Armymen lay stress on upholding human rights

He stated that with the nuclear deterrent, the possibility of war is remote and the stress is on low-intensity conflicts, which is also a global phenomenon. In this context, adequate training on human rights issues is required. Political will-power, he said, is required to deal with such phenomena and authorities should not be insensitive towards human rights violations.

In his keynote address, the General Officer Commanding, 1 Armoured Division, Maj Gen P.P.S. Bhandari, said that with the concept of human rights assuming global importance, the subject no longer has exclusive domestic jurisdiction and the violations of human rights is condemned beyond the frontiers of the concerned country.

Stating that terrorist groups strive on a disinformation campaign, he said one of their strategies is making allegations of human rights violations and also to compel people to do likewise in order to prevent the security forces from carrying out their duties.

Maj Gen Bhandari said that in the process, human rights of a large number of people who are subjugated through the gun by militants are sacrificed. He added that the Army8217;s human rights record while engaged in conflict situations in India as well as abroad speaks of its rich culture, heritage, training and experience. Earlier, welcoming the delegates, the Commander, 612 Mechanised Air Defence Brigade, Brig A.K. Asthana, said that human rights can be ensured by creating a necessary and appropriate public opinion and this seminar is an effort towards enhancing awareness level among soldiers.

He said that a Human Rights Cell had been established at Army Headquarters well before the National Human Rights Commission came into being. The Army, he added, is fully aware of the fact that quot;reasonablequot; restrictions imposed on liberties, where required, must be objective and in the general interest of the society as a whole, resulting in human rights and social control as envisioned by framers of the Constitution. An interactive session on quot;Upholding human rights in conflict environment 8212; Army8217;s commitment and dilemmaquot;, chaired by Deputy Director General Discipline and Vigilance Brig R.P.S. Shergill debated human rights aspects related to low-intensity conflicts, modus operandi of anti-national elements and violation of human rights by them.

Steps taken by the Army to exercise restraint and uphold human rights while carrying out its tasks and the need to create an ad hoc organisation at the formation level for handling human rights allegations while conducting low-intensity conflict operations were also highlighted.

In the second session on quot;The role of media, civil administration and NGOs in projection of human rightsquot;, issues including effects of low-intensity conflict on the civil administration, police and the media as well as their role and responsibilities were debated upon. The need for the media to reflect the concerns of society on human rights issues and combating terrorism, defence public relations organisation as well as training officers for media interaction was also discussed. Another session, quot;Human rights and the Indian Army Legal implicationsquot;, scheduled for tomorrow, will reflect on human rights and military laws, predicaments of the Army in operations and the related provisions of the CrPC, and practical aspects of legal requirements.