Alleging shortages of food, fuel and medicines, KOHUR termed the blockade “collective punishment” and demanded immediate restoration of free movement on highways, legal action against those enforcing the blockade, and security for supply convoys.
BY PC Bureau
July 20: The Kuki Organisation for Human Rights Trust (KOHUR) has slammed the Manipur Government, accusing State Home Minister Govindas Konthoujam of remaining silent over the ongoing economic blockade imposed by the United Naga Council (UNC) on key highways supplying Kuki-Zo inhabited areas.
In a statement issued on Monday, KOHUR described the blockade as an “illegal act of collective punishment” that has disrupted the supply of essential commodities, medicines and fuel to conflict-affected regions, alleging that the government’s failure to intervene has deepened the humanitarian crisis.
“The deliberate denial of access to food, fuel, medicine and other essentials to an entire civilian population amounts to collective punishment, which is prohibited under international humanitarian law and violates the fundamental right to life guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the organisation said.
‘Essential Supplies Running Out’
Highlighting the humanitarian impact of the blockade, KOHUR claimed that shortages of food, fuel and life-saving medicines have become acute in several Kuki-Zo dominated areas already reeling from more than a year of ethnic conflict.
According to the organisation, the disruption has left many families struggling to afford essential commodities as prices have soared, while hospitals are reportedly facing shortages of critical medicines and medical supplies.
It further alleged that patients requiring urgent referral to hospitals outside the affected areas remain stranded, with internally displaced persons, children and the elderly bearing the brunt of the crisis.
Government Accused of Constitutional Failure
KOHUR argued that maintaining law and order and ensuring the free movement of traffic on national and state highways falls squarely within the constitutional responsibility of the State Home Department.
Referring to Supreme Court judgments holding that no individual or organisation has the right to indefinitely block public highways, the organisation said the government has an affirmative duty to remove such obstructions.
“Silence in these circumstances is not neutrality; it is complicity by omission,” the statement said.
Alleges Differential Treatment
The human rights organisation also alleged that previous blockades affecting other communities had elicited swift responses from the state government, whereas the current blockade has failed to attract similar intervention.
According to KOHUR, the government’s response has reinforced perceptions of institutional bias against the Kuki-Zo community, a concern it said has repeatedly been raised before both national and international human rights forums.
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Five Demands Placed Before Government
KOHUR urged the state government to take immediate corrective measures and placed five key demands before the authorities:
- Immediate public condemnation of the blockade by the State Home Minister and disclosure of steps taken to restore normalcy.
- Clearance of all blocked highways and restoration of the uninterrupted movement of essential commodities to every district.
- Registration of criminal cases against those responsible for enforcing the blockade.
- Provision of security escorts for convoys transporting food, fuel, medicines and other essential supplies.
- Intervention by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, alleging that the state government has failed to discharge its constitutional responsibilities.
Matter to be Raised Before NHRC and UN
KOHUR said it would place the issue before the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) as well as relevant United Nations human rights mechanisms.
The organisation noted that it has held Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) since 2016 and would submit documentation highlighting the humanitarian impact of the blockade.
Concluding its statement, KOHUR accused the government of abandoning its constitutional obligations.
“A government that watches its own citizens go hungry while remaining a spectator forfeits its moral claim to govern them,” the organisation said.
The latest statement comes against the backdrop of continuing ethnic tensions in Manipur, where competing claims over blockades, security measures and access to essential supplies have become a recurring feature of the prolonged conflict.
