बंगला देश के डेली स्टार मे माजा दारूवाला अर्तिकल

Commonwealth Ministers Meet
A real opportunity or more rhetoric?
Maja Daruwala
http://www.thedailystar.net/story.php?nid=6210

The next two weeks will see London abuzz with various foreign ministers and permanent representatives from across the Commonwealth coming to deliberate on what gets into the communiqués of the upcoming Commonwealth Heads of Meeting this November (CHOGM). The process of creating these communiqués is long drawn. Issues bubble up from the earlier meetings of foreign, women's affairs and finance ministers that take place in the two years between CHOGMs, and also from the continuum of work developed from mandates given to the Commonwealth Secretariat by the Heads of States at earlier CHOGMs. Officials at the Commonwealth Secretariat gather together all these threads in draft paragraphs, which then get distilled by negotiations like the ones being held this week. Past mandates have included promoting and mainstreaming women's rights into the work of the Secretariat, helping ensure better election practices, raising awareness of HIV/AIDs, leading on debt forgiveness, getting reports back on progress on the Millennium Development Goals, and assisting with constitution making. What the communiqués say decide the future work at the secretariat. A good deal of this is concerned with providing technical assistance to countries that ask for it, raising awareness, and gently pushing unwilling governments to comply with membership obligations in the Fundamental Political Principles of the Commonwealth -- founding documents which are very much based on being obedient to internationally agreed human rights standards. After governments have indicated their priorities and current concerns, a consensus document goes to the Heads of States at their biennial meeting for finalisation. Secretariat officials whose full time job this is, the countries that contribute the most to the Commonwealth's coffers, the host country -- this time Uganda -- and the more populous nations like India and Nigeria, make the running. Since the Commonwealth is not on everyone's political front burner as the most influential of multilateral associations, many officials who go to its meetings are often not properly briefed and, but for a handful, civil society ignores its deliberations: perhaps with good cause. Unfulfilled promises enthusiastically made by Heads of Governments lie scattered like the paper hats, torn streamers and used paper napkins after some annual lodge bash, for the sad janitor to dump into the dustbin till the next jolly occasion comes around. Nevertheless, the potential for taking real action still makes the Commonwealth's meetings a party worth attending, in the hope that some, at least, of the promises will be realised. Last time around, Mugabe's nervousness at being named and shamed for his terrible overlordship of 12 million of his countrymen forced him to pre-empt censure by pulling out of the association, rather than facing the discredit of being suspended. This time around, prior to the November meet, General Musharraf will be careful to doff his general's uniform as promised for something that at least looks like the fig leaf of democratic functioning -- even if Fiji, Maldives and Bangladesh hang on to their exercises in democratic governance. Because the Commonwealth works like a club of leaders acting through consensus it is, in fact, a very safe place for officials and governments to go beyond the posturing and really get to grips with the issues of the day. Barring a handful of very affluent countries the Commonwealth is essentially an association of grindingly poor countries where well over half the population of near 1.4 billion lives on less than $2 a day. These people need real solutions and not rhetoric. The people all know what's wrong. One of the big things that is wrong in most Commonwealth countries is policing. Every year, very few nations from Antigua to Zambia -- and all the other letters of the alphabet in between -- escape the ignominy of being cited for abusive, violent, discriminatory and corrupt policing. Millions experience it everyday. They all know that most police forces need a total overhaul. Governments know how to do it: re-order policing; re-examine how it is actually done on the ground; make recruitment fair, training better and management result oriented, provide reasonable resources, and be strong in monitoring performance and punishing the guilty. This is one side of it, but the most important bit of the improvement project is to make the police more accountable to law and less subservient, less obsequious, to those momentarily in power, and to create systems where the policy is laid down by government and operational responsibility for ensuring the safety and security of the population at large is in the hands of the police leadership. In other words, re-envision police establishments so that they run like essential services for the population, much like the fire service or the post office and not like the coercive force of some foreign power. That old way of policing belongs to colonial times. It should not be the way for democratic governments to use the police. Keeping to those past values and systems is an admission of our inability to be free from the worst influences of that time, and to shame ourselves as sovereign nations. Many excuses are put forward for stalling reforms of essential systems. The issue of lack of resources is always a favourite, never mind the fact that the reform of management practice does not inevitably require or necessitate additional funding. There is, as well, a need to examine if present resources are really well spent and could not be more logically allocated to go further than present wasteful ways allow. Equally, it is more than probable that unreformed policing costs the state and its people much more through significantly impeding internal development, foreign investment and consequent prosperity.In modern times, another crucial reason for looking at a new type of policing is the truth that unreformed policing has proved that it cannot prevent or reduce crime or calm fears about the threat from terrorism. Only policing that has the confidence of the people can do this. This is a singularly important building block for achieving good governance as well.To help the process of moving from grandstanding to implementing workmanlike solutions to bring about good governance -- a key Commonwealth concern -- the Commonwealth could make a start this week by agreeing to bring together a group of experts to help it lay down a new vision of policing. The group could lay down what a new kind of policing should look like; what principles should guide this policing and how this can be brought about, given that countries are struggling for capacity and resources. It could mandate the kind of future technical help the Commonwealth can provide its members so that the process of police reforms is well informed and hastened. There is very good practice on policing in the Commonwealth. Governments will not have to reinvent the wheel, but with a little help from their friends can tap into and adapt experiences of those that have gone some way toward making improvements. For instance, Nigeria has designed a very strong national police accountability mechanism. South Africa has an excellent method for evaluating police performance. The Australians and the UK are constantly struggling to defeat institutional racism, and improving policing in multi-ethnic communities. New Zealand is involved in reviewing its police functioning. The experience of police reform in Northern Ireland is a lesson in creating confidence in minority groups after years of head to head conflict, and the turn around of the Hong Kong police has lessons to offer on drastically reducing corruption. Pakistan's experiments in local control over local policing and, India's recent Supreme Court orders seeking to guide the reforms process, are all at the service of the Commonwealth's membership, if it is willing to listen. Eighteen African nations of the Commonwealth will be represented in London this week. Later, all will be at CHOGM. It seems a shame, if not down right unethical, for leaders of essentially poor countries to spend money on debating fine words rather than sincerely working toward designing workmanlike solutions to fundamental problems that are today blocking democratic and economic development. This summit is in Kampala. African heads need to lead on issues of concern to the continent and not leave it to others to finger point. It's not always easy, but someone has to take a deep breath and take the first step. Otherwise, it is always going to be Big Brother pointing and looking askance at "these nations," and wondering, if anyone will ever get their act together.Maja Daruwala is Director, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

Right to Information Act, going rural

Right to Information Act, going rural
Having woven many a success story in cities, the (RTI), which completes two years of coming in the statute books in October is reaching the rural areas too with villages using its provisions to redress their grievances.
Sidhakahna Jot Keshav village in Bahraich district of Uttar Pradesh is one such example. Five inspired residents of the village filed RTI applications and questioned the district administration about the conditions of the village roads and drains. They also raised questions as why there were no allotments under the 'Indira Awaas Yojna'.
The administration immediately acted and the construction of the roads and drains began in the village. Since then, 32 villagers have been allotted the houses under the 'Indira Awaas Yojna' and the administration has displayed a list on the village wall, containing the names of the villagers eligible for the allotments under the scheme.
RTI activist and Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal says that the RTI is the way to empowering villages, "The very movement started from the rural Rajasthan. RTI is like a life line to the rural India. The Act has shown a great potential to transform the life of rural society." He however admits that there are some hurdles, "The true potential of RTI is still to be explored, specially in the rural India where villagers find it very cumbersome to file RTI applications. The procedure should be simplified and made people friendly." Kejriwal cites the example of Bihar, "Bihar has set a great example by creating a dedicated phone line for RTI. Where RTI can be filed through a phone call. Even an illiterate villager can file his RTI application by a call."
The Act is influencing people to come forward and question the progress on various welfare schemes, creating a positive change in the most backward areas like Eastern UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam and in Maharashtra. According to Chief Information Commissioner, Wajahat Habibullah, "Though the villages are less aware about the Act than the cities, yet there are villages where RTI is being used. In the villages of Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra awareness about the Act is quite good and they are using the Act. In fact, slum areas of Mumbai have very high level of awareness regarding the RTI Act." Asked whether the government was planning anything special to spread awareness about the Act in the rural sectors, he said, "No, there is no specific programme on it right now but the NREGA(National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) matches the spirit of RTI." He however praised the efforts being done by media and civic agencies in spreading awareness about the Act.
Maharashtra' s State Information Commissioner Vijay Kuvalekar says, "Villages have recently started using RTI to seek information related to their problems. I have seen some cases where the illiterates come up with RTI application filed by some help from others. The villages are waking up to the power of RTI." He however admits that there is still a lot to be done to create awareness at grassroot level.
Most questions in RTI applications are related to public distribution system, Ration card, BPL card, 'Indira Awaas Yojna', lands, irrigation, corruption in the welfare schemes and day to day working of local village administration says Major Sanjay Yadav, Information Commissioner in UP. RTI applications are being filed on the basic issues of getting rations on the card.
In Ghara Katara village of Shankar Garh block in Allahabad, daily wagers had a tough time arranging a proper meal as they were not receiving rations on their cards. On 19th December 2006 some 21 villagers prepared RTI applications and questioned the administration, the very next day all the ration card holders got their rations. Even the most backward sections of rural societies as dalits, people living below poverty line and women are seeking information related to Prime Minister Employment Scheme, Indira Awaas Yojna, ration card, midday meal, uniform distribution in the schools and the conditions of village roads. There are still some problems in the implementation of the Act in villages but these success stories are the examples of change and through proper awareness and guidance the Act can do wonders. RTI Activist in Rajasthan, Nikhil Dey feels that the key of empowering villages is in the proper implementation and promotion of Right to Information Act.