The South Asia Collective Online Bulletin #3

Greetings from the South Asia Collective. We are a group of human rights activists and organisations from across South Asia, working since 2015 to document the condition of the region’s minorities. We bring to you here the third edition of our Online Bulletin, covering events that have transpired in the region since April 15. Events till April were covered in the second edition our Bulletin, available here.

In the previous edition, released as the COVID-19 pandemic was picking up pace in the region, we looked at how preventive measures imposed by South Asian nations brought economic life to a standstill and triggered a humanitarian crisis. In this edition, we retain our focus on how the region’s poor and marginalised sections, particularly minority groups, have disproportionately borne the brunt of this crisis. With more reportage emerging, we also look at how, in many countries, some of the worst fears about the health implications of the pandemic are now coming true.

We also provide an overview of other, significant minority-related news developments in the region, especially those with region-wide implications.

Simultaneously, the South Asia Collective has begun supporting local-level initiatives across the region that seek to mitigate some of the minority-specific aspects. In this edition, we provide a brief overview of these SAC-supported projects, most of which have already commenced work on the ground.

The SAC Online Bulletin is put together by researchers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. It aims to be an informative update on the situation of minorities and minority rights in South Asia. Click here to sign up to receive future editions of the Bulletin.

Latest Developments in South Asia | Impact of COVID-19 on South Asia's Minorities | COVID-19 Support Grants

SAC, along with Minority Rights Group International, has begun supporting 17 local-level, short-term initiatives that seek to address issues faced by South Asia’s minorities. Click here for a brief overview of these projects.
SAC’s emergency assistance fund for human rights defenders working to advance the freedom of religion or belief in South Asia remains active. Click here for more details.
In response to a call in June 2020 by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) on the relationship between intolerance and discrimination based and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16, SAC made a joint submission, highlighting the drivers of discrimination and their impact on minorities in each country.
SAC organised a webinar titled ‘Minority rights in South Asia: before, during and after COVID-19’ on 6 May, 2020. The event was organised around the release of the South Asia State of Minorities Report 2019 (available here). Fernand de Varennes, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, was the keynote speaker. Click here for a full recording of the event.
SAC has also commenced work on the South Asia State of Minorities Report 2020. The 2020 Report, scheduled to be released in 2020, will focus on the theme ‘shrinking civic space for minorities and minority rights defenders in South Asia’.
SAC and Minority Rights Group International contributed to a report titled ‘Will COVID-19 increase religious hostilities and discrimination?’, published by OpenGlobalRights.
SAC’s partner organisations would like to announce the publication of the following reports and articles:

Citizens Against Hate (India): ’Hit Job: Using COVID-19 to Deepen Anti-Muslim Bias and Weaken Muslim Voice'

Civil Society & Human Rights Network (Afghanistan): ‘Guidebook: Achieving an Inclusive Peace in Afghanistan’

Formation, Awareness and Community Empowerment Society (Pakistan) : Situational analysis

Law & Society Trust (Sri Lanka): (i) Civil society statement: disposal of bodies of deceased persons who were infected with and suspected of being infected with covid-19, (ii) The Worker in the Post-COVID 19 Economy, (iii) Garment Sector and State Responsibility in Economic Crisis, (iv) Civil Society Statement on the Presidential Task Forces, (v) Brief Note: Presidential Task Force for Archaeological Heritage Management in the Eastern Province, and (vi) Land Acquisitions for a Public Purpose in Post-War Sri Lanka

During the period under review, South Asia’s various minority groups continued to face violent targeting and discrimination from non-state actors and, in some cases, from state actors. And across all countries, this has been followed by state failures to hold perpetrators to account and uphold the rule of law.

In Afghanistan, the beleaguered Shia Hazara community faced a deadly attack on a maternity ward that claimed 24 lives, including new-born babies. The Sikh community too faced repeated targeting. In Bangladesh, the Hindu, Ahmadiyya and indigenous peoples communities faced various forms of targeting. Local leaders of mainstream political outfits were implicated in some of the attacks, including on women. In India, authorities continued the targeting of critics of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, even as the country’s Muslims, Christians, Dalits and Sikhs faced targeting at the ground level. The Indian government also continued to deny rights and freedoms in Muslim-majority Kashmir. In Nepal, a series of attacks on Dalits led to widespread protests. In Pakistan, the Ahmadiyya, Christian and Hindu communities came under attack, by both non-state and state actors. The levelling of frivolous blasphemy allegations also continued. And in Sri Lanka, two prominent Muslim voices faced arbitrary detentions. Click here for these and other stories that have impacted or have the potential to impact South Asia’s minorities.