Human Rights in India Status Report 2012 PREPARED FOR INDIA’S SECOND UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW AT THE UN Human Rights in India Status Report 2012 PREPARED FOR INDIA’S SECOND UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW AT THE UN SECRETARIAT, WORKING GROUP ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA AND THE UN A-1 Nizamuddin East, Lower Ground Floor, New Delhi 110 013, INDIA T +91.11.24358492 M +91.9899020452 W www.wghr.org i Published by SECRETARIAT, WORKING GROUP ON HUMAN RIGHTS IN INDIA AND THE UN WorkingA-1 Nizamuddin Group East, Lower on Ground Human Floor, New Rights Delhi 110 013, INDIA inT +91.11.24358492 India and the M +91. UN9899020452 W www.wghr.org G-18/1 Nizamuddin West, Lower Ground Floor, New Delhi - 110 013, INDIA T/ F: +91-11-2435-8492 E:
[email protected] www.wghr.org Print: May 2012 Cover photo: Marco Pari / Flickr Design & Print: Aspire Design ii Foreword The present report gives a general overview of the most critical human rights issues in India today. It has been drafted as a background document to assist in the preparation of India’s second Universal Periodic Review (UPR) scheduled to take place in Geneva on 24 May, 2012. The UPR is a unique process conducted by the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), involving a review of the human rights record of all 192 UN Member States once every four and a half years.i The Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) submitted a stakeholders’ report to OHCHR in November 2011.ii The present report is a more detailed and comprehensive version of WGHR’s stakeholders’ report that includes: n Information gathered from five regional and one national consultation held with civil society across India from August to October 2011;iii n Case studies that illustrate the text of the report; n WGHR’s initial response to the Government of India’s national report to the second UPR; n An up-to-date analysis of the status of implementation of the 18 recommendations made to India during the first UPR.iv As is amply evident from the report, much remains to be done to improve the human rights situation in India.