Pressure on India to improve its human rights record was more muted than in previous years, in part because of a successful campaign by the Indian government to woo critics with business opportunities. In both the United States and Europe, trade increasingly became the comer stone of bilateral policies toward India. In July the Council of the European Union approved a comprehensive trade agreement with the Indian government, despite a key article in the agreement assorting that human nights was the basis for cooperation
Both the United States and Europe backed away from criticism of Indian human rights abuses
U.S. POLICY: In 1993, the Clinton administration had bro ken with previous administrations in publicly criticizing India’s human rights record. Reaction to what was portrayed by Indian leaders as a dramatic change in U.S. policy was swift. In a move apparently designed to persuade the Clinton administration to back off its public stance, Indian officials condemned U.S. criticism as a “tilt” to Pakistan which would endanger Indo-U.S. relations. The Clinton administration quickly capitulated, and since early 1994 has blunted criticism of India’s human rights record, choosing instead to focus on economic relations. That human rights would be relegated to private discussion only was made clear by the new U.S. Ambassador to India, Frank Wisner, in an interview recently. Ambassador Wisner stated that he believed human rights was an issue governments should discuss privately In a letter to Human Rights Watch/ Asia dated July 21. Assistant Secretary of State Robin Raphel echoed this line, stating that the administration believed that at this time the most effective way for the U.S. government to influence the Indian government..is through private, rather than public, democracy.”
The State Department repeatedly gave India credit for measures the government had not even taken. At a hearing before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on April 19. Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor John Shattuck claimed that the administration had “successfully pushed for unfiltered access for international human rights of humanitarian organizations to Kashmir.” In fact, no international human rights groups were permitted to conduct independent investigations in Kashmir. As previously noted, twice in 1994, India failed to grant visas to Human Rights Watch/Asia researchers.
In April, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbout made a trip to India his first official visit after assuming office. Talbolt and Prime Minister Rao discussed U.S. initiatives to end the nuclear stalemate between India and Pakistan, and Rao accepted an invitation from President Clinton to visit the U.S During the Prime Minister Rao’s visit to the U.S. in May during which he was given the honor of addressing a joint session of Congress, all mention of human rights was avoided. At a lunch hosted by Vice President, Al Gore in honor of Prime Minister Rao’s visit, human rights, which had been a major issue between the two countries, was not mentioned.
At the meeting of the U.N. Commission on Human Rights in March, India went to extraordinary lengths, even enlisting the support of such dubious allies as Iran and China, to ensure that a resolution condemning abuses in Kashmir was withdrawn. The U.S. abstained.
- POLICY: An agreement of cooperation between India and the European Community, which was approved by the Council of the European Union on June 18.1994 completely disregarded India’s human rights record when it pledged mutual cooperation an trade and investment, technical economic and cultural matters, acceleration of India’s economic development and liberalization of imports and exports. Article 1 of the agreement stated, without irony, that “respect for human rights and democratic principles is the basis for the cooperation between the Contracting Parties and for the provisions of this Agreement, and it constitutes an essential element of the Agreement.” From: Human Rights Watch World Report 1995.
Article extracted from this publication >> January 27, 1995
