NHRC condemned for the failure to act on Orissa
New Delhi: Asian Centre for Human Rights (ACHR) today
condemned the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India for its abject failure
to send an investigation team to visit the strife-torn areas of Orissa. A
number of central government teams including Minister of State for Home Shri Prakash Jaiswal visited Orissa, and Home Minister Shivraj Patil is scheduled to visit the affected
areas today.
Over 50 persons, mainly
Christians, have been killed, over 200 villages have been effected and hundreds
of churches including house churches have been burnt down. About 15,000 displaced in the conflicts have been living in
inhumane and deplorable conditions. The riots continue to occur in Kandhamal and surrounding districts for the last ten days.
Yet, NHRC has failed to issue any public statement either to condemn the
killings or visit the strife-torn areas to improve the situation of the victims,
in particular, those who have been displaced.
“The perfunctory notice
issued by the NHRC to the State government of Orissa, which has been
suppressing the actual status of grave situation including the number of
deaths, to submit a report is scandalous considering the scale of the violence
against Christians.” –Stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of Asian Centre for Human Rights in
a letter addressed to Chairman of the NHRC, Justice Rajendra Babu.
“The NHRC has failed to
fulfill its legal and moral obligation for the protection and promotion of
human rights. The existence of NHRC has increasingly come to mean wastage of national
resources to shield the State authorities for their acts of commissions and
omissions on human rights.” – further added Mr Chakma
Under Section 12 of the
Human Rights Protection Act, NHRC is legally bound to inquire, suo motu or on a
petition presented, into complaint of and violation of human rights or abetment
thereof; or negligence in the prevention of such
violation.
ACHR urged NHRC to immediately send an investigation team to Orissa to inquire into killings in Orissa, improve the conditions of the internally displaced persons and take other necessary measures for prosecution of the culprits.
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