India
23.12.03
Urgent Interventions
India: Death due to starvation of a 3-year old child of an evicted Dalit community
OMCT/HIC-HLRN
JOINT URGENT ACTION APPEAL:
Death of a 3-year old child due to starvation following the forced eviction of 7,000 Dalits
Case IND-FE 240703.1
Follow-up to Case 240703
23 December 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT and the Coordination Office of HIC-HLRN request your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
New Information
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, has informed the International Secretariat of OMCT that in the morning of December 18, 2003 E. M. Shiva, a 3 year old child, died due to starvation. His family is one of 7,000 Untouchables who were forcibly and illegally evicted on February 2003 from their residences at Belilious Park, 129 Belilious Road, District Howrah, Calcutta, West Bengal.
The example of E. M. Shiva's death highlights the miserable and destitute conditions in which the 7,000 Untouchables have been living since their eviction by the administration.
Indeed, following their eviction, these families had to settle in the Belgachia garbage dump, where they have been facing horrendous conditions. They have been living on the open street with no shelter from the sun, no drinking water and no sanitary facilities. Until now, the West Bengal State Government has not provided any compensation to the victims and has failed to resettle those who are currently living in miserable conditions.
Brief Reminder of the Situation
In the morning hours of 2 February 2003, the approximately 500-strong Rapid Action Force, accompanied by ambulances, fire brigades and two or three bulldozers, forcibly entered the Dalit community in Belilious Park, evicted over 700 families, demolishing hundreds of brick houses, a school building, temples and statues. The eviction was carried out without oprior notice and in the absence of a resettlement plan. According to the reports, the Howrah municipality has launched a development and beautification scheme that includes extension of the park in favour of commercial interests.
The Dalits residing in the Belilious Park area were not trespassers, as alluded, but permanent residents. Indeed, the Dalit community reportedly had been living there for around 100 years, since Dalit workers, prohibited from renting in the upper-caste areas of the town, settled in the park. It is reported that residents of the community have produced supporting documents, such as identity cards, ration cards, service records, and birth and death certificates that the Howrah Municipal Authority had issued, specifying permanent addresses in 129 Belilious Park. However, the municipal authorities ignored these claims, and maintained that the residents were “trespassers”.
Human rights, international law, and treaty violations
The eviction of the 7,000 Dalits, as well as their current living conditions, contravene, inter alia, the inhabitants’ right to water and to adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The Indian authorities especially violate those citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, information, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate housing location, participation, compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. Specifically, the authorities have breached their treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which India accessed to on 19 July 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing, and General Comment No 15 on the right to water. India also has breached articles 1, 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) that it ratified on 4 January 1969.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
· take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the families who have been evicted and are living in dangerous conditions;
· guarantee the right to adequate housing of the Dalit community, with particular attention to the following elements: security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate location, participation, compensation, and physical security, as recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, among others;
· respect, defend, promote and fulfil human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights standards.
Adresses:
Mr. Ashok Bhattacharya, Minister-in-charge, Municipal Affairs & Urban Development, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata, India, Fax: +91-332 2145 480, Email address: micma@wb.gov.in
Mr. Gopal Mukherjee, Mayor, Howrah Municipal Corporation, Howrah, India, Fax: +91-33-2660 3214
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 011 India; Fax: +91 11 3016857/3019545 (O), +91 11 3019334 (R);
E-mail: vajpayee@sansad.nic.in or http://pmindia.nic.in/writetous.htm
H.E. President Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824;
E-mail: Pressecy@Sansad.nic.in
Justice Adarsh Sein Anand., Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHR), Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India, Fax: 91-11-334 0016; E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
Shri Dilip Singh Bhuria, Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes, Floor 5, Lok Nayak Bhavan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110003, INDIA, Tel: 91-11-4623959, Fax: 91-11-4625378
The Indian embassies and representations in your country.
**************
Geneva - Cairo, 23 December 2003
Kindly inform OMCT and HIC of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply to: omct@omct.org and mmignot@hic-mena.org
The joint urgent appeals of OMCT and HIC-HLRN are dedicated to the protection of the right to adequate housing.
**************
Sample letter
Date
Excellency,
We have been informed by OMCT and Habitat International Coalition-Housing and Land Rights Network that in the morning of December 18, 2003 E. M. Shiva, a 3 year old child, died due to starvation. His family is one of 7,000 Untouchables who were forcibly and illegally evicted from their residences, on 2 February 2003, at Belilious Park, 129 Belilious Road, District Howrah, Calcutta, West Bengal.
The example of E. M. Shiva's death highlights the miserable and destitute conditions in which the evicted people have been living since their eviction by the administration.
Indeed, following their eviction, the evicted families had to settle in the Belgachia garbage dump, where they have been facing horrendous conditions. They have been living on the open street with no shelter from the sun, no drinking water and no sanitary facilities. Until now, the West Bengal State Government has not provided any compensation to the victims and has failed to resettle those who are currently living in miserable conditions. Also, we urge you to take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the families who have been evicted and are living in dangerous conditions.
The Municipality’s eviction of the 7,000 Dalits and their current living conditions contradict, inter alia, their right to water and to adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The Indian authorities especially violate these citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, information, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate housing location, participation, compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. In this case, however, Indian officials have breached the State’s treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which India accessed to on 19 July 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing, and General Comment No. 15 on the right to water. India also has breached articles 1, 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) that it ratified on 4 January 1969. Therefore, we urge you to respect the international legal standards, and to implement your obligations as a means toward a just and appropriate remedy.
Thanking you in advance for your attention to this matter, we look forward to hearing from your remedial response.
Respectfully,
[Signed]
[Your name]
[Your organisation]
CC:
JOINT URGENT ACTION APPEAL:
Death of a 3-year old child due to starvation following the forced eviction of 7,000 Dalits
Case IND-FE 240703.1
Follow-up to Case 240703
23 December 2003
The International Secretariat of OMCT and the Coordination Office of HIC-HLRN request your URGENT intervention in the following situation in India.
New Information
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), a member of the OMCT network, has informed the International Secretariat of OMCT that in the morning of December 18, 2003 E. M. Shiva, a 3 year old child, died due to starvation. His family is one of 7,000 Untouchables who were forcibly and illegally evicted on February 2003 from their residences at Belilious Park, 129 Belilious Road, District Howrah, Calcutta, West Bengal.
The example of E. M. Shiva's death highlights the miserable and destitute conditions in which the 7,000 Untouchables have been living since their eviction by the administration.
Indeed, following their eviction, these families had to settle in the Belgachia garbage dump, where they have been facing horrendous conditions. They have been living on the open street with no shelter from the sun, no drinking water and no sanitary facilities. Until now, the West Bengal State Government has not provided any compensation to the victims and has failed to resettle those who are currently living in miserable conditions.
Brief Reminder of the Situation
In the morning hours of 2 February 2003, the approximately 500-strong Rapid Action Force, accompanied by ambulances, fire brigades and two or three bulldozers, forcibly entered the Dalit community in Belilious Park, evicted over 700 families, demolishing hundreds of brick houses, a school building, temples and statues. The eviction was carried out without oprior notice and in the absence of a resettlement plan. According to the reports, the Howrah municipality has launched a development and beautification scheme that includes extension of the park in favour of commercial interests.
The Dalits residing in the Belilious Park area were not trespassers, as alluded, but permanent residents. Indeed, the Dalit community reportedly had been living there for around 100 years, since Dalit workers, prohibited from renting in the upper-caste areas of the town, settled in the park. It is reported that residents of the community have produced supporting documents, such as identity cards, ration cards, service records, and birth and death certificates that the Howrah Municipal Authority had issued, specifying permanent addresses in 129 Belilious Park. However, the municipal authorities ignored these claims, and maintained that the residents were “trespassers”.
Human rights, international law, and treaty violations
The eviction of the 7,000 Dalits, as well as their current living conditions, contravene, inter alia, the inhabitants’ right to water and to adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The Indian authorities especially violate those citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, information, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate housing location, participation, compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. Specifically, the authorities have breached their treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which India accessed to on 19 July 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing, and General Comment No 15 on the right to water. India also has breached articles 1, 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) that it ratified on 4 January 1969.
Action requested
Please write to the authorities in India urging them to:
· take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the families who have been evicted and are living in dangerous conditions;
· guarantee the right to adequate housing of the Dalit community, with particular attention to the following elements: security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate location, participation, compensation, and physical security, as recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, among others;
· respect, defend, promote and fulfil human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance international human rights standards.
Adresses:
Mr. Ashok Bhattacharya, Minister-in-charge, Municipal Affairs & Urban Development, Government of West Bengal, Kolkata, India, Fax: +91-332 2145 480, Email address: micma@wb.gov.in
Mr. Gopal Mukherjee, Mayor, Howrah Municipal Corporation, Howrah, India, Fax: +91-33-2660 3214
Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, South Block, Raisina Hill, New Delhi 110 011 India; Fax: +91 11 3016857/3019545 (O), +91 11 3019334 (R);
E-mail: vajpayee@sansad.nic.in or http://pmindia.nic.in/writetous.htm
H.E. President Abdul Kalam, Office of the President, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi 110 004, INDIA Fax: 91-11-301 7290 / 7824;
E-mail: Pressecy@Sansad.nic.in
Justice Adarsh Sein Anand., Chairperson of National Human Rights Commission (NHR), Sardar Patel Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi 11001, India, Fax: 91-11-334 0016; E-mail: chairnhrc@nic.in
Shri Dilip Singh Bhuria, Chairperson of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes and Schedules Tribes, Floor 5, Lok Nayak Bhavan, Khan Market, New Delhi-110003, INDIA, Tel: 91-11-4623959, Fax: 91-11-4625378
The Indian embassies and representations in your country.
**************
Geneva - Cairo, 23 December 2003
Kindly inform OMCT and HIC of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply to: omct@omct.org and mmignot@hic-mena.org
The joint urgent appeals of OMCT and HIC-HLRN are dedicated to the protection of the right to adequate housing.
**************
Sample letter
Date
Excellency,
We have been informed by OMCT and Habitat International Coalition-Housing and Land Rights Network that in the morning of December 18, 2003 E. M. Shiva, a 3 year old child, died due to starvation. His family is one of 7,000 Untouchables who were forcibly and illegally evicted from their residences, on 2 February 2003, at Belilious Park, 129 Belilious Road, District Howrah, Calcutta, West Bengal.
The example of E. M. Shiva's death highlights the miserable and destitute conditions in which the evicted people have been living since their eviction by the administration.
Indeed, following their eviction, the evicted families had to settle in the Belgachia garbage dump, where they have been facing horrendous conditions. They have been living on the open street with no shelter from the sun, no drinking water and no sanitary facilities. Until now, the West Bengal State Government has not provided any compensation to the victims and has failed to resettle those who are currently living in miserable conditions. Also, we urge you to take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the families who have been evicted and are living in dangerous conditions.
The Municipality’s eviction of the 7,000 Dalits and their current living conditions contradict, inter alia, their right to water and to adequate housing; i.e., the right of all women, men and children to gain and sustain a secure place to live in peace and dignity. The Indian authorities especially violate these citizens’ entitlements to security of tenure, access to public and environmental goods and services, information, freedom from dispossession, an appropriate housing location, participation, compensation, and physical security. All are elements of the right to adequate housing as recognised in international law. In this case, however, Indian officials have breached the State’s treaty obligations under articles 1, 2, 4, 11, 12, and 15 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), which India accessed to on 19 July 1979. The State has been derelict in its obligations as elaborated in the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights General Comments Nos. 4 and 7 on the right to adequate housing, and General Comment No. 15 on the right to water. India also has breached articles 1, 5 and 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD) that it ratified on 4 January 1969. Therefore, we urge you to respect the international legal standards, and to implement your obligations as a means toward a just and appropriate remedy.
Thanking you in advance for your attention to this matter, we look forward to hearing from your remedial response.
Respectfully,
[Signed]
[Your name]
[Your organisation]
CC: