IMPHAL, September 13: On the occasion of the 5th Anniversary of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Centre for Organisation Research and Education, CORE conveys peace, harmony and equality in the state, a CORE statement said today.
The Declaration is now endorsed by the majority of UN member states including India which is a comprehensive human rights instrument for indigenous people’s collective and individual rights, it said and added, it has legal implications and is formed under the auspice existing relevant international laws.
It is high time for democracies like India to repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958 and Disturbed Area Act among others that acts as draconian tools to violate and suppress the rights of indigenous peoples, the CORE statement said and added, such steps are needed to build accountabilities and trust in order to herald sustainable processes of peaceful and humane socio-political and socio-religious development that respect and promote the rights of indigenous peoples of India.