Human Rights In Punjab

EDM number 1378 in 1997-98, proposed by John McDonnell on 02/06/1998.

That this House welcomes the orders of the Supreme Court of India in December 1996 for the National Human Rights Commission of India to continue investigations into allegations that hundreds of individuals were killed by police following arrest in the Indian state of Punjab during the 1980s and 1990s; further welcomes recent moves by lawyers and human rights activists in Punjab to conduct a comprehensive survey of human rights violations in the state during this period, including the establishment of a People's Commission; is mindful of the fact that the fate of hundreds of individuals who have 'disappeared' remains unknown, despite the fact that many cases have been pending in the courts for several years, and that many police officers in Punjab responsible for human rights violations remain in positions of power, able to interfere with judicial proceedings designed to bring them to justice; is concerned that human rights defenders who seek justice for the victims of past human rights violations continue to be subjected to harassment and intimidation; and calls on the Government to urge the Indian government to ensure that there is an end to impunity in Pnjab, that victims are provided with full redress and that initiatives made towards this end by the Supreme Court of India, the National Human Rights Commission of India and human rights defenders in Punjab are given its full support.

This motion has been signed by a total of 29 MPs.