IMPHAL, October 9: The Centre for Organisation Research and Education, CORE has expressed appreciation over the reported agreement between Zeliangrong civil organisations and GPRN/NSCN citing that the agreement has abided by the Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions of 1949.
A statement of the CORE has appreciated the reported agreement issued in a joint statement by the All Zeliangrong Students Union-Assam, Manipur, Nagaland (AZSU-AMN), Zeliangrong Youth Front-Assam, Manipur, Nagaland (ZYFAMN), Zeliangrong Baudi Manipur (ZB) and Zeliangrong Students Union Manipur (ZSUM), between Zeliangrong civil society bodies and Government of People’s Republic of Nagalim (GPRN)/National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) to protect the physical integrity of civilians including civil organisation leaders from torture, other forms of ill-treatment such as harassment, etc.
It has continued that while CORE condole the recent death of Chunthuigai Kamei, State Secretary of ZSUM, it recognise the important implication of such an agreement that avows the protection of civilians in the situation of non-international armed conflict prevailing in Manipur for several decades.
“The significance of traditional civil and public organisations’ effective participation and intervention in the situation in order to promote and protect human rights and uphold international humanitarian principles is to be applauded as an unprecedented development in this situation in Manipur”, it said.
CORE believes that the agreement signed at Longmai (Noney) on October 3 is well within the ambit of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, 1949, which states that “in the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:
(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed ‘hors de combat’ by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.
To this end, the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;
(b) Taking of hostages;
(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;
(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.
(2) The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.”
It further said that an agreement is only as good as its implementation. It is to be expected that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), an impartial humanitarian body, should be invited to independently and impartially monitor the implementation and may offer its services to the parties.
CORE also encourages the GPRN/NSCN to extend the scope of such an agreement, through a unilateral declaration, to other areas of Manipur and so-called North East region of India as well as in neighbouring countries wherever it may be operational and armed conflict is effective.