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UPDATE (India): Protection required for girls released from prostitution and for the human rights defenders who sought to help them

November 8, 2005

UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL UPDATE ON URGENT APPEAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

Update on Urgent Appeal
8 November 2005

[Re: UA- 190 -2005: INDIA: Demand guarantees of proper treatment and protection for girls released from prostitution and human rights defender]
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UP-131-2005: INDIA: Protection required for girls released from prostitution and for the human rights defenders who sought to help them

INDIA: Child prostitution and bondage; threats to and charges laid against human rights defenders
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the case of the rescue of underage girls from forced prostitution launched by Guria, a human rights organization in Varanasi on 24 October 2005.

According to the latest information received, after the rescue operation, the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Ms Rollee Singh and another member, Mr. Rajiv Singh, went to the Maduhadih Police Station to speak to the minor girls but were not allowed to do so by the Superintendent of Police, Varanasi.

The rescued girls were however sent for a medical examination to the Government Hospital. Kabir Chaura, Varanasi and were then taken to the Women's Police Station. Subsequently, those girls found to be minors (below the age of 18) were produced before the Chairperson, Child Welfare Committee on the intervention of the District Magistrate while those above that age (majors) were produced before the Magistrate.

A fact-finding team consisting of representatives from various organizations in Varanasi visited the girls in the state protection home and later told the police that two of the rescued girls had been taken away by the police. They also alleged that one of the main traffickers, Rahmat Ali had managed to escape with the help of the police.

Another fact-finding team constituted by the State Women's Commission, Uttar Pradesh also visited Varanasi on 26 October. However, this team allegedly made the observation that there was no forced prostitution in Varanasi. This report has called for a huge outcry and criticism from the human rights groups and the media.

The AHRC now urges you to write to the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate of Varanasi asking them to ensure the safety of all the young girls that have been detained. AHRC also request you to write to the Superintendent of Police to immediately arrest Mr. Rahmat Ali who is alleged to be the kingpin for running brothels and engaged in other sex trade activities, including the sale of minor girls in Varanasi.  The report allegedly made by the State Women’s Commission also needs to be investigated by a separate body since its remarks have cast doubts about the intention of the Commission.

The actions on the part of the local police also need to be investigated into and the officers who showed negligence in their duty must be suspended from service until the entire investigation into this case is completed. These officers must also be brought to justice and prosecuted if found guilty of misconduct. The AHRC also urge you to call upon the local authorities so that the alleged false charges registered against the human rights activists are withdrawn forthwith and protection provided to them.

A medical board comprising of expert doctors should be constituted to determine the correct age of the girls and those that have been found to be adults should not be sent to jails but to the government protection homes. Civil society organizations should be allowed to meet the rescued girls and, with their help, a long term rehabilitation plan should be drawn up comprising the basic requirements of diet, health, counseling, and educational and vocational facilities. The government should allocate adequate resources for their rehabilitation and repatriation into society.

BRIEF REMINDER OF THE CASE

Guria is a human rights organisation working on women and child rights in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. The organisation pays most attention to the rights of women and young girls who are trafficked and bonded into prostitution. On 24 October 2005, Guria volunteers and the founder, Mr. Ajeet Singh, attempted to rescue at least 50 girls from Shivaspur, the red light area in Varanasi, where the trafficking of minors has been occurring.

Before the rescue operation took place, Mr. Singh called upon officers at the Maduadih Police Station to take action on this matter and rescue the minors. He was told to go ahead to the location and that the police would follow shortly. By 5pm however, hours after he had arrived on the scene, the police had not come. Worried that the brothel keepers and traffickers would start hiding the underage sex workers, Mr. Singh and his volunteers began a rescue operation. By 6pm, when the police finally showed up, instead of helping with the rescue operation, they in fact hindered it. At one point the police tried to stop the Guria workers and girls from boarding buses taking them to the local police station. As a result, only 31 out of the estimated 50 girls were rescued and taken. By the time the operation was over, there were between 200-300 volunteers and Guria members involved. 

Later in the evening, Mr. Singh filed a First Information Report (FIR) against the four brothel keepers, complaining that they were involved in prostitution in violation of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA). The rescued girls were handed over to the police and it was reported that they received medical attention.

Early the next day, October 25, an FIR was filed against Mr. Singh on the grounds of trespassing, robbery, out-raging the modesty of women, rioting and unlawful assembly, among others. Out of fear for their safety, Mr. Singh and his wife went into hiding. However, Guria and Mr. Singh are highly respected in Varanasi and it is reported that many people have been outraged by what has happened.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please send a letter to the Superintendent of Police and the District Magistrate, Varanasi, asking them to not only ensure the safety and protection of all the detained girls but also to take steps for their rehabilitation. Please also ask them to see that the members of the rescue team are given protection. Finally, please urge the officials to take steps to see that the laws against human trafficking and prostitution in India are properly applied.


Dear _________,

INDIA: Protection required for girls released from prostitution and for the human rights defenders who sought to help them

I have been informed that after the rescue of underage girls from forced prostitution launched by Guria, a human rights organization in Varanasi on 24 October 2005, the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee, Ms Rollee Singh and another member, Mr. Rajiv Singh went to the Maduhadih Police Station to speak to the minor girls but were not allowed to do so by the Superintendent of Police, Varanasi.

The rescued girls were however sent for a medical examination to the Government Hospital. Kabir Chaura, Varanasi and were then taken to the Women's Police Station. Subsequently, those girls found to be minors (below the age of 18) were produced before the Chairperson of the Child Welfare Committee on the intervention of the District Magistrate, while those above that age (majors) were produced before the Magistrate.

A fact-finding team consisting of representatives from various organizations in Varanasi visited the girls in the state protection home and later told the police that two of the rescued girls had been taken away by the police. They also alleged that one of the main traffickers, Rahmat Ali had managed to escape with the help of the police.

A fact-finding team constituted by the State Women's Commission, Uttar Pradesh also visited Varanasi on 26 October and as per media reports it is alleged that the head of the team declared that there had been no forced prostitution.

I now urge you to ensure the safety of all the young girls that have been detained. I also request you to immediately arrest Mr. Rahmat Ali who is alleged to be the kingpin for running brothels and engaged in other sex trade activities, including the sale of minor girls in Varanasi.  The report allegedly made by the State Women’s Commission also needs to be investigated by a separate body since its remarks have cast doubts about the intention of the Commission.

The actions on the part of the local police also need to be investigated into and the officers who showed negligence in their duty must be suspended from service until the entire investigation into this case is completed. These officers must also be brought to justice and prosecuted if found guilty of misconduct. I urge you to take immediate steps to quash the false charges registered against the human rights activists forthwith and ensure that protection is provided to them. As a defender of human rights, Mr. Singh should not now be facing criminal charges himself, merely for seeking to protect the rights of young girls forced into prostitution.

A medical board comprising of expert doctors should be constituted to determine the correct age of the girls and those that are found to be adults should not be sent to jails but to government protection homes. Civil society organizations should be allowed to meet the rescued girls and, with their help, a long term rehabilitation plan should be drawn up comprising the basic requirements of diet, health, counseling, and educational and vocational facilities. The government should allocate adequate resources for their rehabilitation and repatriation into society.

I look forward to your intervention in this matter.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND A LETTER TO:

1. Mr. Navneet Sikera
Senior Superintendent of Police
Varanasi
INDIA
Tel: +91 54 22502655, +91 98 3950 4898 (mobile)
Fax: +91 54 2250 1450

2. Mr. Gokaran
District Magistrate
Varanasi
INDIA
Tel: +91 54 2250 8585
Fax: +91 54 2234 8313
E-mail: dmvsn@satyam.net.in 

PLEASE SEND COPIES TO:

1. Mr. Yashpal Singh, IPS
Director General of Police
Tilak Marg, Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Tel : +91 52 2220 6104
Fax :+91 52 2220 6120, 2220 6174.
E-mail : police@up.nic.in 

2. Mr. Mulayam Singh Yadav
Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Chief Minister's Secretariat
Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Fax: + 91 52 2223 0002 / 2223 9234

3. Justice A.P. Mishra
Chairperson
Uttar Pradesh Human Rights Commission
6-A Kalidass Marg
Lucknow
Uttar Pradesh
INDIA
Tel: + 91 52 2272 6742
Fax: + 91 52 2272 6743

4.Justice A. S. Anand
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of India
Faridkot House, Copernicus Marg
New Delhi-110001
INDIA
Tel: + 91 11 2307 4448
Email: mailto:chairnhrc@nic.in 

5. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
c/o Ms Lucinda Ohanlon
Room 3-042
OHCHR-UNOG, Palais Wilson,
8-14 Avenue de la Paix,
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9615
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN)
Email: lohanlon@ohchr.org 

6. Ms. Sigma Huda
UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 ave de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: (+41 22) 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS)
Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org 

7. Mr. Juan Miguel Petit
UN Special Rapportuer on the Sale of Children
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 ave de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: (+41 22) 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON SALE OF CHILDREN)
Email: urgent-action@ohchr.org 


Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Update
Document ID :
UP-131-2005
Countries :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.