HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS EXPRESSES CONCERN ON THE PLIGHT OF THE DISPLACED IN GUJARAT, INDIA

04.09.02

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, called on the Government of India to ensure that those persons internally displaced since the outbreak of violence on 27 February in Gujarat, are not cut off from life-saving assistance, including adequate shelter, as a result of the ongoing closure of relief camps.
Concerned by reports that the closure of almost all of the 121 camps said to have been set up in the State of Gujarat, has led to people moving to unofficial camps instead of returning to their homes, the High Commissioner emphasized the responsibility of the State in ensuring conditions which would encourage people to return to their homes voluntarily and with dignity. Such conditions include : prosecuting the perpetrators of the violence and taking steps to realise the right to adequate housing. The High Commissioner, referring to a recent report (16 August) of the Election Commission of India, expressed concern that "the slow progress in relief and rehabilitation work on the one hand and non-arrest and non-punishment of the guilty and fear of communal backlash on the other have hampered the process of restoration of normalcy to the State."
With elections imminent, the High Commissioner recognized India's history of firm commitment to upholding citizens' right to vote and underlined the need for the safe and voluntary return of people to their homes to achieve a more accurate electoral roll, enabling more Gujaratis to exercise their right to vote.
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