Human Rights Defenders Day Observed

On the occasion of International Human Rights Defenders Day (December 9) and on the eve of Int. Human Rights Day [December 10] a meeting of Human Rights Defenders of Odisha was held at Red Cross Bhawan, Bhubaneswar by Human Rights Front (HRF), a state level platform for human rights defenders in Odisha.

Mr. Manoj Jena, Convenor of HRF advocated for proper security to human rights activists and said the state and democratic forces should come forward for their protection and establish rule of law. He said that December 9, which is the day when the Declaration on Human Rights Defenders was adopted by United Nations in 1998.  The day is to acknowledge and pledge continued support to the HRDs who are working for the promotion and protection of human rights.

Addressing the meeting, the speakers expressed concern on the increasing threats to Human Rights defenders.  Many human rights defenders have been the victims of killings as a direct response to their work. Especially Right to information workers are targeted in India. In some regions, death threats are used widely as a means of threatening and intimidating human rights defenders into stopping their work.  Human rights defenders are sometimes kidnapped, for short or long periods and beaten during their captivity. Human rights defenders can be particularly vulnerable to beatings, ill-treatment and torture while in detention.

United Nations Declaration on human rights provides specific protections to human rights defenders including the rights to seek protection and realization at the national and international levels. The states have a responsibility to implement and respect all the provisions of the declaration. The declaration emphasizes that everyone has duties towards and within the community and encourages us all to be human rights defenders.       

During the day long discussion, there was a consensus among the participants that there should be a sustained campaign to protect the interest of the marginalized. Also, adequate steps should be taken to stop any forms of exploitation of these sections. They have suggested to undertake following actions in the future.

·        Organize  regular human rights training  programme for the human rights defenders. This will help to provide an opportunity to network with other human rights organizations and build a sense of solidarity in each other’s work. The programme will also help in motivating many to be committed to human rights.

·        Regular interaction on Human Rights Education with university students.

·        Conduct training programme on skills in fact-finding and monitoring and exercise, conducting and reporting of fact-finding on human rights violations.

·        Publication of quarterly magazine on the situation of human rights in Odisha.

·        Publication of status paper of Human rights in Odisha. The status paper include the range of human rights issues include children, women, prisoners, differently-able persons, sexual minorities etc. 

·        Deliberate efforts to interact with officers for developing sensitivity and change of attitudes the rights of marginalized sections.

·        Prepare the district wise contact address of human rights defenders in Odisha and carry out a sustain relationship for effective functioning.

·        Organize Independent People’s Tribunal (IPT) on the performance of State Human Rights Commission, Odisha for respecting and protecting the rights of the people.

·        Deliberate effort to make Human Rights institutions like NHRC, SHRC Independent and accessible to the victims. In many cases, the perpetrator of human rights violation is given charge to investigate the case. Hence the questions raised by the HRDS on the objectivity of that enquiry report.  Hence pressure need to be built upon the NHRC to make independent fact-finding teams for any investigation of human rights violence case. Likewise selection procedure of human rights authorities needs to be transparent. This will bring transparency, accountability and above all develop the credibility of the Human rights institutions. 

Eminent Defenders Shared their views :-

§        Dhirendra Panda- Coordinator, National Solidarity Forum

§        Pradip Pradhan-Convenor, Odisha Soochana Adhikar Abhiyan

§        Mrs Rumita Kundu- Member-Committee for Release of Political Prisioner

§        Saiprasana, Convenor, Janata Vikash Manch

§        Chandranath Dani- Associate Director, Peoples Watch

§        Md Ziauddin – Convenor,Odisha Muslim Development Forum

§        Gobinda Chandra Dalei, Director, Youth Development Foundation

§        Gopal Chandra Das, Pratishta, Nuapada

§        Gopinath Dutta, Director,PACT, Mayurbhanj

§        Sandeep Kumar Pattnaik, Coordinator, NCAS

§        Somnath Pattnaik, HRD, Jagatsinghpur

§        Ms Suchisilpa Bhoi, Ama Odisha

§        Bikram Swain, convenor, Jana Samukshya

§        Ananda ch. Swain, Convenor, Basti Surakshya Manch

§        Pravakar Jayasingh, Reporter, Suryaprava

§        Abhaya Kumar Mallik, Dalit Rights Activist

§        Ashok Kumar Das, Convenor, Samata Mancha

§        Panchanan Mishra, PAHAD,Kandhamal

§        Mayadhar Parida, SAKHA[ sexually minority forum]

§        Fr Sudhakar Senapati, Coordnator, HRLN

§        Abhisek Joshi, India Agaist Corruption, Cuttack

§        Ms Deepali Sharma, Reporter, Samaj

§        Ashok Majhi, Advocate

§        Sandeep Mohanty, Convenor, YUVA