How to Stand up to an Army: Meet Babloo Loitongbam

• Date: 28 March 15:00 - 17:00
• Location: The Hague Humanity Hub

On March 28, 15:00, join us at the Humanity Hub for a lecture and Q&A with Babloo Loitongbam, a human rights defender from India.

Babloo is the Director of Human Rights Alert and has been fighting to defend human rights in Manipur, a conflict zone in the north east of India, for 30 years now. He was also a Fulbright Scholar and is an Ashoka Life Fellow.

Babloo has been fighting against the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act, which has been repeatedly condemned by the United Nations. As the Act grants impunity to the army, the conflict in Manipur costs the life of one civilian per 100,000 a year. Babloo and his team have meticulously documented evidence of 1528 cases of extrajudicial killings of civilians by security forces, and pushed India’s Supreme Court to appoint a fact-finding committee to investigate six of these cases. Without Babloo, widows whose husbands have died through extrajudicial killings would not have received any compensation at all.

Babloo is a fierce defender of human rights towards these armed forces, and has withstood death threats. Babloo bases his methods on Gandhi’s form of nonviolent resistance and employs all legal means offered by the Indian State and international organisations.

Join us at the Hague Humanity Hub as Babloo speaks about the long fight against the Indian military, and how not just human rights defenders, but civilians are framed and targeted as terrorists. He will further speak on institutionalised state impunity, and be available to answer your questions about human rights in India.

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