UN rights rapporteur recommends AFSPA repeal

Margaret Sekaggya, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, has recommended that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act and other such laws should be repealed.

Srinagar: Margaret Sekaggya, the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on human rights, has recommended that the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and other such laws should be repealed in the light of international human rights standards.

The Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDP) Saturday said Margaret Sekaggya, who visited Kashmir Jan 19 last year, has incorporated the views of the APDP in her recommendations to the UN human rights council in the 19th session held Feb 6, 2012.

The activists of APDP sat on a silent Dharna in Pratap Park near city centre Lal Chowk Saturday distributing copies of statements to mediapersons. The UN rapporteur has recommended that the functioning of the national human rights commission in India should be reviewed.

The national security act, the AFSPA, the Jammu and Kashmir public safety act and the Chhattisgarh public safety act should be repealed, the UN rapporteur has recommended. Recommendations made by the UN rapporteur on human rights include that the legitimacy of human rights defenders be recognised, and security forces be instructed to respect the work, rights and fundamental freedoms of human rights defenders.
IANS