Forum Against Corporatisation and Militarisation, along with Foundation The London Story, Netherlands, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India, India Justice Project, Germany and London Mining Network, UK, has submitted in response to the call by the United Nations Human Rights Council, seeking a periodic review of the obligations of India under International Political Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which assures the basic civil and political rights of all as elaborated citizens within the states that have ratified the convention. Indian citizens also have these basic civil and political rights since India is a party to this covenant.
The submission seeks to highlight the genocidal violence that is being unleashed on the Adivasi peasants in Bastar, which has intensified in 2024 since the Indian state launched the draconian Surajkund Scheme. As of now, close to 200 individuals have been killed in Bastar, per civil society reports. Along with this, multiple human rights defenders, ground activists and peasant leaders such as Surju Tekam, and Suneeta Pottem, have been arrested in Chhattisgarh based on falsified charges of being associated with the proscribed Communist Party of India (Maoist) under black laws like UAPA and CSPSA.
These actions of the Indian state are in violation of several provisions of the ICCPR. Article 6 of the ICCPR states that every person has an inherent right to life protected by the law and no one can be arbitrarily deprived of this right. Article 4 states that this right cannot be taken away, even when it is a public emergency threatening the life of the nation. Similarly, Article 2(3), states that any person whose rights under the ICCPR have been violated will have a right to remedy, even if the individual violating these rights were working in an official capacity.
The arrests of human rights defenders, activists, and Adivasi peasantry, are in violation of Article 9(1) of the ICCPR. The Indian state is also in violation of Article 9(3) of the ICCPR, which states that individuals have the right against any undue delays to a proper trial after they are arrested by the state.
Many of the individuals have been arrested under bailable provisions but bail is not granted to them for several years, leading to them being in jail for several years as undertrials.
The Indian state is perpetrating this genocidal violence against its own people in order to ensure corporate loot at gunpoint. The state is trying to grab the land of the peasantry and displace them through this war on people.
The state must put an end to this violence immediately and create an atmosphere of peace to ensure a ceasefire. It must also carry out independent proceedings to ensure justice for the victims of the violence committed by the state. FACAM rejects this anti-people model of development and urges all to read its submission to the UN and stand for a pro-people model of development.
FORUM AGAINST CORPORATIZATION AND MILITARIZATION
(FACAM)
Constituents: All India Revolutionary Students Organization (AIRSO), All India Students Association (AISA), All India Revolutionary Women’s Organization (AIRWO), Ambedkar Student Association- DU (ASA-DU), Bhim Army Student Federation (BASF), Bhagat Singh Ambedkar Students Organization (BASO), Bhagat Singh Chhatra Ekta Manch (bsCEM), Collective, Common Teachers Forum (CTF), Democratic Students Union (DSU), Fraternity Movement, Nazariya Magazine, Progressive Lawyers Association (PLA), Mazdoor Adhikar Sangathan (MAS), Trade Union Centre of India (TUCI), Vishwavidyalaya Chhatra Federation (VCF)
