United Nations: India has said human rights must not be used as a tool of political pressure or to single out particular countries. It objected to efforts to turn allegations and incomplete statistics into a “negative characterisation” of the world’s largest democracy.
“India engages with international human rights mechanisms, but such engagement must be grounded in dialogue, consultation and cooperation, with non-selectivity and transparency as guiding principles,” said Barkha Tamrakar, Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs.
Tamrakar made India’s statement on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, during the agenda item on the Working Group on Enforced Disappearances. She stressed that human rights should not be wielded as an instrument of political pressure or selective targeting.
“We urge delegations to cite the report accurately and not to turn a humanitarian communication into a verdict,” she said.
India is ready to clarify specific, properly documented cases through established channels, she said, but formally rejects any “attempt to convert unverified allegations, incomplete statistics or a report that contains no India country observation into a negative characterisation of the world’s largest democracy.”
Context: concerns over Delhi protests
Her remarks came as UN human rights experts raised concerns about the recent youth-led protests in New Delhi.
On Tuesday, more than 20 UN human rights experts in Geneva voiced alarm over what they called a “repeatedly heavy-handed police response” to peaceful youth-led demonstrations in the capital. They urged the authorities to ensure accountability for the reported rights violations during the protests.
Last week, India dismissed as “hearsay” a report by a UN human rights expert, which had referred to a “satirical political movement” started by the country’s youth and alleged that its members faced retaliation. New Delhi asked the expert to “verify” the claims rather than denounce issues on the basis of unverified allegations.
The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights had also expressed concern over “reports of mass detentions of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists” before and during large-scale demonstrations in Delhi. India called the OHCHR’s comments on the protests “unwarranted” and an “unacceptable interference” in its internal affairs.
