• MISSION AND OBJECTIVES

    THE ADIVASI SOLIDARITY COUNCIL

    The National Adivasi Solidarity Council is a network of grass-roots organisations in Southern tribal India working with Indigenous people towards the goal of sustainable development by ensuring justice and equality. This involves the promotion of peoples’ federations to advocate for their educational, health, economic and social rights, articulate for government accountability in their functions, policies, schemes and laws for marginalized adivasi groups, implementing socio-economic development projects to challenge inequality and the protection of adivasi human rights by utilizing legal provisions of the constitutional guidelines. Prime focus of the NASC organization is enforcing the Bonded Labour System Abolition Act 1976, Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989, Recognition of Forest Rights Act 2006, Right to Education Act 2009, and campaign on ILO conventions with UNO declarations along with active participation of adivasi communities.

    MISSION STATEMENT OF NASC
    To empower the most marginalized communities with rights perspective by listening to the people with the aim of understanding the context of their specific condition and situation. Through exploring their concerns and opportunities to build capacity, the development process is facilitated without compromising quality of service, time and social work values.

    OVERALL OBJECTIVES OF NASC

    1. Empowering adivasi people to get their rights and needs as per the constitutional provisions;
    2. Ensuring human rights by enforcing the laws and policies such as FRA, BLA, POA, RTE and others;
    3. Enhancing economic and livelihood rights of the adivasi community with women’s participation;
    4. Exploring possibilities for quality education and child rights of the Adivasi marginalized communities;
    5. Effective implementation of government laws and schemes by monitoring with community watch;
    6. Educative documentation and publication on focused issues, activities and sharing of strategies.
    7. Expanding networking and linkages for promoting collective advocacy strategies to create changes.

     

    NEED AND REQUIREMENT OF OUR ACTION

    The current political climate is not conducive to the enactment of [UDHR] peoples’ rights. The dominant agenda of “private enterprise” infiltrating India through Globalisation has resulted in structures of greed and ignorance. There are several government and non-government programs for health and educational development but most of them not reached to the marginalised tribal communities. Campaigns for legislation to be introduced have been successful. However, implementation has not been visible on the ground. The role of the NGO/Civil Society Movements therefore, is to highlight legal frameworks and increase awareness and understanding among marginalised populations about their violation of legal rights (civil, political, economic, labour, education, health, etc) and mobilise communities to access justice and equality. If quality of life is not improved, there exists the opportunity to band together in filing a case against the government for the purpose of holding them accountable.

    The case of most marginalized sections of the society is disempowering. Adivasi people live amongst rich resources; however their life condition is poor as they experience extreme poverty, forced labour and face human rights violations and atrocities. The State made amendments to protect the rights of its citizens, however, the Prevention of Atrocities Act passed in 1989 is not enforced in tribal development areas, the Forest Rights Act 2006 is not implemented as per the promise of Prime Minister of India and the UNO declarations, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the ILO convention of 169 still have not been rectified in view with the indigenous communities of India.

    Furthermore, land alienation through the force of special economic zones, special tourism zones and protected sanctuaries have resulted in the displacement of Adivasi people, loss of identity, culture and language and segregation from the developed world. All these factors are making Adivasi people vulnerable to bonded labourers in tea/coffee estates, rice-mills and brick kilns where they are extremely marginalized and their most fundamental human rights are being abused. It is extremely important that we highlight these issues and work with Adivasi federations to fight for their constitutional rights, safeguard human rights, and protect them from violations & atrocities and to find strategies for implementation of legal systems so that the state becomes as ultimate responsible for ensuring “right to quality life with dignity”.