One staff member and two volunteers of the Centre for Social Development
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2018-063-003
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2018
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 20.593684
Longitude: 78.96288
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- India
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- Assistant Secretary-General
- Dates of prior UN action
- 7 June 2018
- Type of record
- Unnamed individual/group/organization
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Type of rights defended
- Indigenous peoples’ rights
- Land rights/environment
- Was the victim a civil servant or member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
The Centre for Social Development submitted a report in October 2017 to the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights and to the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination which included inquiries related to uranium mining and cement factories in Meghalaya. According to the Centre for Social Development, it has submitted nine reports to the United Nations since 2006 concerning violations of the rights of indigenous peoples in northeast India in relation to large-scale development projects, mining operations, and implementation of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act. They have requested the Committee’s action under its early warning procedure.
- Engagement with UN body
- UN Treaty Bodies: CERD
- UN Special Procedures: thematic
- Dates of engagement
- since 2006; October 2017
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- November 2017
- Reprisal information
One staff member was physically attacked on 18 August 2017 [CODED SEPARATELY]. In November 2017, one staff member and two volunteers of the organization were called in for questioning by the police [CODED HERE].
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Threats/Intimidations (incl. "fear of reprisal")
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- Yes
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- No
- Government response dates
- 2 July 2018
- Government response content
responded that the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act of 2010 prohibits acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution for activities detrimental to national interest. It noted that ... the Centre for Social Development “needs to conform to the legal framework and the requirements under FCRA.”
- 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
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 0