December 7, 2001. Kenya: Crackdown on Nairobi’s Refugees After Mombassa Attacks
India: Impunity 10 years after Mumbai riots -- is this the lesson Gujarat should learn?
"How much longer will the victims have to wait until justice is done for the massacres in Mumbai in 1992," Amnesty International asked today (6 December) remembering the tragic bloodshed of the Mumbai riots 10 years ago. Following the destruction of the Babri Masjid (mosque) in Ayodhya on 6 December 1992, widespread riots hit Mumbai, leaving at least 1,788 people dead. Soon after the riots, the Srikrishna Commission of Enquiry was established to identify causes and responsibilities in the violence.
"More than four years after the publication of the Commission's report in 1998, no significant steps have been taken by the Government of Maharashtra to implement its recommendations," Amnesty International stressed.
Whereas the previous Shiv Sena Bharatiya-Janata Party government in the state tried to disband the Commission itself in 1996, the present Congress-led government has simply buried the report with silence. Amnesty International believes that the recommendations of the Srikrishna Commission should be fully implemented, so that the conditions which allowed the riots to take place can be eradicated and similar abuses prevented from happening again.
The Commission recommended -- in addition to longer term preventive measures meant to avoid the recurrence of communal violence -- that action be taken against 31 policemen responsible for killing innocent people, acting in a communal manner, being negligent or themselves rioting. Seventeen of these officers were formally charged in mid-2001, but none of them has been tried or convicted as yet and all are presently free. Some of them have reportedly been promoted to higher posts. Others were subject only to internal disciplinary action.
"Ten years of impunity for those responsible for the Mumbai riots send a deeply disturbing message to the nation and shatter public confidence in justice," Amnesty International said.
"The authorities' inaction in Maharashtra is especially disheartening for the victims of the recent massacres in Gujarat, who are presently seeking justice for that violence: Mumbai sends the message to Gujarat that even when those responsible are identified, they are allowed to go unpunished," the organization added.
"The Government of Maharashtra must urgently take all necessary steps to reverse the trend to impunity for the Mumbai riots, to restore credibility in the justice system and thus send a powerful signal to those seeking justice in Gujarat", the organization added.
Background
On 6 December 1992, after months of political mobilisation by right wing Hindu parties, about 2,000 people marched to the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh, and demolished the mosque, in the presence of large contingents of security forces who remained inactive. After the event, a number of communal incidents were reported throughout India.
When on 7 December some Muslim groups in Mumbai protested violently against the demolition, right wing Hindu groups, and in particular the Shiv Sena, used the situation to mobilise the Hindus to "teach Muslims a lesson". The situation escalated to full scale riots which calmed down only in the second half of January 1993.
The Srikrishna Commission, while unsparing of acts of violence by Muslims and Hindus, clearly identified and blamed right wing Hindu groups for their preplanned targeting of Muslim life and property in Mumbai. It also indicted the Maharashtra state government for its confused response to the violence and sections of the police for their inaction and even active participation in it.
A petition filed in the Supreme Court on behalf of Mumbai residents challenged the inaction of the authorities with respect to the police officers indicted by the Srikrishna Commission. The petition is scheduled for final hearing in the second week of January 2003.
Southern Africa: Women and girls still facing discrimination and violenceSouthern Africa: Women and girls still facing discrimination and violence
"Immediate action is needed to protect Southern African women from the combined effects of violence and HIV/AIDS," Amnesty International said today."Despite commitment by Southern African governments to eliminate 'all forms of discrimination [and] all forms of violence against women and girls' to reduce their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, there continues to be evidence of widespread economic, social and legal discrimination along with high levels of violence, including sexual violence, against women and girls in Southern African countries," Amnesty International said.
According to UNAIDS, women and girls comprise the majority of those living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa. With infection levels in the countries of this region ranging from 13 to 38% of the adult population, there is urgent need for governments to fulfill their commitments made 18 months ago at the special session of the UN General Assembly on the global HIV/AIDS crisis.
States are also obliged under international human rights and humanitarian law to prevent violence against women and provide redress to survivors of violence. These obligations exist irrespective of whether the abuses were committed by private individuals or by state agents.
Last August, at an Amnesty International-organized workshop, civil society activists and healthcare professionals from eight Southern African countries identified serious problems which prevent survivors of rape from having access to justice and necessary healthcare. These obstacles include discriminatory attitudes, practices and laws, poor standards of police investigations, as well as low standards of medical care and procedures for the forensic examination of rape survivors.
Some countries, such as South Africa, Botswana and Namibia, have initiated law and criminal justice reforms and improvements to police training which will, over time, increase women's access to effective remedies in cases of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence.
South Africa has begun to implement policies to improve standards of medical and psychological care and treatment, as well as the forensic medical examination of survivors of sexual violence. Very recently the government has begun to implement a policy of testing, counselling and provision of post-exposure prophylaxis for rape survivors at risk of HIV infection.
However these initiatives are still at a preliminary stage and in some cases are still being resisted by some government officials. The vast majority of victims of rape in South Africa and in the sub-region still do not have access to potentially life-saving treatment.
In contrast to these positive developments, the human rights situation for women has worsened in Zimbabwe and Swaziland. The vulnerability of women and girls to sexual and domestic violence and the HIV/AIDS pandemic has been exacerbated in Swaziland by continuing legal discrimination and denial of access to social and economic rights. The current constitutional crisis in Swaziland may cause further deterioration in women's access to justice and effective remedies.
In Zimbabwe, a profound crisis of political legitimacy and widespread human rights abuses, including politically-motivated sexual violence against perceived opponents of the government, has undermined legal, police and health reforms which would have benefited women's access to justice and healthcare. Women and girls, particularly those living in rural areas, are among the most vulnerable to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and at risk from the widespread food shortages in both countries.
During this period of the internationally recognized 16 days of activism for no violence against women and children (25 November to 10 December) Amnesty International calls on governments in the Southern African region, with the support of the international community, to show political will in addressing the multiple causes of violence against women and girls.
They should vigorously promote and protect the rights contained in the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and its Optional Protocol, the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (African Charter) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Heads of State declaration on gender and development, and its addendum on the prevention and eradication of violence against women and children. Amnesty International urges governments of the region to promote the adoption and early entry into force of the Draft Protocol To The African Charter On The Rights Of Women In Africa.
