Gujarat government snubs UN rapporteur

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's government cold shouldered the first official visit of United Nations Rapporteur, Christof Heyns to probe summary and arbitrary executions in India.

Heyns, who on the invitation of the Government of India visited the country regretted the Gujarat authorities decision to cancel the scheduled meeting at short notice.

Addressing a press conference here, the UN official said he interacted with some 50 civil rights delegations in Ahmedabad. He added that he would further examine the issues of police bias against minorities and hold culpable persons in position of political, civil and administrative power complicit in communal violence.

Heyns who also visited Jammu and Kashmir, recommended repudiating controversial Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), describing it as violative of international law. He also asked for a credible national process, prescribing an international one to probe issues of human rights, infuse accountability and punish perpetrators.

In the matter, he suggested that the government should appoint a  credible commission of inquiry  to probe extra judicial executions and go deep into the past allegations of human rights and killings.

The UN official also felt that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) should be given the mandate to investigate the actions of the army, and that there should not be a cut-off date of one year. 

“India should ratify a number of international treaties, including the Convention Against Torture and the International Convention for the Protection of All persons from Enforced Disappearance. India should also host missions by other United Nations independent experts, in particular those related to torture, enforced disappearances and counter-terrorism measures," Heynes said.

The visit of Special Rapporteur Heyns was the first to India by an independent expert since that country extended an open invitation to UN Special Procedures in 2011, and the first mission to India by an expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and report on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions.

The UN Special Rapporteur’s final conclusions and recommendations will be submitted as a comprehensive report to the Human Rights Council at a future session in 2013.