âBeing Neutral is Our Biggest Crimeâ - Global Coalition to Protect ...

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Maintain law and order in accordance with international human rights standards • Thoroughly revise the police training curriculum to include appropriate training on human rights issues including lawful interrogation techniques and best practices. All training should be consistent with international human rights standards, such as the UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and other international human rights standards. Prevent child recruitment in hostilities and assist in reintegration of children recruited and used by all armed parties • Take steps to ensure that all children under age 18 serving as special police officers (SPOs) are identified, removed, and provided with alternative education or vocational training opportunities. • Amend the Indian Police Act, 1861, to introduce age 18 as the minimum age for recruitment of SPOs to prevent future recruitment of children. • Develop a national scheme for the identification, release, and reintegration of children recruited by armed groups or police in consultation with governmental, nongovernmental, and intergovernmental organizations, and in accordance with the Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups. • Develop and implement effective measures to ensure that all individuals recruited for police duties are at least 18 years old; develop and impose appropriate sanctions against individuals found to be recruiting or using children under age 18, including those using underage former Naxalites as police informers or SPOs. • Implement the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, and provide proof of birth to all children. • Ratify the Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention (International Labor Organization Convention No. 182), which defines the forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict as one of the worst forms of child labor. 149 Human Rights Watch July 2008
To the Chhattisgarh state government End government support to Salwa Judum, address impunity for Salwa Judum and police abuses, and prevent further abuses • Take all necessary and appropriate measures to end unlawful Salwa Judum activities, and end all government or police support to Salwa Judum, including provision of weapons, and participation by police or SPOs in Salwa Judum operations, including raids and reprisals. • Initiate serious and independent investigations of individuals responsible for carrying out or ordering human rights abuses, regardless of rank, and prosecute as appropriate. Also investigate the role of senior police and administrative officials in Dantewada and Bijapur districts in the commission of or failure to prevent such abuses, and take appropriate action, including removal from office and/or criminal prosecution. • Immediately make public the progress of and findings from investigations against individuals implicated in serious human rights abuses in Dantewada and Bijapur districts. • End deployment of SPOs for paramilitary operations against Naxalites. • Adopt and disseminate public statements denouncing human rights abuses linked to Salwa Judum. • Determine the fate of those who “disappeared” including those taken to Salwa Judum camps, arbitrarily detained in police stations, or killed; provide this information to family members. • Establish a district-level missing persons’ unit in which families and concerned parties may give information about missing family members without fear of retaliation. • End the practice of arbitrary detention and strictly implement the D.K. Basu guidelines on arrest and detention issued by the Supreme Court of India; initiate disciplinary action against police officers who have violated them. Create awareness campaigns to disseminate information regarding people’s rights during arrest and detention. • Repeal the Chhattisgarh Special Public Security Act, 2005. • Avoid the use of schools for military or Salwa Judum operations. • Investigate and prosecute as appropriate, harassment, threats, and violence against journalists and activists reporting on the conflict between Naxalites, “Being Neutral is Our Biggest Crime” 150
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India “Being Neutral is Our Bigge
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Copyright © 2008 Human Rights Watc
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VI. Plight of Persons Displaced by
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© 2008 John Emerson “Being Neutr
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Gram Panchayat/ Panchayat ICCPR ICE
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of villages in Bijapur and Dantewad
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Since 2006 local nongovernmental or
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Frightened, many villagers hid for
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Salwa Judum, particularly Salwa Jud
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of camp residents and other displac
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Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, People’s U
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egion between June 2005 and June 20
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through underground village committ
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health care. 17 Census data from 20
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The Naxalite problem has led to lac
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egular battalion to counter Naxalit
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NGO fact-finding teams have also ap
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The ‘Salva Judum’ movement is p
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persons also gave Human Rights Watc
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Sometimes senior police officials,
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were sick we had to go and report i
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to our village had bows and arrows,
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All able-bodied men had to particip
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them with escorts. We go with them
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there [pointing to a location about
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V. Abuses by the State Although the
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and my sister’s in the fields. My
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camps. 109 Two SPOs came forward to
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Gangi, one of the villagers, said t
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weeks [from the first visit to the
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One of the boys got beaten a lot wi
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A woman from Nendra said she saw th
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member of the fact-finding team tha
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In 2006 the Chhattisgarh government
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under Indian penal law. 163 Many NG
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independent and report because ther
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eing beaten up by Salwa Judum membe
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the country, to liberty and freedom
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electricity, adult literacy centres
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only 10 health workers to attend to
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dependent upon the state for their
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camps were started. 233 Assuming th
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Impediments to return The Chhattisg
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villagers’ access to markets maki
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1. Prior to carrying out evictions,
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our huts. About 10 forest departmen
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A volunteer with an NGO that provid
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met with further retributive measur
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Despite the court’s orders, fores
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for at least 100 days a year. 303 T
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In many places, displaced persons d
Page 103 and 104: Naxalites beat and kill villagers,
Page 105 and 106: that they rubbed small stones [grav
Page 107 and 108: Similarly, Naxalites beat and haras
Page 109 and 110: not kill my uncle. They threatened
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Page 115 and 116: Errabore camp on July 17, 2006, whe
Page 117 and 118: E. CPI (Maoist) Party statements Hu
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Page 121 and 122: The Naxalites do not deny the recru
Page 123 and 124: I have seen SPOs younger than me in
Page 125 and 126: The recruitment process The nationa
Page 127 and 128: I became an SPO last year in March
Page 129 and 130: of them. My brother actually surviv
Page 131 and 132: Maraiguda stated that he was ordere
Page 133 and 134: The Chhattisgarh state government r
Page 135 and 136: ecruitment, but Naxalites pressure
Page 137 and 138: When he was part of the bal sangam
Page 139 and 140: I joined when I was 15 years old. I
Page 141 and 142: When Veka Idma was about age 12 or
Page 143 and 144: later on when I became a dalam memb
Page 145 and 146: Naxalites’ policy regarding recru
Page 147 and 148: IX. Impact of the Conflict on Educa
Page 149 and 150: other villages which do not have sc
Page 151 and 152: The ITDA project officer for Khamma
Page 153: uses all authority at its disposal
Page 157 and 158: • Release complete information, u
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Page 161 and 162: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
Page 163 and 164: ) Chhattisgarh government assists t
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Page 167 and 168: HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH 350 Fifth Avenue
Page 169 and 170: government investigated any allegat
Page 171 and 172: “Being Neutral is Our Biggest Cri
Page 173 and 174: We acknowledge with gratitude the f
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