^ top
1. GENERAL CONGRESS
Including the Excluded – a South Asian Vision (November 2001, New Delhi)
SAHR convened its first general body meeting on 11-12 November 2001 in
New Delhi
. The objective of the congress was to provide a forum for members to discuss issues of regional significance, identify areas of work and to elect a bureau and a membership committee. The enrolment of members reached 457 at the Congress. Current membership exceeds 1,000.
The Congress was inaugurated by Mrs Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, who also made the keynote address, a discussion on overview and challenges and an announcement of election rules and procedures. This was followed by parallel sessions comprising presentations and discussions on crisis of the state and conflict and peace. The day concluded with a cultural programme.
The second day started with a plenary with a keynote address by Professor Amartya Sen. Parallel sessions on the integrity of women and a workshop on UN mechanisms and procedures followed. The conference statement was presented and after extensive discussions adopted at the conclusion of congress.
Conference Statement
The first general conference of South Asians for Human Rights (SAHR), comprising delegates from Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, held in New Delhi on November 11-12, 2001, endorses the Neemrana Declaration of 22 July 2000 and re-dedicates itself to an unremitting struggle against poverty, illiteracy, inequality, militarism, communalism, acts of terrorism and repression, and to the promotion of an order in South Asia based on respect for the human rights of its entire population without any discrimination.
Meeting at a time when the events triggered by 11 September 2001 are casting ominous shadows on the future of a large part of humankind, especially in South Asia, the conference condemns, unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms this act of terrorism and war in any form by any party anywhere, as such acts constitute unacceptable attacks on democracy and human values. At the same time, response to acts of terrorism must be measured, proportional, consistent with international legality, and must not bypass the norms and processes defined by the United Nations. The war in
Afghanistan
is of direct concern to all people in South Asia because, historically and culturally,
Afghanistan
has for ages been part of this region. Even otherwise, humanitarian law and human rights standards do not permit blinking at the unimaginable misery of a people who were less responsible for fostering the Taliban regime than their more powerful patrons. Nor is it possible to ignore the danger of several hundred thousand people, especially children, women and the sick and wounded, dying of hunger and cold and for want of medical aid. The participants of the conference, therefore, call for an immediate halt to indiscriminate bombing of
Afghanistan
. Further, the people of that country, already ravaged beyond discrimination by two decades of blood-letting, pestilence and a succession of oppressive regimes, must be afforded their fundamental right to determine their future political structure. No outside power has any moral or legal ground for playing with the integrity of the state or for choosing the form and composition of its authority.
The conference notes with concern that besides the strains caused by poverty and the challenges presented by globalisation,
South Asia
faces the added repressions of the post-September situation. Threats to national security, real or imagined, have often been exploited in the past in this part of the world to justify authoritarianism or derogation of rule of law and human rights. Any resort to such measures will aggravate the plight of the South Asian community, for neither peace nor prosperity can be achieved without guaranteeing fullest possible respect for democracy, rule of law and human rights. At the same time the challenges confronting the South Asian states, collectively as well as severally, can only be met by speedily moving towards a peaceful resolution of both intra-state and inter-state conflicts and disagreements and ushering a new era of meaningful regional concord and cooperation. The conference calls upon the leaders of all South Asian countries, especially of
India
and
Pakistan
, to hold urgent consultations to resolve their differences peacefully and evolve common strategies to protect
South Asia
’s shared interests.
The conference further calls upon all states in the region to outlaw war and threats of war, stop wasting scarce resources on weapons of mass destruction, eliminate violence from their societies, and withdraw all legislation, policies and measures that curtail civil liberties and fundamental rights and divide the people on the basis of belief, ethnicity, gender or social status. It also urges the people of the region, especially their civil society institutions and organisations to reject the fate of passive victims of circumstances and to actively assume their responsibility in guiding their communities towards freedom from injustice, want and squalor. The task may not prove easy, at least in the short-term, but it is a task worthy of pursuit with the utmost sincerity and vigour.
The conference reiterates SAHR’s commitment to its objectives, and in particular to:
· Bringing
Maldives
and
Bhutan
within the SAHR family at the earliest;
· Conducting a sustained campaign for democracy, human security and a life of dignity for all;
· Defending the rights of the various communities, ethnic groups, indigenous people and socially and economically exploited and disadvantaged sections of society;
· Fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, secularism and pluralism;
· Ensuring adherence to humanitarian norms in all conflict situations;
· Facilitating women’s realisation of their rights to equality, independence and justice;
· Enabling children to enjoy all their rights; and
· Promising understanding among the states and peoples of
South Asia
on the basis of peace, mutual respect and shared ideals of human rights and dignity.
On a priority basis, the conference recommends to the Bureau to consider setting up working groups:
1. To enable the civil society in
Afghanistan
to contribute to its
rehabilitation and realisation of the Afghan people’s human
basic rights.
2. To suggest practical means of resolving intra-state and inter-
state conflicts; and
3. To develop a South Asian action plan for achieving women’s
rights to equality, economic and social independence and justice.
^ top
2. FACT-FINDING MISSIONS
Nepal
(11--14 April 2005)
SAHR constituted a four-member team to visit
Nepal
on 11-14 April 2005, in the aftermath of the emergency imposed in the country on February 1 that same year. The purpose of the mission was to assess the human rights situation in Nepal in the light of recent political developments and, in particular, their impact on the security of the lives of women, religious minorities, human rights defenders and the people’s basic freedoms; recommend actions or policies that the government of Nepal can undertake so that the lives and rights of civilians are protected; and, make recommendations on regional and international support so that democratic rights of people may be restored.
The team consisted of Mr. I.A Rehman (Director, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan), Justice J S Verma (formerly the Chief Justice of India and Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India), Justice Ranjith Dheerartne (former judge of the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka) and Mr. Mahfuz Anam (Editor and Publisher of the Daily Star, an English Daily in Bangladesh).
During its visit, the mission held discussions with the following officials and government representatives in
Kathmandu
-- the Chief Justice, the Home Minister and the Vice-Chairman of the Executive Council. Meetings were also held with the former Prime Minister and leader of the Nepali Congress Democratic Party, the Chairman of National Democratic Party (ND), and the leadership of the Nepali Congress Party. The mission also had discussions with lawyers, journalists and human rights activists in
Nepal
. It also visited the National Human Rights Commission of Nepal (NHRC) and held meetings with the Chief of the army staff and the Human Rights Cell of the Royal Nepalese Army.
Nepal
(December 2005)
This follow-up mission was carried out by Ms Asma Jahangir, Co-Chair of SAHR, who held several meetings with individuals and organizations with a view to assessing the ‘call for democracy’ currently underway in
Nepal
. The political parties, human rights defenders, Bar Association of Nepal, several diplomats based in Kathmandu gave their views on the current situation in
Nepal
and the human rights situation in the country.
^ top
3. SAPCROM MISSIONS
Pakistan
mission 24 April – 3 May 2004
The visit covered the following cities/districts of
Pakistan
:
Karachi
,
Quetta
,
Lahore
,
Islamabad
and
Peshawar
. The members of the SAPCROM team were Mr Javaid Yusuf (
Sri Lanka
), Ms Meghna Guhathakurta (
Bangladesh
), Mr George Verghese (
India
), Mr Kamran Arif (
Pakistan
) and Dr Devendra Raj Panday (
Nepal
).
The team met with various religious, cultural and other minority groups, parliamentarians, media, political groups and government and non-government authorities in the course of their visit.
Bangladesh
mission (23 -- 29 July 2005)
The SAPCROM team members were – Dr. Darini Rajasingham (Anthropologist from
Sri Lanka
), Ms Chitralekha Yadav (Deputy Speaker of
Nepal
), Prof. Mehdi Hasan (Journalist and human rights activist in
Pakistan
) and Ms Shiranthi Jayatilaka (Project Director SAHR).
The first visit was to the Chittagong Hill Tracts. The team met up with local NGO communities, indigenous and Bengali civil societies of Chittagong Hill Tracts and also headmen, union council and municipality chairmen.
The mission members also had meetings with leaders of indigenous communities, Ahmediya community representatives and Biharis (stateless people).
At Jessore meetings were held with journalists and civil society, with Awami League leaders and other left party coalitions. There was also a visit to Kewra village of pig rearers.
Nepal
mission (3 -- 8 December 2005)
The mission members were Mr Kamran Arif (lawyer from
Pakistan
), Mr Subrata Chowdhury (human rights lawyer from
Bangladesh
), Dr. Darini Rajasingham (anthropologist from
Sri Lanka
) and Mr. S. Balakrishnan (human rights defender from
Sri Lanka
). The mission members held meetings with the following individuals and groups:
National Federation of Dalits
Adibashi Janajati Mahasangh (minority commission)
Members of the judiciary
Bar Association of Nepal
Political party members
Nepal Human Rights Commission
Journalists
Human Rights organizations
Mr. Ian Martin
^ top
4. ROUNDTABLE ON HUMAN RIGHTS
SAHR bureau members participated in a roundtable on human rights held on 15-16 October 2005 in
New Delhi
,
India
. The purpose of the roundtable was to review and assess the human rights situation in
South Asia
, to contribute to the human rights discourse from a regional perspective, and to identify areas of concern which could be effectively tackled by SAHR over the medium term as part of its own work programme.
As an offshoot of this roundtable, an intervention was made by SAHR on occasion of the 13th Summit of Heads of State of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). The intervention consisted of a statement issued by SAHR members during the summit which was held on 12-13 November this year in Dhaka, which received wide publicity in
Bangladesh
. The statement issued focused on matters such as communalism and sectarianism in the region, as well as militarization. The massive natural disasters which have devastated large populations and the allegation of unequal distribution of relief in certain instances were also mentioned in the statement. The fact that governments have become more oppressive and excluding and the experience of great human rights violations in the region with special mention on the Royal Nepalese Army and the Maoists, causing extensive damage to human lives and property were also mentioned in the statement.
|
