Northeast Desk, 23rd March: Khuraijam Athouba, the COCOMI spokesperson and Vice-President of IPSA, delivered his third personal intervention at the ongoing 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 22. His intervention focused on the General Debate Agenda Item-5, Human Rights Bodies and Mechanisms.
Athouba underscored the challenges faced by the Northeast region of India, including the disruption of inter-ethnic harmony due to illegal influx from Myanmar, destabilization caused by cross-border movements, and the environmental threat posed by opium poppy cultivation. He also highlighted the involvement of foreign terror networks in the ongoing violence in Manipur.
He appealed to the council to take necessary measures to safeguard human rights and the security of indigenous peoples, committing to attend more sessions under the aegis of COCOMI and IPSA.
According to Athouba, the fragile geopolitical position of India’s Northeast, exacerbated by an unaccounted illegal influx from Myanmar due to ongoing unrest, has severely disrupted inter-ethnic harmony and led to a significant deterioration of human rights and peaceful coexistence among ethnic communities.
He expressed concern over the surge in cross-border movements, destabilizing the region and leading to refugees seeking sanctuary in India’s Northeast, engaging in illicit activities encroaching reserved forest areas.
Highlighting the alarming confiscation of drugs and arms from the region in recent years, Athouba mentioned the staggering worth of drugs seized in Manipur, Assam, and Mizoram, all originating from Myanmar.
He also shed light on extensive opium poppy cultivation in Manipur, particularly by immigrant groups, leading to unprecedented levels of deforestation and environmental degradation, threatening the survival of indigenous populations.
The COCOMI appealed to the UN to strengthen cross-border cooperation to combat illicit drug and arms trafficking, support sustainable alternative livelihoods to discourage poppy cultivation, and facilitate international cooperation to address the involvement of foreign terror networks in regional violence.
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