A Southasian Charter of Human Rights

At one point, the creation of SAARC was viewed with both optimism and anticipation, for two reasons. First, the organisation provided a forum in which member countries, who otherwise could barely tolerate each other, could thrash out their problems with some degree of civility. Second, SAARC also offered a historic opportunity to members, inasmuch as they could together chalk out strategies to neutralise, if not dissipate, harm being caused by the multiple ills that stalk the lives of the peoples of the Subcontinent. But the Association's achievements have been modest. Why SAARC has not been able to tap potentials that other regional organisations have exploited makes for interesting speculation, but it is more relevant to reflect on the direction in which SAARC should now plot its course.

When concerned inhabitants of Southasia begin to think about how SAARC can be rescued from its self-inflicted status as a 'talking shop', there can be only one answer. The region in which we live ranks high on the global conflict index, and low on the global development index. In both circumstances, the human rights of those who live in the region are seriously compromised. The logic of human-rights thinking is that governments must redress violations of these rights, punish the wrongdoer and compensate victims. But when governments are hijacked by military elites, and are reduced to catering for self-serving interests, who do the citizens approach? When governments are complicit in the massacre of their own people, especially minorities, to which institution should these groups appeal? When elected democracies cannot provide their own citizens with the basic prerequisites of a decent life, which organisation will step in and do so? The problem is not only that Southasians' human rights are systemically infringed upon; the issue is also that governments often mastermind these serious violations, or at least turn a blind eye to them.