Joint Statement on the UN Human Rights Committee’s Review of India
We the undersigned organisations welcome the findings of the Human Rights Committee (henceforth, Committee) following its long-awaited review of India on 15 -16 July 2024, 28 years after the last time India’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) was scrutinised by the panel of independent human rights experts.
The Committee has released a set of Concluding Observations which contain strong recommendations addressing the issues raised, including violence against religious minorities, gender-based violence, the use of anti-terrorism and other laws to suppress dissenters, journalists and religious minorities, the suppression of NGOs and human rights defenders, and high levels of corruption at all government and administrative levels.
We note in particular the concerns of the Committee about discrimination and violence against religious minorities and marginalised groups, including Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, Dalits and Adivasis. Incidents of violence and extra-judicial killings, including most recently in Manipur, as well as mob lynchings and punitive demolitions of property and religious sites of minorities, paint a dire picture of the situation facing religious minorities in India. Dalits continue to face blatant forms of discrimination, with practices such as manual scavenging persisting in some parts of the country, and Dalits not receiving scheduled caste status when they convert to Islam or Christianity. Despite the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Dalits and Adivasis continue to face major challenges to achieving justice for violations committed against them due to delays in investigating and prosecuting crimes by local authorities.
As outlined by the Committee, there is an urgent need for the Indian government to adopt and implement comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation, as well as to prevent, promptly and impartially investigate any form of discrimination and violence committed against religious minorities and marginalised groups, and provide justice to the victims. We also welcome the Committee’s recommendation to consider specifically outlawing “cow vigilantism” lynchings, a discriminatory and violent practice against religious minorities.
We also note the Committee’s findings that gender-based violence and discrimination in India remains pervasive, with women, girls and LGBTI persons subjected to many forms of harassment and violence. Violence against women manifests as gang rapes, acid attacks, public humiliation and domestic violence, with women and girls from lower castes and ethnic and religious minorities facing even higher rates of violence. We support the Committee’s recommendations that the Indian authorities adopt and implement a comprehensive legal and policy framework to prevent, address and end violence against women, girls and sexual minorities of all backgrounds.
We further support the Committee’s findings that national security and anti-terrorism laws are being arbitrarily used to target, arrest and detain religious minorities, adivasis, human rights activists and journalists. Many individuals have been arbitrarily arrested through the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) and other national security laws, and are languishing in prison without charge for exercising their right to freedom of expression, whilst the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA), among others, prevents effective accountability. We reinforce calls on the Indian authorities to refrain from acts of intimidation, harassment, violence and persecution, and to release human rights defenders unlawfully detained. Finally, we support the Committee’s findings on the discriminatory nature of the Citizenship Amendment Act, a piece of legislation which effectively prevents Muslim asylum seekers from achieving citizenship. Those already in-country who have citizenship face serious procedural challenges to be included in the National Population Register and NRC in Assam, posing a high risk of statelessness, detention or deportation. As a priority, the government of India must amend the Citizenship Amendment Act so that it falls in line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Finally, we support the Committees’ recommendation to the Indian authorities to widely disseminate the Concluding Observations, including among civil society and the wider public, and to engage effectively with the Committee and the wider UN human rights system, for follow up on the recommendations of the Concluding Observations.
Read the full Concluding Observations of the HR Committee here. And watch the review dialogue here (Part 1) and here (Part 2).
Endorsing organisations (in alphabetical order)
- CasteWatch UK
- Hindus for Human Rights
- India Labour Solidarity
- International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India – InSAF
- Scottish Indians for Justice
- South Asia Justice Campaign
- South Asia Solidarity Group
- Strive UK
- UK Indian Muslim Council
South Asia Justice Campaign
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