Dear Colleagues,

 May, 2007

RIGHTS FIRST news letter in its electronic format is a new initiative. It will now be published on a monthly basis. Primary objective of this e-newsletter is to build and sharpen the knowledge base of ActionAid employees, volunteers and partners on the law of the land as it affect our work on the themes and social issues on which ActionAid works in India. It will also draw on our live experiences with the rights based approach for an in-depth legal analysis of various issues.

Such analysis will also include comparison with international treaties and standards, information about case law which are being debated in the legislature or civil society, comparative jurisprudence if any, and analysis about how those changes will impact the law as it exists. It is hoped that this simple electronic offering will enrich and sharpen our work with communities.

Eventually, we expect this newsletter to grow into a very interactive forum for discussions. As we start, we look forward to your participation in the following interactive features:

(i) “Ask the editor”, where subscribers may ask questions to the editorial team regarding material published in the newsletter, and the editorial team will answer to the best extent possible;

(ii) “Suggest a topic” which would enable the reader to suggest topics of interest that could be covered in the subsequent issues of the newsletter; and


(iii) Provisions to enable subscriber feedback regarding the content and its quality which in turn will help the editorial team to continuously improve this initiative.

Proposed amendments in the FCRA will have far reaching impact. Amendments would affect not only ActionAid but the entire NGO sector in India. There is a need for all of us to come together and present our point of view to the Government to put things in perspective so that we can work as partners towards the development of the country. Therefore we are dedicating the first issue of this newsletter to take forward the debate on regulating foreign contributions in the FCRB.

We will also archive all past issues of the newsletter, and the archives will be made easily searchable. Do forward it to your friends and partners as per your convenience.

Thanks and regards.

Babu Mathew,
Country Director.

 

From FCRA to FCRB: Do the means justify the intentions?

Where the FCRA’s emphasis was on the preservation of sovereign democratic and republican values (mentioned in the Preamble of the Constitution), the FCRB has done away with this connection. Instead the test of ‘detriment to national interest’ is to be applied to the actions of persons covered by the Act. This is a term that lacks clear definition and will be shaped by the politics of the day. Therefore, there is immense potential for abuse, and is a potent tool to use against any organisation that expresses dissent or criticises the policies or actions of government. (Read More...)


Control over foreign contributions under the current scheme of regulation

Some contentious aspects of the proposed foreign contribution legislation


RELEVANT DOCUMENTS SUGGEST A TOPIC


Domestic Violence Act: A new direction

A significant lacuna has existed in the capacity of any legal system to accommodate for cases of everyday domestic violence in the lives of women – something that has been restricted to the private domain. Interference into ‘domestic privacy’ has traditionally been seen as a greater evil than actual violence inflicted upon a wife. The step forward came in understanding domestic violence as a human rights violation, and attempting to dissolve the public-private divide in this regard, writes Sanhita Ambast and Srijoni Sen.
(Read more...)

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