa-
tering of a plant. No amount of cos-
metic touch, like, cleaning of
leaves, brushing of stems, sprin-
kling of water on the branches of a
tree, can ever provide desired nu-
trition to a plant though these are
much more difficult to administer
than just watering the roots of a
plant which alone can restore true
health to it and gloss to its leaves.
The same principle applies to the
mode of governance, where one
needs to address the most basic
causes which create sufferings for
human beings, only then a stable and
prosperous society/country can be
built up.
Alas! Governance in India is badly
impaired, because policies of its vari-
ous governments have so far failed
to address in entirety the most basic
32
needs of human beings in the right
manner. There have been numerous
social welfare programmes launched
by the various governments in India
to address the problems of general
masses. But most of these schemes
failed to deliver tangible results
though considerable resources were
spent on these umpteen number of
welfare schemes.
Hunger pangs can drive a person to
ultimate submission to exploiters and
rob him of all dignity. It was beauti-
fully portrayed in an old classic In-
dian Film, “Mother India”, wherein
cries of a hungry son resulted in
crushing the morale of a hapless
mother compelling her to swallow
her pride and submit herself to a crafty
money lender. In the film, one could
see the tide turning in favour of the
unfortunate mother through divine
help. But does it often happen in the
real world, too? The aforesaid narra-
tion is from a film, but in reality, there
are even grimmer situations, where
one can easily see, if one wants, that
a sizeable number of Indians are ut-
terly helpless and endure endless
sufferings at the hands of their tor-
menters. Here, most of us experience
the pain and humiliation at the hands
of the powerful, since the old maxim,
“Might is Right” prevails here. In
theory, all citizens have equal rights
to live with equality and dignity but
practical realities are starkly
different.
Commentators may argue that food
supply position has vastly improved
in the country but one should not
forget that there are still millions of
people who do not get even two
square meals a day. Eventually,
sufferings of these deprived souls
may culminate in so much of pain
and country-wide social unrest that
the entire country will be affected
from its fury. Most of the commen-
tators would agree that the overall
security position of the people of the
country has only worsened in the
past few decades. There are only a
few privileged ones who enjoy spe-
cial protection provided to them by
the Government and, also, there are
some ultra rich who can afford ad-
equate private security. But the ma-
jority of the people feel that they are
not secure in this country. The im-
mediate impact of insecure environ-
ment is the loss of productivity of
the concerned individuals, which af-
fects prosperity and overall well be-
ing of the people of the country. So,
one is tempted to remark that our
governments have mostly failed in
providing good governance for this
country, in the same way, as one fails
in providing nourishment to the
roots of a plant where it is needed
the most.
Good governance is needed every-
where for sustained peace and pros-
perity of the people. Just by amass-
ing wealth due to natural resources
or by entrepreneurship of a few gen-
erations of people, there is no guar-
Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018
antee for I perceive that for achiev-
ing good governance, first of all, steps
should be taken to provide adequate
food, clothing, and meaningful secu-
rity, to all the people of the country
so that at least the most basic physi-
ological and safety needs of the hu-
man beings as contemplated in the
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs could
be met forthwith.
No doubt, it requires considerable
resources but everything can be pro-
vided for, without insurmountable
difficulties. Governance carried out
on ad-hoc basis, can never bring
sustained changes for lasting pros-
perity of the nation. These ad-hoc
measures can at the best give tem-
porary fillip for economic develop-
ment and show high rate of GDP
(Gross Domestic Product) for a
while but the end will be utter de-
spair and chaos. The illusion of in-
clusive growth for masses of the
country as talked about by our lead-
ers may be visible for a brief period
but unless it is truly comprehensive
encompassing entire population of
the country, it will not bring lasting
33
peace and prosperity for the people
of this country.
If our political bosses can bring about
meaningful qualitative change in the
governance of the country and usher
in an era of peace and prosperity, they
will seal their place in the annals of
history as valuable leaders of our na-
tion!!!
- The author is working as the
Assistant Registrar (Academic) at
Dayalbagh Educational Institute,
Agra.
The article is available online at
http://www.curingindia.com/
Visit our social media page at
: https://www.facebook.com/
humantouchmagazine/
for online
human rights updates.
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For 5 years Rs. 2,000/- Rs. 6,000/-

Life Rs. 5,000/- Rs. 25,000/-

Assured Gifts for Members:

* Subscription to Monthly Magazine “Human Touch”
* Human Rights violation updates
* Reports and papers prepared by the organisation
* Services/support to be rendered to help the members, whenever required
* Collaboration and participation in seminars/workshops and other events organised by
Manavadhikar Samajik Manch
* Ensure networking with other Human Rights Organistions (National & International)

SUPPORT FOR CREATION OF A JUST & EQUITABLE SOCIETY

Address for Correspondence
Manavadhikar Samajik Manch
39, Sant Nagar, East of Kailash, New Delhi-110 065

Vol. XV No. 6 June 2018 34

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