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Dear Friend,

Greetings !

This is to invite you to participate in a two-day Seminar on Custodial Torture and Violence to be held in Ahmedabad on February 23rd – 24th, 2009. 

The Seminar is being organized in the wake of increasing incidents of custodial torture and violence in India and other South Asian States, particularly in the name of countering terrorism. The event will have participants from different strategic groups, including human rights activists, educationists and lawyers. Resource persons will consist of  experts engaged in the issue.

The aims and objectives of the Seminar are:

• providing an overview of concept and contexts of custodial violence in India and South Asia;
• enhancing the capacities of teachers, educators and activists to understand international and Indian legal standards;
• sharing experiences, insights and strategies to combat torture in the South Asian context;
• enabling an exercise of leadership to end and prevent custodial violence, through the use of law and other means.

Topics for discussion will include: 

Ø      Introduction – concept & contexts of torture

Ø      Indian legal framework to prevent & punish torture

Ø      Draconian laws, 'Institutional Impunity' and their impact on custodial violence

Ø      Medico-legal perspectives on torture

Ø      Non-custodial Torture

Ø      Torture: a gender perspective

Ø      Torture in South Asia 

Ø      International Legal Standards

Ø      Rights and Interests of Victims & Witnesses

Ø      Remedial Mechanisms – local, national, regional and international

Ø      Strategies for preventing / remedying incidents of torture

Language :  English                            

The Seminar is being organized by PRASHANT Ahmedabad,  Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) Mumbai, and International Human Rights Education Consortium (IHREC) New York.

PRASHANT,  the Ahmedabad based Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace has been involved in advocacy and other issues related to Human Rights and Justice.  These include the Gujarat Carnage of 2002, custodial torture and minority rights.  It is also actively involved in promoting Human Rights Education among various sections of society.

JPC  aims and objective is to promote human rights culture through human rights education. It aims at creating a society in which the dignity of human beings is respected and their holistic growth encouraged, but in a special way it caters to the marginalized. The process used is participation in self-development and empowerment.

IHREC  is New York-based organization for promoting education, collaboration, and research on human rights at the national, regional, and global levels. The Consortium works closely with human rights institutions and non-governmental organizations in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. It facilitates faculty exchanges and guest lectures among its members.

We cordially invite you  to  participate  in  this  Seminar.    If you are interested,  kindly fill  in  the attached Registration form and return it to us by email on or before February 7th, 2009, the latest.   Further  details  regarding  the  Seminar will  be  sent  to you on  receipt of your Registration form.

We look forward to having you with us at the Seminar.

Warm Regards,

Fr. Cedric Prakash sj                   Fr. Allwyn D'Silva                Mr. Theodore Orlin

PRASHANT                               JPC                                                   IHREC     

16th January 2009