Context: A group of over 90 disability rights organisations, activists and academics has written to Union Home Minister, urging that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) maintain data of the violent crimes committed against persons with disabilities.

• The NCRB does not maintain disaggregated data on number of reported cases of sexual assaults on disabled girls/women such, as a separate category.
• The United Nations committee monitoring the implementation of the N. Convention on Rights of PwD had recommended to the government in 2019 to ensure that the NCRB collected disaggregated data by sex, age, place of residence, relationship with perpetrator and disability in case of violence and exploitation of women and girls with disabilities.
• The National Human Rights Commission too had recommended recently that the NCRB should maintain data on PwD.

Significance:

• “The maintenance of such data, will enable policy-makers in particular and other stakeholders to formulate strategies and mechanisms to respond to their particular needs, which can be disability specific, in facilitating access to the criminal justice system, among other things.
• ‘Issue is urgent’ as the number of such cases were on the rise, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

• It is an international human rights treaty of the United Nations intended to protect the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities.
• Parties to the Convention are required to promote, protect, and ensure the full enjoyment of human rights by persons with disabilities and ensure that persons with disabilities enjoy full equality under the law.
• The Convention was the first U.N. human rights treaty of the twenty-first century.
• There are eight guiding principles that underlie the Convention, delineated in Article 3:
  • Respect for inherent dignity, individual autonomy including the freedom to make one's own choices, and independence of persons
  • Non-discrimination
  • Full and effective participation and inclusion in society
  • Respect for difference and acceptance of persons with disabilities as part of human diversity and humanity
  • Equality of opportunity
  • Accessibility
  • Equality between men and women
  • Respect for the evolving capacities of children with disabilities and respect for the right of children with disabilities to preserve their identities

NCRB

• It is mandated to function as a national repository of crime and criminal related data in the country.
• NCRB is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India.
• Objectives:
  • Create and maintain secure sharable National Databases on crimes and criminals for law enforcement agencies and promote their use for public service delivery.
  • Collect and process crime statistics at the national level and clearing house of information on crime and criminals both at National and International levels.
  • Lead and coordinate development of IT applications and create an enabling IT environment for Police organizations.
  • National repository of fingerprints of all criminals.
  • To evaluate, modernize and promote automation in State Crime Records Bureaux and State Finger Print Bureaux .
  • Training and capacity building in Police Forces in Information Technology and Finger Print Science.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/crimes-against-persons-with-disabilities-group-wants-ncrb-to-maintain-data/article33635243.ece?homepage=true

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