The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of India on 30 October 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government replied on 20 December 2024.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the arrest of human rights defender and lawyer Ebo Mili and the restrictions on his human rights work.
Mr. Ebo Mili is a lawyer and human rights defender, convenor of the Siang Indigenous Farmers Forum (SIFF). The SIFF was established in 2013, with its membership comprised of small-scale farmers from the indigenous Adi people. Since its formation, the SIFF has been raising environmental and human rights concerns about the proposed construction of a 11,000 megawatts hydroelectric dam on the Siang River, as part of the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project, which has reportedly been pushed through on national security grounds without public consultation. To make way for the project, Adi indigenous peoples risk being displaced. The project is being constructed by NHPC Limited, of which the Indian State is the major shareholder.
ALLEGATIONS
On the morning of 8 July 2024, in advance of a visit by the Minister of Power to Arunachal Pradesh in connection with the development of the Upper Siang Hydroelectric Project, Mr. Mili was arrested in Itanagar by Itanagar police. No warrant for his arrest was presented. He was initially taken to Itanagar police station, where he was not permitted access to a lawyer or to communicate with the outside world. He was then moved to Niti Vihar Police Station, after people concerned about his detention began to come to the Itanagar station. Only following his transfer to Niti Vihar Police Station, Mr. Mili was allowed to communicate with his lawyer. During his arrest, Mr. Mili was interrogated as to his work raising concerns about the human rights and environmental impact of hydropower projects in the Arunachal Pradesh, and about those he has been working with in this advocacy. The police also informed him that he had been under surveillance, with police stationed outside his apartment and tracking his movements via his mobile phone. The human rights defender was held for approximately 10 hours before being released. He was discharged after signing a bond obliging him to refrain from any activity that could be considered “breaching the peace” or “causing a breach of the peace” for a period of one year, or until an inquiry into police cases filed against him was closed. Failure to comply with the bond would result in a fine of 50,000 Indian rupees for any breach identified.
Mr. Mili had previously been arrested under similar circumstances. On 12 August 2023, the lawyer and human rights defender was arrested while protesting against the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding for 13 hydroelectric power projects during another visit by the Minister of Power to Arunachal Pradesh. He was interrogated before being released after approximately 8 hours. Also on that occasion, he had to sign a bond before being discharged, agreeing to refrain from activities that could be considered a breach of the peace for a period of one year or face a fine.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our serious concern at the arrest and detention of Mr. Mili, including the previous surveillance that he was subject to, as well as the restrictions imposed on him, which we fear to be arbitrary, and directly aimed at curtailing his legitimate human rights, environmental and climate work. Our concern in this sense is aggravated by the apparent repeated nature of this retaliation, given the alleged circumstances of the arrest of Mr. Mili in 2023.
We note that large-scale hydroelectric projects have raised serious human rights concerns. The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change indicated that States must ensure access to information on proposed and ongoing climate response measures and their impact on human rights, to empower the public to assess the adequacy of State action to combat climate change and promote, protect and fulfil human rights (A/79/176). The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation has warned against large hydroelectric dams that cause widespread negative social impacts and serious irreversible impacts on ecosystems (AL IND (8.2024)).[1] The Special Rapporteur on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples called for ensuring that renewable energy projects located on or near Indigenous territories are allowed only after: adequate and participatory environmental and social impact assessments; free, prior and informed consent; appropriate remuneration and benefit-sharing (including access to national energy distribution grids) with indigenous peoples; and the prevention of negative health and environmental impacts, notably forced displacement or the degradation of the environment and means of sustenance of Indigenous peoples (A/HRC/54/31).
[1] https://www.ohchr.org/sites/default/files/2022-03/climate-change-3-final.docx
