HRW denies being ‘quiet’ on rape cases in India

FILE: The Human Rights Watch on Tuesday, May 8, belied the claim of Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III that the international human rights group was silent on the rape cases in India. (Photo: Senate of the Philippines/Facebook)

The Human Rights Watch on Tuesday, May 8, belied the claim of Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III that the international human rights group was silent on the rape cases in India.

In its statement, HRW’s South Asia Director Meenakshi Ganguly said the rights groups “has repeatedly criticized sexual violence in India, calling for an end to institutional barriers to justice, and has recommended reforming and training the police.”

Sotto, in a tweet on Monday, May 7, said the rights watchdogs give too much attention on the country’s war on illegal drugs but says nothing about the cases of rape in the South Asian nation.

“Another daily gang rape in India. Sinunog pa (They even burned the victim). Bakit quiet mga international human rightists? Drugs lang concern nila (Why are international human rights group quiet? Are the only concerned about drugs)?” Sotto said, tagging pro-administration blogger’s account, Thinking Pinoy.

The senator did not specify much on what case he was referring to, but he could have been talking about a 17-year-old Indian girl who was drenched in kerosene and set alight after she was raped.

Her case came on the same day a 16-year-old was raped and burned to death in the same eastern state of Jharkhand.

The HRW pointed out that Sotto’s allegation was wrong.

As a matter of fact, the rights watchdogs urged the Indian government to take proper actions to address the said issue and make sex offenders liable for their crimes.

Aside from this, the HRW also published a report last month, which shows the lack of justice given to the victims of sexual violence in India, particularly those women and girls who have disability.

“We draw attention to human rights violations in over 90 countries including in the Philippines, where the spate of extrajudicial killings, apparently with the government’s blessing as it engages in a war on drugs, has however shocked people around the world,” Ganguly continued.

It was not only the HRW that issued a statement and report about the rape crimes in India but there are also other international human rights watchdogs who were concerned about it, including Amnesty International.

Amnesty International, a London-based non-governmental organization, even launched an interactive website called Halt the Hate last March, which aims to document alleged hate crimes —  such as rape, assault, and murder in India.