Human Rights Watch asks India to repeal AFSPA
A leading rights watchdog has asked India to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which it said has led to human rights violations, allowing security agencies "to perpetrate abuses with impunity".
By PTI |
NEW YORK: A leading rights watchdog has asked India to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), which it said has led to human rights violations, allowing security agencies "to perpetrate abuses with impunity". Human Rights Watch, in a new report, has alleged that the AFSPA has become a tool of "state abuse, oppression and discrimination".
"The Indian government's responsibility to protect civilians from attacks by militants is no excuse for an abusive law like the AFSPA," said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW). "The government should repeal the AFSPA now," she said. The law protects military personnel responsible for "serous crimes" from prosecution, creating "perverse military culture of impunity," said the report titled "Getting Away with Murder: 50 years of Armed Forces Special Powers Act."
"The law grants the military wide powers to arrest without warrant, shoot-to-kill, and destroy property in so-called 'disturbed areas'," it said. The AFSPA, the report added, has not only led to human rights violations, but has also allowed members of the armed forces to perpetrate abuses with impunity.
"Violations under the AFSPA have served as a recruiting agent for militant groups," said Ganguly, naming states of northeast India and Kashmir as badly affected by the law. HRW said the government should follow its own example of repealing the "widely abused" Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which was enacted in 2001 and allowed security forces to hold suspects for up to 180 days without charges.
"The Indian government's responsibility to protect civilians from attacks by militants is no excuse for an abusive law like the AFSPA," said Meenakshi Ganguly, senior South Asia researcher for Human Rights Watch (HRW). "The government should repeal the AFSPA now," she said. The law protects military personnel responsible for "serous crimes" from prosecution, creating "perverse military culture of impunity," said the report titled "Getting Away with Murder: 50 years of Armed Forces Special Powers Act."
"The law grants the military wide powers to arrest without warrant, shoot-to-kill, and destroy property in so-called 'disturbed areas'," it said. The AFSPA, the report added, has not only led to human rights violations, but has also allowed members of the armed forces to perpetrate abuses with impunity.
"Violations under the AFSPA have served as a recruiting agent for militant groups," said Ganguly, naming states of northeast India and Kashmir as badly affected by the law. HRW said the government should follow its own example of repealing the "widely abused" Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which was enacted in 2001 and allowed security forces to hold suspects for up to 180 days without charges.
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