Orgs submit memorandum to UN
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IMPHAL, Dec 12
Several organisations have written to the United Nations for its intervention to urge the Government of India to withdraw its reservations on Article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR.
India’s continuing reservation and interpretative declaration on Article 1— the common article on the right of all peoples to self-determination in both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—has had profound and adverse consequences for the peoples of Manipur, said the organisations.
"Serious allegations of coercion surrounding the 1949 Manipur Merger Agreement, claims of denial of democratic consent, and the continuing human-rights crisis that escalated drastically after the engineered violence of 3 May 2023 have been left without adequate redress. Manipur today is a region where everyday essentials—security, shelter, livelihood, healthcare, and human dignity—have collapsed under an unaddressed burden of conflict, displacement, and impunity. More than 60,000 internally displaced persons remain in protracted uncertainty. Reports of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, destruction of homes and religious sites, and failures of humanitarian access continue to emerge. Yet, because India’s reservation on Article 1 restricts the scope of international engagement, the people of Manipur are left without meaningful avenues for remedy," said the organisations.
They urged the UN to call upon the Government of India to withdraw its reservation/declaration on Article 1 of both the ICCPR and ICESCR right to self-determination.
They urged the UN to encourage India to bring its treaty practice into conformity with international standards and facilitate greater engagement by the UN human Rapporteur, treaty bodies, and OHCHR on the humanitarian situation in Manipur.
Manipur’s crisis is not merely a regional matter. It is a test of the credibility of global human-rights architecture and of the international community’s willingness to uphold the universality of rights without political exception. When a state’s reservation directly undermines the most fundamental principle of both Covenants, it becomes imperative for the United Nations to speak with clarity and conviction, they said.
The organisations include All India Tanzeem-E Insaaf-Manipur (AITI), Core Committee on Relief & Rehabilitation, Federal Students’ Organisation, Kangleipak (FESOK), Imagi Meira (IM), Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC), Meetei Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU) and many others.
Several organisations have written to the United Nations for its intervention to urge the Government of India to withdraw its reservations on Article 1 of the ICCPR and ICESCR.
India’s continuing reservation and interpretative declaration on Article 1— the common article on the right of all peoples to self-determination in both the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)—has had profound and adverse consequences for the peoples of Manipur, said the organisations.
"Serious allegations of coercion surrounding the 1949 Manipur Merger Agreement, claims of denial of democratic consent, and the continuing human-rights crisis that escalated drastically after the engineered violence of 3 May 2023 have been left without adequate redress. Manipur today is a region where everyday essentials—security, shelter, livelihood, healthcare, and human dignity—have collapsed under an unaddressed burden of conflict, displacement, and impunity. More than 60,000 internally displaced persons remain in protracted uncertainty. Reports of extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, destruction of homes and religious sites, and failures of humanitarian access continue to emerge. Yet, because India’s reservation on Article 1 restricts the scope of international engagement, the people of Manipur are left without meaningful avenues for remedy," said the organisations.
They urged the UN to call upon the Government of India to withdraw its reservation/declaration on Article 1 of both the ICCPR and ICESCR right to self-determination.
They urged the UN to encourage India to bring its treaty practice into conformity with international standards and facilitate greater engagement by the UN human Rapporteur, treaty bodies, and OHCHR on the humanitarian situation in Manipur.
Manipur’s crisis is not merely a regional matter. It is a test of the credibility of global human-rights architecture and of the international community’s willingness to uphold the universality of rights without political exception. When a state’s reservation directly undermines the most fundamental principle of both Covenants, it becomes imperative for the United Nations to speak with clarity and conviction, they said.
The organisations include All India Tanzeem-E Insaaf-Manipur (AITI), Core Committee on Relief & Rehabilitation, Federal Students’ Organisation, Kangleipak (FESOK), Imagi Meira (IM), Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC), Meetei Meitei Tribe Union (MMTU) and many others.