Manipur News

Mail News Service
Imphal, May 25 : The 13′ session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) examined India’s human rights record in the afternoon on 24lh May 2012. According to reliable information from the United Nations HQ in Geneva, the repeal of AFSPA 1958 is has been put forward as one of the recommendations of the session by Slovakia, with Switzerland and France raising the issue of AFSPA and also making similar recommendations. The Swiss recommendation is also to review AFSPA as per the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1CCPR).
The final report for India will be adopted on the 30th May and the preliminary report is to be made available on 29 May. According to the CSCHR delegation presently attending the session in Geneva, the recommendation for repeal of AFSPA is likely to be retained in the final recommendation.
Other recommendations, with the key issues raised during the review, including call for ratification of the Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), the Convention on Enforced Disappearances (UNCED), protection of Human Rights Defenders, implementation of the recommendations of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in her visit to India (2011), Ratification of 1LO 169 on Indigenous Peoples (mae by Iraq), ratification of the Optional Protocol UNCRC, UNCEDAW, ICCPR, etc.
Permanent Representatives of many countries attending the session in Geneva took serious note of the trend of impunity to human rights violations and recommended to take prompt and effective measures to prosecute those involved in such violations (Spain, UK, US).
The 19-member high-powered India delegation led by Attorney General of India, Goolam E. VAHANVATl with Joint Secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs. Women and Children, Planning, etc. made statements in response to the questions from member states. In total, 80 States participated in the discussion: 31 HRC members and 49 observers.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/repeal-of-afspa-1958-among-recommendations-to-india-by-un-human-rights/

Mail News Service
Imphal, May 25 : The 13′ session of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) examined India’s human rights record in the afternoon on 24lh May 2012. According to reliable information from the United Nations HQ in Geneva, the repeal of AFSPA 1958 is has been put forward as one of the recommendations of the session by Slovakia, with Switzerland and France raising the issue of AFSPA and also making similar recommendations. The Swiss recommendation is also to review AFSPA as per the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1CCPR).
The final report for India will be adopted on the 30th May and the preliminary report is to be made available on 29 May. According to the CSCHR delegation presently attending the session in Geneva, the recommendation for repeal of AFSPA is likely to be retained in the final recommendation.
Other recommendations, with the key issues raised during the review, including call for ratification of the Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), the Convention on Enforced Disappearances (UNCED), protection of Human Rights Defenders, implementation of the recommendations of UN Special Rapporteur on human rights defenders in her visit to India (2011), Ratification of 1LO 169 on Indigenous Peoples (mae by Iraq), ratification of the Optional Protocol UNCRC, UNCEDAW, ICCPR, etc.
Permanent Representatives of many countries attending the session in Geneva took serious note of the trend of impunity to human rights violations and recommended to take prompt and effective measures to prosecute those involved in such violations (Spain, UK, US).
The 19-member high-powered India delegation led by Attorney General of India, Goolam E. VAHANVATl with Joint Secretaries of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of External Affairs. Women and Children, Planning, etc. made statements in response to the questions from member states. In total, 80 States participated in the discussion: 31 HRC members and 49 observers.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/repeal-of-afspa-1958-among-recommendations-to-india-by-un-human-rights/

Imphal. May 25 NNN : Goods made in the state of Karnataka were seized by students and burnt in the presence of media persons at a place in Imphal today, as part of the agitation against the neglect of the Congress government in Manipur to give pressure to concerned authorities regarding the suspicious death Loitam Richard.
The six students’ organizations AMSU, DESAM, MSF, KSA, SUK and SWAK are protesting the negligence of the state government to give pressure to the Karnataka government and the Indian government to allow the CBI to investigate into the murder of Richard Loitam.
Around 10 students are reported to have been arrested by Imphal city police while the students were conducting a drive in the two main market areas to seize goods made in Karnataka.
The students were successful in their mission as most of them return safely after the drive, though some of them were arrested by the police, said AMSU president Suresh.
He said that the six students’ organizations have been agitating in democratic ways from May 4 to demand proper investigation and justice regarding the suspicious deaths of two students from Manipur, Richard and Laaba, but the state government has been deaf to the demand of the students to take a pro-active role on behalf of the people of Manipur to demand the concerned governments to investigate the deaths of the two students who had died under suspicious circumstance, and even to hand over the case to the CBI if necessary.
But till now no appropriate action has been forthcoming from the side of the government, which has led the students to take the drastic step of seizing and burning of goods made in the states where the students had been killed, said the AMSU president, and added that such drives will continue till proper response from the side of the state government is visible.
Meanwhile, Manipuris based at Karnataka have expressed reservations about the decision of the students’ organizations to ban goods made in Karnataka in Manipur and entry of educational counselors from Karnataka in the state.
Some have described the decision as an immature decision while others have urged the students’ organizations not to mix up state affairs with an isolated case of murder. Some others have opined that it might cause negative impacts on the lives of Manipuri students and residents who are staying in Karnataka.
On the other hand, student leaders in Manipur have described it as a non-cooperation movement as well as a direct message to the Karnataka government to hand over the case of Richard Loitam to CBI for an impartial investigation and to accelerate the case at the earliest possible.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/students-burn-karnataka-products-to-protest-richard-laaba-killings/

Kohima, May 25: A one day workshop on Citizen Centric e-Governmenance was held at SIRD Auditorium, Kohima today.
Vikho-o Yhoshü, Advisor, Information Technology & Communications (IT&C), Government of Nagaland, inaugurated the workshop.
Delivering the his inaugural address, Sh Yhoshü said that the rising popularity of internet, widespread mobile access and the rapid take-up of social media tools mean that the governments will need to be more connected, innovative and more efficient in harnessing information and communication technologies (ICT) to deliver higher, more sustainable public value.
Providing an example of the power of social media, he said, “The news of dramatic operation in Abbottabad in Pakistan first broke out on twitter through a person who unwittingly twitted about the secret operation as it unfolded, before the news was officially delivered by US President Barack Obama hours later.”
He added, “The emergence of new information technologies calls for fundamental rethinking and transformable shifts in the way we look at e-governance. Government must take up the roles of a facilitator and enabler to collaborate with public, private and people in creating new solutions, new businesses and new wealth.”
Informing about the government’s efforts in reforming the service delivery, he said, “To accelerate the delivery of public services, the state government has implemented 25 reforms under the state portal and state service delivery gateway (SSDG) project.” He said that under IT policy the government has asked all departments to implement at least one government-to-citizen service. Slowly, but steadily, other mission mode projects, under the national e-governance plan (NeGP) such as treasury, police, public distribution system, commercial taxes are in the process of implementation, he added.
While delivering the keynote address, Sh Lalthara, Chief Secretary, Government of Nagaland, said that the government is always slow to reforms and resistant to innovation. To address this issue, NeGP is the right solution, which aims to upgrade working of the administrators, and reforms the service delivery system to benefit the citizens, he said.
Referring to the government personnel, he said that the societies are undergoing an ICT revolution and those who refuse to be a part of this, would be left out.
Pointing at leveraging the ICT sector for providing employment opportunities to the local youth, he said, “Providing employment is one of the biggest challenges that state government has been facing.
He also said that use of ICT in government leads to greater transparency. “Through e-governance, we can send files, electronically, and maintain records. The transparency thus achieved results in lesser corruption,” he said.
Sh K T Sukhalu, Commissioner & Secretary, IT & C department, Government of Nagaland, said that successful e-government is more than just deploying hardware and software. “Putting a PC on the desk and rolling out broadband doesn’t lead to better efficiency and higher productivity. It is when these investments are combined with good governance that we can not only achieve administrative efficiency but also make a positive impact on the lives of citizens.”
Elaborating on the implementation status of e-governance projects, he said, “The state has provided video conferencing facility in all the districts. Internet connectivity through WIMAX and optical fibre has been provided to 60 directorates in Kohima. The government has competed implementation of SDC. We have also set up 12 point of presence (POP) under SWAN.”
Talking about the challenges, he said that the lack of internal capacity to drive e-governance projects has been one of the biggest challenges. “As per the IT policy, each department had to constitute an IT task force under the chairmanship of heads of departments which will be responsible for implementation and monitoring of IT programme.”
“In this regard, the government is also considering creating a pool of IT professionals to form an IT-based cadre on the lines of treasury and accounts,” he said.

Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/nagaland-implements-25-reforms-under-state-portal-and-state-service-delivery-gateway/