Subject: Ensuring the Right to Rehabilitation and Livelihood Support for Torture Survivors under CRPD Commitments
To: NHRC - Chairperson <chairnhrc@nic.in>
To
Shri Justice V. Ramasubramanian Jee
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India
Manav Adhikar Bhawan, Block-C, GPO Complex
INA, New Delhi – 110023
Subject: Ensuring the Right to Rehabilitation and Livelihood Support for Torture Survivors under CRPD Commitments
Respected Sir,
Warm greetings from the People's Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) and Jan Mitra Nyas (JMN), Varanasi.
I am writing to seek your kind attention to a vital and often overlooked dimension of human rights protection in India—the right to rehabilitation and livelihood for survivors of torture and ill-treatment, particularly those from marginalized communities.
India is a signatory and ratifying party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which under Article 16 obligates the State to take effective measures to prevent torture and ensure timely, accessible, and comprehensive rehabilitation for victims. This right is not only psychosocial—it includes access to economic reintegration, livelihood opportunities, and social dignity.
Our work at PVCHR and Jan Mitra Nyas over the last two decades has shown that healing from torture and structural violence requires more than legal redress or medical care. Survivors need sustainable livelihood pathways to reclaim agency, restore dignity, and rejoin society as empowered individuals. Through Testimonial Therapy, legal advocacy, community support, and livelihood-based rehabilitation, we have seen hundreds of survivors rise as leaders and human rights defenders themselves.
This aligns with the spirit of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and NHRC's own commitment to upholding the dignity of the most vulnerable.
We humbly urge the NHRC to:
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Affirm the right to rehabilitation—including economic rehabilitation—as a fundamental right of torture survivors under India's CRPD obligations.
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Issue guidelines promoting integration of livelihood support into survivor assistance mechanisms, including through convergence with social welfare schemes (such as PMEGP, MGNREGA, DAY-NULM, and NSDC).
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Encourage collaboration with grassroots civil society organizations like PVCHR and Jan Mitra Nyas that have developed field-tested models of psychosocial and economic rehabilitation.
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Recommend policy frameworks for survivor-centric rehabilitation under State Human Rights Commissions and local governance bodies.
Rehabilitation is not a favor—it is a state obligation rooted in justice, human dignity, and the transformative promise of our Constitution. As Chairperson of NHRC, your support can significantly strengthen the institutional framework for survivor-centric justice in India.
We are also enclosing ethnographic research by Italian scholar Leonardo Verzaro titled "Vitalità Resistente", which offers a deep account of this journey through my personal and organizational story.
We would be honored to provide a detailed presentation to NHRC on our rehabilitation model, field insights, and survivor testimonies.
With utmost respect and anticipation of your support,
Yours sincerely,
Lenin Raghuvanshi
Founder-Convener, PVCHR
📍 Varanasi, India
Encl.:
PDF: Costruzioni e Trasformazioni del sé a Varanasi (Ethnography by Leonardo Verzaro) Link: https://www.scribd.com/document/863779439/L-Verzaro-Costruzioni-e-Trasformazioni-Del-Se-a-Varanasi-Etnografia-Di-Un-Esperienza-Umanitaria
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