According to the official report, on Friday the National Human Rights Commission has issued an advisory to two Union ministries, states, and union territories to ensure the protection of human rights of 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in view of reports about the spread of Covid-19 infection among several of their members. It is said in a statement, “As per the Census 2011, the population of 75 PVTGs is less than one lakh.”
As observed by the commission, many of the PVTGs have already been struggling against extinction and if Covid-19 infects them, they will not be able to survive, which will be a “great loss for the humanity and diversity of the human race”. In a letter to the secretaries of the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, chief secretaries of states, and administrators of UTs, the commission has asked for the implementation of its recommendations in the advisory and sought action taken reports within four weeks.
“This is based on the existence of a pre-agriculture level of technology, relative physical isolation, stagnant population, extremely low literacy, and a subsistence level of economy,” the statement added. “In this prevailing context of pandemic, it is imperative to issue an advisory for the protection of holistic human rights of the PVTGs and also keeping their deep-rooted health and socio-economic inequities and their naturally isolated habitation spread across inaccessible, far-flung, hilly and forested areas in view,” it added.
Monthly reports have to be submitted to the NHRC by the secretary, Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs, and the chief secretaries, administrators of the states, and UTs till the end of the Covid-19 with respect to the measures taken for implementation of this advisory. Regarding this, District Magistrates shall be assigned as nodal officers for the implementation of this advisory. The commission said the DMs shall also get this advisory translated into the local language, a dialect of the PVTGs, and ensure its dissemination among them.
Some of the important recommendations include conducting frequent RT-PCR testing drive at the doorstep while assuring prompt delivery of reports with priority to be given to the PVTGs addressing the concern of their persistent digital divide. Guaranteeing vaccination of all the PVTGs having a population less than 50,000 within 60 days by sending mobile medical teams; and deployment of a dedicated team of doctors/nurses/paramedic staffs in nearby PVTGs vicinities; and assuring that all expenses for treatment of Covid-19 patients belonging to the PVTGs are borne by the concerned state government/UTs.
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