As many as 17 civil society organisations of Manipur on behalf of the people of the state thanked the United Nations for the attention that it has given to the present Manipur crisis, all the while highlighting the need to ensure protection of the state under United Nations’ tenet of Responsibility to Protect, also known as R2P.
The CSOs, in a declaration dated October 24, particularly thanked United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, for highlighting the prevailing conflict in the State in a media briefing on May 23, 2023 and again in his inaugural address of the 54th Session of Human Rights Council on September 11, 2023.
It drew the attention of the people of Manipur to R2P norm that seeks to ensure that the international community never again fails to halt the mass atrocity crimes of genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
It highlighted the three pillars of R2P and its key points, which said that every state has the Responsibility to Protect its populations from four mass atrocity crimes, genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing; the wider international community has the responsibility to encourage and assist individual states in meeting that responsibility, and if a state is manifestly failing to protect its populations, the international community must be prepared to take appropriate collective action, in a timely and decisive manner and in accordance with the UN Charter.
It questioned the Central and state governments on their response to the continuing unrest.
The CSOs also stressed the need to start an intensive dialogue with the State and Central authorities so that the lapses in the protection of the people are brought to the notice of the international authorities with impeccable compilation of facts and figures including the enveloping sense of loss of the people not excluding the fortunate ones whose families are intact, it mentioned.
The 17 CSOs include All Manipur Nupi Marup (AMNM), All Manipur Tammi-Chingmi Nupi Marup (AMTCNM), All Manipur Women’s Social Reformation and Development Samaj (AMWSRDS), All Manipur Women’s Voluntary Association (AMAWOVA), Chanura Lamjinglen Kangleipak (CLK), Human Rights Alert (HRA), International Peace and Social Advancement (IPSA), Kangleipak Students’ Association (KSA), Leimarol Lamjingkon (LEIMAKON), Manipur Chanura Leishem Marup (MACHA LEIMA), Manipur International Youth Centre (MIYC), Manipuri Students’ Federation (MSF), Nupi Union for Peace and Integrity (NUPI), Poirei Leimarol Meira Paibi Apunba Manipur (PLMPAM), United People’s Front (UPF) and Women’s United Development Organisation Manipur (WUDOMAN).
Meanwhile, during the observation of the 79th United Nations (UN) Day at Imphal on October 24, MIYC Coordinator MC Meetei highlighted the establishment of the UN on the same day in 1945 with a hope of global unity and ending colonialism in the world, stated a release.
He said Manipur, itself has been a civilisation that could withstand the test of time and human tyranny adding that its civilisation continues till today facing the test of history, it stated.
Manipur is the only nation that has a two millennia old documented history with lineages of 76 kings that ruled uninterruptedly with a territory ten times bigger than the present-day territorial area of Manipur, he said.
The Manipur Merger Agreement of 21 September 1949 stands a clear testimony that Manipur was never a part of India before the alleged annexation of Manipur by India on 15 October 1949 in clear violation of the Article 2(4) of the UN Charter of which India was a signatory member among the 51 original member states, it mentioned.
He further deplored the alleged failure of the Central government in containing the present crisis in Manipur and doubted that the Kuki armed groups are being used as mercenaries and auxiliary forces to wage a proxy war in Manipur as the ethnic cleansing of Meiteis have been allegedly completed in Churachandpur, Moreh and Kangpokpi, it added.
Speaking at the event, RK Sanayaima mentioned about the violence that erupted on May 3 and alleged that ethnic cleansing of the Meiteis by Kuki Aggression on Manipur has been completed with the government of India taking no responsibility to protect the innocent civilians, public properties and religious sites, it said.
The Central forces remained a mere spectator to all these varied crimes and atrocities perpetrated by the Kuki aggressors, he accused. He claimed that Manipur has become a failed state wherein the chief minister has been completely removed from the home affairs, the release said.
He said the Manipuris are left to defend their villages, land and the territorial integrity of Manipur and the same stands the facts where the people are compelled to explore ways to protect themselves under the international doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect, it stated. He also urged the CSOs and Meira Paibis to stand unitedly to thwart any evil designs to disturb the territorial integrity of Manipur, it added.
