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ecognized human rights set out in core human rights instruments guarantee all
people equal and inalienable rights by virtue of their inherent human dignity. 53
Under these instruments, the state as the primary duty holder has an obligation to
uphold these rights. This includes not only preventing and punishing human rights
violations by government officials and agents, but also protecting communities from
criminal acts committed by non-state actors such as Salwa Judum members.
India is party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), one
of the core international human rights treaties. The Human Rights Committee, the
expert body that monitors compliance with the ICCPR, has observed that a state
party’s failure to “take appropriate measures or to exercise due diligence to prevent,
punish, investigate or redress the harm caused by such acts by private persons or
entities” itself constitutes a violation of the ICCPR. 54 Similarly, the UN Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions has observed that
when “[a] pattern [of killing] becomes clear in which the response of the Government
is clearly inadequate, its responsibility under international human rights law
becomes applicable. Through its inaction the Government confers a degree of
impunity upon the killers.” 55
A. Salwa Judum raids on villages coercing civilian participation
Human Rights Watch interviewed 52 individuals who were eyewitnesses to Salwa
Judum raids on 18 villages in Dantewada and Bijapur districts. Each of these villages
had been destroyed or vacated due to Salwa Judum raids since June 2005. These
53 UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), “International Law—The Core International Human Rights
Instruments,” undated, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/index.htm#core (accessed April 20, 2008). Seven of the nine
core international treaties are in force. India is party to four of the seven core treaties that are in force—the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 21 UN GAOR
Supp. (No. 16) at 49, UN Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into force January 3, 1976, acceded to by India on April 10,
1979; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), adopted December 16, 1966, G.A. Res. 2200A (XXI), 21
UN GAOR Supp. (No. 16) at 52, UN Doc. A/6316 (1966), 999 U.N.T.S. 171, entered into force March 23, 1976, acceded to by India
on April 10, 1979; the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), adopted November 20, 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, annex, 44 UN
GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 167, UN Doc. A/44/49 (1989), entered into force September 2, 1990, acceded to by India on December
11, 1992; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted December 18,
1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, 34 UN GAOR Supp. (No. 46) at 193, UN Doc. A/34/46, entered into force September 3, 1981, ratified by
India on July 9, 1993.
54 UN Human Rights Committee, “The Nature of the General Legal Obligation Imposed on States Parties to the Covenant (art.
2),” General Comment No. 31, UN Doc. CCPR/C/74/CRP.4/Rev.6, March 29, 2004, para. 8.
55 Philip Alston, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions,” E/CN.4/2005/7,
December 22, 2004, http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/reports/E_CN_4_2005_7.pdf (accessed April 15, 2008), para. 72.
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Human Rights Watch July 2008