Stating that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had remained silent on encounters targeting members of minority communities in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, activist Harsh Mander has resigned as the NHRC’s special monitor for communal riots and minorities.
Mr. Mander, a former bureaucrat and human rights activist, highlighted in his resignation letter to NHRC chairperson Justice H.L. Dattu what he called the “continued silence” of the NHRC on the encounter killings of minorities as well as its silence on approaching him for any investigation.
Mr. Mander, along with Maja Daruwala, had been appointed as a special monitor by the NHRC in 2017. In his letter, he said that during a briefing for him and Ms. Daruwala, he was told that the NHRC would ask him to look into matters about the rights of minorities as well as communal violence.
“Ever since my appointment, the NHRC has not reached out to me even once on these issues,” he wrote.
He added that during that briefing they were informed that they should accept the responsibility only if they could “also take the initiative to raise questions of concern” in their mandate.
“This was accepted. In this context, I wrote to the NHRC about encounter killings targeting minorities in UP and Haryana. Despite many reminders, I did not hear back from the NHRC about my proposal to look into these matters,” he wrote.
No response
He added that he also raised the matter of the conditions of the people “deemed to be foreigners” in detention camps in Assam. He said the NHRC had then deputed him on a mission to the detention centres along with two of its officers.
When it came to writing the report for their visit, he said the officers told them to write the report independently, but while he was working on it, the officers had submitted their own report. This report was considered by the NHRC and sent to the Centre and State government, he said. He said he still submitted his report, for which he did not receive a response.
With the process of completing the National Register of Citizens on in Assam, Mr. Mander said, “...this is a matter of extreme urgency from a human rights perspective. There is the possibility of tens of thousands, maybe, even lakhs of Assam residents being declared foreigners.”
Saying there was no scope for him to intervene in these matters within the NHRC, he resigned as special monitor.
“I therefore resign forthwith, so that I can with greater freedom continue to pursue these concerns, including those that I raised with the NHRC of encounter killings targeting minorities in UP and Haryana, and of the legal treatment of persons deemed to be foreigners, in my capacity as an independent human rights defender [sic],” he wrote.
When asked, the NHRC did not comment on Mr. Mander’s letter.
