Lodge complaint with UN body over deporting of immigrants in shackles
The manner in which 104 illegal immigrants were deported by the US has sparked massive outrage in the country.
Barring women and children, the rest were said to have been restrained, handcuffed and chained during their 40-hour travel in the US military aircraft -- a C-17 Globemaster -- that landed in Amritsar on Wednesday.
There are bilateral arrangements on deportation between two friendly countries. These are more at the diplomatic level and are not publicly disclosed. En masse deportation of illegal immigrants imposing restraint is violative of their dignity.
It is against the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), 1976 and the United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, 1984.
While India does not have any jurisdiction on actions taken by a foreign country on its soil, it may be able to initiate a complaint before the UN Human Rights Committee under the inter-state disputes process under Article 41 of the ICCPR, for violation of human rights protected under the ICCPR.
An impediment to this process, however, is that India has not subjected itself to such similar examination by the HR Committee, which could be a basis to deny jurisdiction,.
Article 7 of the ICCPR states that “no one shall be subjected to torture or cruelty, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
Article 10 of the covenant provides that “all persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person.”
As per the Supreme Court, “handcuffing, except in extreme circumstances, is against human dignity and is a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.
India signed and ratified the ICCPR on April 10, 1979. It had signed but not ratified the Convention Against Torture.
The US is party to the ICCPR and a signatory to the Convention Against Torture, which it ratified on October 21, 1994.
On deportation, the MEA website states that it “can be done by a foreign country when a foreigner violates the immigration laws of that country. In most cases the Indian Embassy/Consulate will not be able to intervene in preventing such deportation.
However, in cases where the concerned Indian national is not at fault or feels he is being unfairly deported, this can be brought to the notice of the Embassy/Consulate so that it can be taken up with the local immigration authorities concerned.”
In response to a question on deportation of Indians from various countries on February 8, 2024 in the Rajya Sabha, the then MoS, Ministry of External Affairs, V Muraleedharan had stated,
Many foreign countries do not provide information on illegal stay in their countries, except when they are under orders of deportation and travel document/nationality verification is required. As such, our Missions and Posts do not have any reliable data on the number of Indians staying or working illegally in foreign countries.
For legal migration, the MEA has taken several initiatives such as Pravasi Bhartiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) and Pre Departure Orientation & Training (PDOT) to ensure that migrant workers undertake safe migration, have safe working and living conditions in the destination countries and are aware of their rights and have access to the government’s welfare schemes.
The MEA’s campaign launched in 2018 -- Surakshit Jayen Prashikshit Jayen (Go safe, Go trained) -- was aimed at bringing awareness to prospective emigrants. But clearly the message has not reached many of its intended recipients.
