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Paramilitary must desist from using illegal forces: ICJ

Last Updated 17 December 2019, 12:40 IST

The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) on Monday said that police and paramilitary forces in India must desist from use of unlawful force and ill-treatment against demonstrators protesting against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The ICJ called upon government of India to abide by the guarantees of the Constitution of India and international legal obligations on human rights, which protect people from torture and ill-treatment and safeguard the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly.

“They also require that police refrain from using unnecessary and disproportionate force and never use potentially lethal force unless to protect against an imminent threat to life,” said the commission.

The ICJ is comprised of up to sixty globally acclaimed legal luminaries, including senior judges, attorneys and academics, with the professed objective of ensuring respect for international human rights standards through the law.

“The Indian Police Service and the paramilitary Central Reserve Police Force must desist from the use of unlawful force and ill-treatment against demonstrators protesting the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Indian authorities must hold police and other public officials accountable for the human rights violations arising from these police actions,” the ICJ said amid reports of police crackdown on protesters of the Jamia Millia Islamia university.

“The violent tactics that police have used over the past several days in Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and other Indian states must cease and the government must address the legitimate concerns raised by the public about the discriminatory impacts of both the Citizenship Amendment Act and National Register of Indian Citizenship,” said Frederick Rawski, ICJ Asia Pacific Director.

“Any officials who use excessive force, including the unlawful or disproportionate use of pellet guns or tear gas cannons against unarmed student protesters, must be fully and impartially investigated and held accountable for their actions.”

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(Published 16 December 2019, 15:18 IST)

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