It is estimated that around 50, 00,000 under trial people are waiting for justice in Indian prisons. Poor people are vulnerable to all kinds of exploitation including the legal exploitation. Many people are in jails just because they can not afford a few hundred rupees for bail. Legal help is among the prime needs of many poor people in India.
Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a national level NGO was formed as part of Vision 2016 project for providing legal aid assistance, protection and rehabilitation to the survivors of religious intolerance and all sorts of discrimination and oppression.
APCR is actively involved in creating legal awareness in the society especially among the Muslim population of the country. It has organised several important workshops, seminars, and training sessions in the very short period of time and is being now recognized as one of the major legal aid agencies in the country. Some of the important programs organised by APCR are as follows :
Workshop in Lucknow
A three days workshop was organised at Lucknow to educate and inform the public about their civil rights. Topics of the workshop included:
How to protect and safeguard the legal rights of the oppressed,
How to provide legal defence to the victims of injustice, and
How to advise the deprived and the downtrodden.
Two Days Legal Workshop in Goa
APCR organised a 2 days legal social workers' workshop on 27th & 28th March, 2009 in Margao, Goa. The workshop addressed a wide range of topics from human rights, civil rights, laws, the justice system, rules and procedures, and also responsibilities of the citizens. It also dealt with various practical problems and issues pertaining to civil and human rights. Moreover, practical sessions were also held on:
How to file FIR,
How to write reports of the incidents,
How to file an application under RTI Act, etc.
The formation of Goa Chapter of APCR also came in to existence at this occasion.
Legal-Social Activists' Workshop in Karnataka
To empower the deprived sections of the society through legal literacy and to build a nationwide network of legal social activists, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) organized a state level three days workshop from 24-26 January in Bangalore, Karnataka.
Legal-Social Workers' Workshop in West Bengal
To train the social activists from legal angle and to provide them basic information and knowledge about Fundamental Rights, Human Rights, Indian Legal System, Criminal Justice, Right to Information, Muslim Personal Laws and how to strive for the cause of ensuring justice in India, Association for Protection of Civil rights (APCR) organized a two days workshop in Kolkata, West Bengal during 18-19 July 09.
The workshop addressed topics such as human rights, civil rights, laws, the justice system, rules and procedures, and also responsibilities of the citizens.
Workshops for Legal-Social Workers in Bihar and Jharkhand
Association for Protection of Civil rights (APCR) organized two days workshops each in Patna (Bihar) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) during 13-14 and 15-16 August, 2009 subsequently. APCR is organizing such workshops in different states to build a network of para-legal social activists at national level.
Workshop in Jamia-tul-Falah
To impart the legal knowledge and to make a basic understanding of human and civil rights issues to the students of Madarsas, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) organized a two days workshop at Jamia-tul-Falah, Biliriyaganj, Azamgarh, U.P. on 14- 15 Feb, 2009. It was the first ever camp organized for Madarsa students, which dealt with almost each and every aspects related to Civil and Human Rights issues from ensuring justice in the current situation, training the masses for a comprehensive movement for justice, role of the legal-constitutional framework in providing/ impeding justice to insuring justice- role of students, etc.
Protest against NHRC's 'Clean Chit' to Delhi Police in Batla House 'Encounter' Case
Protesting against National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) 's 'clean chit' to Delhi police in Batla House 'Encounter' Case, Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) in association with Jamia Teachers' Solidarity Group (JTSG) and All India Students Association (AISA) staged a Dharna in front of NHRC Headquarters here .
A copy of the NHRC report was burnt by protestors because they alleged that in spite of the many transparent black holes in the police version, NHRC has accepted it as gospel truth. Protesters reiterated the demand for an impartial judicial enquiry by a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to look into the entire issue emerging from the Batla House 'Encounter'.
Seminar on Protection of Civil Rights Held in Lucknow
A seminar on Protection of Civil Rights in Present Scenario was organized by Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR) in Lucknow on March 14, 2009.
Mr. Kamal Farooqi, Chairman, Delhi Minority Commission, Retd. IPS and senior member of PUCL Mr. S R Darapuri, Prof. Ramesh Dixit of Lucknow University, Dr. Mohammad Ahmad, President, Jamaat-e-Islami Hind, U.P. (West), Adv. Ramkishore, Joint-Convener, APCR, U.P. (West), Mr. V. M. Tripathi, RTI Activist, Maulana Yahya Naumani, and Mr. Athar Hussain expressed their views in the seminar.
Legal-Social Activists' Workshop in Delhi 25-26 April 2009
To carry on the mission to build a nationwide network of legal- social activists at grass root level, APCR organized its two days training workshop in Delhi on 25-26th April, 2009. Around 30 activists from different parts of Delhi participated in this workshop.
APCR Brings Out a Guidebook to Save Common Man from Police 'Power'
The more ignorant of their rights is the common man, the more 'powerful' (read 'unlawful') is the police force. Hardly is any nation witnessing it more than we in India. The import of "war on terror" has further intoxicated the powered police. And 'naturally' - thanks to media and government policies world over, as also in India - Muslim minority is the first victim. Nothing can save them from the menace of the police than power of knowledge - knowledge of rights, both fundamental and civil, knowledge of basic criminal law, how law governs police and police station, and right to information.
These all information and much more has been collected in a handbook, prepared by Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), necessary for every person of the community, more so for human and civil rights activists.
Human & Civil Rights Defender's Resource Manual, as the title denotes, has been prepared for human rights and civil rights activists, creation of the nationwide network of whom is the prime concern the APCR has set for itself. The 122-page guidebook is divided in five parts - each dealing with different but interrelated issue.