The following information was obtained in a 16 May 1997 interview with the chairman of the Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO) in Chandigarh, India. According to the chairman, PHRO is a human rights organization, founded in 1985, which investigates alleged cases of human rights violations in Punjab, including disappearances, kidnappings, extrajudicial executions, and beatings and torture in detention. The PHRO is active in writing reports which are sent to Amnesty International and the United Nations, and in working to bring cases to court against police officers and security force officials. In March 1997, for example, PHRO worked along with the Human Rights and Democracy Forum, formerly the Human Rights Wing of the Akali Dal, and the Movement Against State Repression (MASR), to produce a report on the alleged police killing of Kashmir Singh, an actvist with the Akali Dal (Mann). The PHRO was also active in supporting the case against Punjab police officers charged with the abduction and killing of human rights worker Jaswant Singh Khalra in September 1995.

According to the chairman, the PHRO has very limited resources: a staff of not more than 20 volunteer human rights workers and lawyers, largely self-funded, with few outside donations. The PHRO is considering, however, enlarging their funding base by asking for donations. The chairman stated that the PHRO works actively with the Human Rights and Democracy Forum and the MASR, and with some human rights groups in Delhi. However, the PHRO generally does not work with the International Human Rights Organization (IHRO), which is based in Ludhiana and which, according to the chairman, usually works on its own.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

Chairman, Punjab Human Rights Organization (PHRO), Chandigarh. 16 May 1997. Telephone interview.