[1][2] The United Nations describes the 'Armed Forces Special Powers Act' as a colonial-era law that breaches contemporary international human rights standards.

[4] Human Rights Watch has documented instances of arbitrary killings, torture, and rape by Indian security forces in the region.

Of these, the three most prominent are the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), the People's Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), and the PLA of Manipur.

According to human rights organization Redress, the Indian armed forces have abused power through privileges conferred in the act by using it as a manipulative tool to conduct "killings, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and enforced disappearances.

"[10] The act's continued application in Manipur has led to local protests, having Irom Chanu Sharmila, as one of a Manipuri civil rights activist.

[citation needed] There have been repeated reports of insurgent groups in Manipur kidnapping children to bolster their ranks with child soldiers.