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14 September, 2007, London: The
twentieth anniversary conference for the Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative "Human rights for human wrongs: the continuing
Commonwealth challenge" on how to make the Commonwealth more
effective for the rights of citizens, for non-governmental advocacy,
and in the meetings of its Heads and Ministers.
April 28-29 2007, New Delhi/India: CHRI facilitated
a national workshop on the implementation of and compliance with
the Supreme Court directives on police reform. Over 60 representatives
from all over the country, from across government, civil society,
media, and police organisations discussed and debated the nature
of police reform at the workshop, which was dubbed "A People's
Campaign for Better Policing". After the workshop, several
delegates have expressed interest in organising workshops with
CHRI in their states on police reform and their state government's
compliance with the Court's directives.
23-24 March, 2007, New Delhi/India: CHRI organised
a two-day Roundtable on police reform experiences in South Asia.
This was attended by civil society, police and government officials
from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and India.
24-25 February, 2007, Tirupathi/India: CHRI held
a workshop for about 40 judges of Chittoor district as part of
the series of planned workshops to sensitise judges to the use
of human rights in the administration of justice. 4 judges of
the high court also attended.
12-13 June, 2006, Arusha/Tanzania:
CHRI was facilitated a 2 day workshop on police accountability
in the East Africa region, in collaboration with the East Africa
Law Society. As part of the workshop, a series of reports on policing
in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, produced with the financial assistance
of the Ford Foundation, was also launched.
10 June, 2006, New Delhi/India:
The CHRI Access to Justice Programme was hosted a Roundtable Conference
on Policing and Public Order alongwith the Administrative
Commission. The participants were 26 persons at the forefront
of the civil liberties movement in India. Most were lawyers. In
addition, there were four members of the Administrative Reforms
Commission in attendance.
29 March, 2006. New Delhi/India:
A one-day consultative meeting on police reforms with civil society
groups across the country was jointly organised by the
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the Indian Social
Institute (ISI).
27-28 March, 2006, New Delhi/India:
A Two-day National Conference on the Working of the Right to
Information Act was jointly organised by the Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and the Indian Social Institute
(ISI).
21-22 January, 2006, Rajasthan/India:
The Prison and Human Rights Program organised two day workshop
on Prison Visiting System at Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The
objective of the workshop were:
- Bringing together all the agencies of the Criminal
Justice System together at one forum so as to develop a culture
of an integrated approach to the problems of prisons that defy
solution by prison department in isolation;
- Discussing prevalent conditions of prisons
with senior officers of the Department of Prisons and the controlling
administrative Department of Home and Justice.
- Highlighting the need for reviving Prison
Visiting System as a potential tool for prison reforms and Seeking
cooperation and support of the government and of NGOs in this
effort.
26-27 November, 2005, Bhopal/India:
The Prison and Human Rights Program of CHRI in association with
the Department of Prisons of Madhya Pradesh organized a 2-day
workshop on Prison Visiting System (Community Intervention in
Prisons).
- The workshop was focused on community participation
in the reformation of the prisons and prisoners.
- It also aimed at giving a training to the Non
official visitors about their role and duties in the Prison
Visiting System.
- The workshop involved all the Non- Official
Visitors, Prison officials, Member of the state Human Rights
Commission, Non-Governmental Organization, different agencies
of the Criminal Justice System, and media to come to a consensus
for a productive criminal justice system.
20-21 November, 2005, Valletta/Malta:
CHRI organised the 2005
Commonwealth Human Rights Forum (CHRF) in Valletta, Malta
on 20 & 21 November 2005.
14-15 October, 2005, Accra/Ghana:
CHRI hosted a meeting on police accountability in the Commonwealth
African region.
29 August, 2005, Chhattisgarh/India:
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in collaboration with
the State Human Rights Commission, Chhattisgarh organised a workshop
on Police Media Interface. The aim of the workshop was to create
a dialogue between the two arms of a democratic society. The media
is the vector which carries forward public opinion and more importantly
helps to create an informed opinion about the performance of various
machinaries of the government, in this case the police. Thereby
in bringing both the stakeholders on a common platform CHRI tried
to help catalyse an effective partnership in working towards a
civil society.
The
main objectives of the workshop were:
- to deliberate on the experiences of the media
while interacting with the police and the resultant impact on
reporting.
- to understand the complexities of policing
and the policies they adopt while interacting with the media
- to build a stronger police media interface
through workable solutions.
Venue:
Hotel Babylon, Raipur, Chhattisgarh
This
was followed by the workshop on the same subject in Bhopal, Madhya
Pradesh which CHRI organised in colloboration with the Madhya
Pradesh Press Club on 2 September 2005 at Hotel Palash
Residency, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
7 July, 2005, Bhopal/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in collaboration with the Ministry
of Home Affairs, (MHA) Government of India organised a workshop
on Police Public Interface: Making it Happen. The workshop was
a part of the series organised by the MHA in Chennai and Kolkata,
and with CHRI in New Delhi and Mumbai. The main aim of the series
was to catalyse discussions between the police and the people
in bringing about a secure relationship between both the groups
in working towards a more humane policing.
The
main objectives of the workshop were:
- to deliberate on important policing issues
which have an impact on the people,
- to bring in the best practices taking place
in different parts on the country,
- to build a stronger police public interface
through workable solutions.
24-26 May, 2005, New Delhi/ India:
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative organised a conference on
“Effective Implementation: Preparing to Implement the new
India Right to Information Law”. The first day of the conference
was attended by members from the civil society. The last two days
of the conference addressed members of the government.
The
objective of the conference, which involved both civil society
and government officials, was to discuss practical ways of dealing
with the key implementation challenges that the Indian Government
will have to manage when bedding down the new right to information
law. The purpose was to examine the practicalities of establishing
and running an Information Commission (or even multiple Commissions
throughout the country) and draw out the experience of Information
Commissioners in preparing for implementation more generally,
for example, in respect of facilitating the implementation of
proactive disclosure provisions, undertaking training for public
officials, developing guidance notes on exemptions and managing
the application and appeal process.
14-15 May, 2005, Pune/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) and Yeshwantrao Chavan Academy
of Development Administration (YASHADA) organised a workshop on
the 'Right to Information and the Media: Past Experiences and
Future Possibilities'.
The
purpose of the workshop was to highlight examples of the successful
and effective use of Maharashtra Right to Information Act (MRTIA)
by media persons, activists and other members of the civil society
at large. Media persons and activists were invited to relate how
they used the law to secure transparency in public affairs.
23-24 March, 2005, New Delhi/India:
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative in collaboration with Press
Institute of India (PII) conducted a national level workshop 'Media
on Police Reforms'. This initiative was to highlight the need
for police reforms in the country and the important role that
the media plays in advocating the same.
27 March, 2005, Hyderabad/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative in association with the Department of
Prisons and Correctional Services in Andhra Pradesh, held a one
day workshop on Prison Visiting System (Community Intervention
in Prisons). The event was a conglomeration of different stake-holders
in prison reforms - prison personnel, non-official visitors, official
visitors from the criminal justice system, NGOs, and the media
- to pool their views on the standards prescribed for community
participation in prisons and to evaluate the ground realities
of their implementation. The aim of the workshop was to break
ground for more community participation in the reformation of
prisons and prisoners.
The
workshop explored possibilities of networking community resources
and voluntary welfare activities to supplement government efforts
for the improvement of prison conditions.
19 January, 2005, New Delhi/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) in collaboration with the India
International Centre organised a public talk on "Policing
in South Africa - from Apartheid to Democratic Policing".
Ms Elrena Van der Spuy, Director of the Institute of Criminology,
University of Cape Town addressed the conference. Ms Van der Spuy,
an expert on policing in South Africa took us through the journey
of policing from the days of apartheid to that of modern day democratic
policing in South Africa. She also discussed the challenges faced
in transforming the police force working in a diverse and largely
poor society seeking to change its fundamental structure. Ms.
Van der Spuy also seeked to draw parallel some of the conditions
that exist both in India and South Africa.
29-30 January, 2005, Chhattisgarh/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) conducted a two day workshop for
Non Official Visitors (NOVs) appraising them about the system
of Prison visitors in the state of Chhattisgarh appraising them
about the system of Prison visitors in the state of Chhattisgarh.
This initiative was part of the study of the System of Prison
Visitors undertaken by CHRI in the state of Chhattisgarh with
the active support and cooperation of the Department of Home,
Government of Chhattisgarh, and the Prison Department. The study
was based on an empirical survey of prisons and sub-jails in the
state and on information gathered on various aspects of the Prison
Visiting System from prison officials, prisoners, prison visitors
(both official and non-official) and from officers of other departments
posted at prisons. This study, in essence, reaffirmed the important
role prison visitors can play in the improvement of prison conditions
and in the reformation and rehabilitation of offenders.
Click here
for the agenda of the workshop.
14-15 December,
2004, Madhya Pradesh/India: Commonwealth Human Rights
Initiative organised a two-day workshop on "Right to Information-Regional
Workshop" or "Soochna Ka Adhikar: Kshetriya Karyalay".
This
workshop was a capacity building for NGOs and Activists from Madhya
Pradesh and Chhattisgarh on Right to Information.
8 December, 2004, Lucknow/India: Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative released the hindi edition of "Human
Rights and Poverty Eradication : A Talisman for the Commonwealth".
First released in 2001, the report is the first of its kind and
was substantially reworked to emphasise the situation in South
Asia in the Hindi edition. CHRI started with the premise that
the very existence of poverty is a rights violation. It looked
at the nature and causes of poverty; examined the value of using
a rights-based approach to eradicate it; suggested ways in which
it can be done and provided recommendations. It urged governments
to act in accordance with their own policy statements and the
legal obligations they have undertaken nationally and internationally
(contained in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and
other instruments).
10 December, 2004, New Delhi/India:
The Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, New Delhi published
its first ever guide for citizens to access India’s National
Human Rights Commission and the growing number of state commissions.
The Handbook (endorsed by the National Human Rights Commission)
is being launched on the occasion of Human Rights Day, commemorating
the anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights by the United Nations.
The
Handbook contains practical information on how best to access
human rights commissions and will be an invaluable aid for non-
governmental organisations and concerned citizens.
2 November, 2004, Mumbai/India: Ministry of Home
Affairs in association with the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative
and the Government of Maharashtra organised a day long Seminar
on "POLICE & PUBLIC INTERFACE: MAKING IT HAPPEN".
As
part of its continued initiative in bringing about a systematic
change in police reforms, the interface was designed to bring
together various stakeholders such as the civil society, government
and the law-enforcing establishment to reduce the vacuum in channels
of communication and to bring about effective changes in the functioning
and dealing of police personnel with the public in general.
Click
here for the agenda.
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