By: D.S.Gill, Chairman

LONDON: The International Human Rights Organization (THRO), while welcoming the Vienna Declaration particularly its commitment to Universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, and the establishment of High Commissioner for Human Rights, regretted that the declaration on conclusion of the World Conference on Human Rights (WHCR) was not bold enough in areas of promotion, protection and implementation.

“But unfortunately India was one of a few developing countries that had expressed its opposition to the proposal to create a new post of High Commissioner on Human Rights,” said IHRO Chairman D.S.Gill, who is here after attending the WCHR.

“Indian delegation leader Dr.Manmohan Singh’s stand at the world conference that a UN official with broad powers to investigate human rights abuses might intrude into the domestic affairs of a sovereign state, has totally exposed India’s respect for human rights,” added the IHRO Chair.

 

Responses to Dr.Singh’s statement to the conference and his subsequent comments on the human rights issue, were sharp from Indian Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs), lobbying at the Vienna conference for international Support.

“Dr.Singh is misleading the outside world,” said D: S.Gill” Anybody in India who fights for his basic rights is branded as a terrorist,” Ravi Nair commented. “There can be no excuses for human rights violations if somebody commits a terrorist act then he should be tried under the normal law according to internationally accepted standards.”

D.S.Gill, in his seven minute speech at the UN conference, held India responsible for grave violations of human rights in Punjab and Kashmir; He accused India of large scale disappearances, custody deaths, molestation and rape. He tactically exposed India for its claim to be the world’s largest democracy. India, he said, is killing its own people, who are struggling for their basic rights including the right to self-determination, on the pretext of maintaining law and order. While recommending some new” instruments to be introduced in the UN network, the IHRO representative’ stressed the need 10 condition foreign aid on the recipient states’ respect for human rights because certain countries like India are using this aid to beef up its security forces to rundown the peoples fib Carton movements.

Earlier the IHRO and the Kashmir American Council submitted a memorandum to the UN Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali, demanding his immediate intervention to slop rights abuses in India particularly Punjab and Kashmir.

During NGOs parallel activities at the Austria center, two Indian MPs and their stooges in the garb of NGOs tried to disrupt the meetings, and according to Terra Viva (June 24), the Independent Daily of the World Conference on Human Rights, they were brought to Vienna to discredit NGOs critical of India.

The Terra Viva described them GANGOs Government Appointed Nongovernmental Organizations. The Indian GANGOs were not allowed to speak in the plenary of the NGO Forum, said D.S.Gill.

 

Article extracted from this publication >>  July 16, 1993