Dr. Harshinindar Kaur

Cases

Relevant SG report

From Country

Country Geolocation

Latitude: 20.593684

Longitude: 78.96288

From Region

UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report

Individual's/organization's activity: Representing the Mbororo Social and Cultural Development Association; statement pertained to violence against women, and more particularly to concerns of human rights violations against women in India in the form of female foeticide, female infanticide, dowry practices and rape.

Type of rights defended

Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?: No

Reported trigger of reprisal: Dr. Kaur delivered a public statement to the eleventh session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2009, as part of the general debate on item 3 of the Council agenda. Her written and oral statement pertained to violence against women, and more particularly to concerns of human rights violations against women in India in the form of female foeticide, female infanticide, dowry practices and rape. In the statement, Dr. Kaur expressed general concern about these human rights violations and provided some supporting statistics.

Engagement with UN body

Type of attempted engagement

Reprisal information: Reportedly, following the statement of the afternoon of 8 June, Dr. Kaur was approached by a person who identified herself as a “very senior Government official of India” in the Palais des Nations building in Geneva, and was verbally threatened with retaliation. The aforementioned individual allegedly threatened Dr. Kaur by telling her that high-ranking officials in India and the Punjab region had been contacted about her statements, inquiring about her family’s whereabouts, and telling her that she could harm her once she was back in India. Subsequently, an employee described as being from the central Government (the Central Bureau of Investigation), visited Dr. Kaur’s house in the Punjab region, to enquire about her statement at the Human Rights Council.

Types of reprisals suffered

Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?: No

Government response content: stating that it had examined the communication and found the allegations to be inaccurate. No Government of India official contacted the subject in Geneva on 8 June 2009. As regards the allegation of a visit by an official of the Bureau to her house in Punjab, the allegation had been investigated by the local office of the Bureau, which found it to be untrue. Subsequent to the allegation, the Bureau contacted the subject and provided her with contact details to help her should she be approached in future by any person acting in the name of the Bureau.

Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?: No

Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?: No

Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?: No