At FORUM-ASIA, we employ a range of strategies to effectively achieve our goals and create a lasting impact.

Through a diverse array of approaches, FORUM-ASIA is dedicated to achieving our objectives and leaving a lasting imprint on human rights advocacy.

Who we work with

Our interventions are meticulously crafted and ready to enact tangible change, addressing pressing issues and empowering communities.

Each statements, letters, and publications are meticulously tailored, poised to transform challenges into opportunities, and to empower communities towards sustainable progress.

Multimedia Stories
publications

With a firm commitment to turning ideas into action, FORUM-ASIA strives to create lasting change that leaves a positive legacy for future generations.

Explore our dedicated sub-sites to witness firsthand how FORUM-ASIA turns ideas into action, striving to create a legacy of lasting positive change for future generations.

Subscribe our monthly e-newsletter

India: Put an end to all forms of violence and allow peaceful protests across the country  

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 26 February 2020) ‐ The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM‐ASIA) unequivocally condemns the riots that have taken place in Delhi in recent days. It also condemns the failure of the Governments, both state and union, and particularly of the Delhi Police, to control the violence and maintain law and order.

Riots broke out on Sunday in the north-eastern part of Delhi. It seems to have been triggered when Kapil Mishra, a lawmaker for the governing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, made comments in support of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and threatened to shut down a peaceful protest of women against the Act.

Different accounts are circulating on how the riots started and escalated. However, most suggest that the riots were fanned by mobs chanting pro-Hindu slogans. Now, after days of the worst communal violence to occur in the Capital of India in decades, it is reported that at least 20 people have been killed, while 50 people, including 37 police officials, have been injured. The violence represents an escalation of months of tensions around the controversial CAA across the country.[1]

While Delhi police has reportedly used tear gas and other forms of hard-handed means in an attempt to quench the riots, it has completely failed to maintain law and order. Some reports have even claimed the police was directly involved in unprovoked attacks.

Mosques, shops and houses have been set ablaze. Reporters attempting to cover the riots have been threatened and beaten up. Even ambulances were blocked from ferrying the wounded to hospital, prompting the Delhi High Court to hold a mid-night hearing and intervene.[2]

All the while, peaceful protesters and innocent bystanders have been victimised, both directly in how they have been affected by the violence, but also in how the riots and the crackdown on the violent protests has been used to further restrict the right to freedom of peaceful assembly.

The Government of India is duty-bound to ensure the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and expression, as well as the safety and security of the people exercising these rights. This requires the rule of law, which the Government of India has blatantly failed to maintain, not only in Delhi but also in other parts of the country. It is this failure to maintain the rule of law that has given rise to the mob violence as seen in Delhi.

Indian authorities must learn lessons from this incident. They must hold credible investigations into who was responsible for the recent violence, including the police officers alleged to be behind the riots, and hold them accountable in accordance with international human rights standards.

**

For a PDF version of this statement, please click here.

For further information, please contact:

– South Asia Programme, FORUM-ASIA, [email protected]

 

[1] https://forum-asia.org/?p=30640 and https://forum-asia.org/?p=30727

[2] https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/in-urgent-midnight-hearing-delhi-hc-asks-cops-to-give-emergency-treatment-to-injured-stuck-in-ne-delhi-hospital/story-Dy5q6xxRxZrdZOZ7n0XE2J.html