Morgan Institute for Human Rights

II. The Prime Minister's Challenge

In response to the assassination, the Union Cabinet will meet in New Delhi tomorrow morning, followed by an evening session of the Congress party Working Committee. All will readily accept a national mourning period and a comprehensive investigation to capture the bombers. What additional measures should Rao recommend and why? You can earn a perfect score of 100 by correctly selecting from the check-lists below the conflicting moral, legal, and political considerations that Rao must evaluate before reaching a decision.


  1. Which choices could Prime Minister Rao make to satisfy:

    2. (check one option for each item)
    Inter-
    national
    critics    		 Hindu
    nationalist
    voters
    1. Grant amnesty to security personnel for human rights violations
    2. Favor P.G.S. Gill as Prime Minister of Punjab state
    3. Ratify the convention against torture and allow individual petition
    4. Formally derogate from the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by declaring an emergency that threatens the life of the nation
    5. Dispatch additional troops to secure India's border with Pakistan
    6. Invite the U.N. rapporteur on Torture to visit Kashmir and Punjab


  2. Which arguments could the Prime Minister use to justify:

    3. human
    rights
    reform    		 emergency
    anti-terrorist
    measures
    1. The Covenant on Civil and Political Rights embodies India's best Constitutional Principles
    2. Prosecution of security personnel would be unjust ex post facto application of new law to conduct that was previously legal
    3. Fight fire with fire, or India will come apart
    4. "Universal" human rights are Western, Christian dictates
    5. The Geneva conventions regulate international war but not civil coflict
    6. Violence begets violence; repression breeds terrorism


  3. Which practices of the United States would help Rao make a case for:

    4. international
    cooperation    		 national
    sovereignty
    1. Payment of damages to Californian Japanese-Americans who survived military detention during WWII
    2. Army prosecution of Lt. William Calley for My Lai war crimes in Vietnam
    3. Ratification of the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights without accepting the optional protocol or any obligation to modify U.S. law
    4. Admission of the U.N. rapporteurs on Racism and Summary/Arbitrary executions
    5. Increased trade and investment with China after military action against protesters in Tienanmen Square
    6. Execution of a juvenile following opinion of Inter-American Commission of Human Rights opposing capital punishment for minors


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