Call on the United Nations for greater oversight on India’s human rights abuses
ahead of India’s UPR session
WASHINGTON, LONDON, GENEVA — India needs to take action to protect its minorities and end discrimination in legislation on the basis of caste and religion. This was a key message on 3 October 2022 of panelists in a webinar held in preparation for the upcoming review of India with respect to the recent degradation of Human Rights in that country. The side-event webinar titled “Reversing the Trend: Minority Rights in India”, was organized by the Coalition for Minority Rights in India, which comprises the organizations that worked collectively on a report submitted in advance of the webinar. These organizations are The World Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors International, the Indian American Muslim Council, Hindus for Human Rights, Justice For All, and the International Commission for Dalit Rights. The organizations have an interest in an inclusive, pluralistic, and multi-faith India, and have expressed alarm at the deterioration of the situation of minorities, the rule of law, and the overall health of India’s democracy.
Dr. Andrea Benzo, Italian Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief Protection and Inter-religious Dialogue, laid out the basis for India’s plurality in its own history and reiterated Italy’s commitment to see India continue that tradition.
Dr. Fernand de Varennes, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, said that increasing hate speech and violence targets minorities, spoke of growing impunity, and made a recommendation for action, calling for the establishment of an Independent Investigation Mechanism, such as was done in the case of Syria, Myanmar, Sri Lanka or Ethiopia.
Dr. Nazila Ghanea, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, spoke of a marked increase in communications since 2016 between UN experts and the Indian government, stating that several are unanswered. She said that the Freedom of Religion and Belief recommendations made during the 2017 UPR of India remain relevant, and mentioned that the most recent recommendations made were related to the Hijab rules in the Indian State of Karnataka, forced evictions & demolition of activists’ homes, lack of identification of mass gravesites in the Jammu & Kashmir region and on gender-based violence against Muslim women.
Mr. Garnett Genuis, Member of Parliament in Canada, expressed concern about violence against minorities, as well as anti-conversion laws, and said that any engagement must be seen as mutually-respectful by India.
Wissam Al-Saliby, of the World Evangelical Alliance, said; “The Universal Periodic Review of India in November at the Human Rights Council is an opportunity for the government of India to demonstrate its commitment to human rights and to ending violence and discrimination against religious minorities.”
Speaking at the event, ICDR Board of Directors Rev. Gideon Jibamani, Ph.D. said; “Dalits and indigenous tribes are the most that suffer from religious intolerance in India regardless of their religious belief. Dalit Christians and Dalit Muslims face threefold discrimination by the State, Society at large, and within the Faith due to religious and caste identity”. Dalit Christians are a significant minority, constituting 15 million of the 24 million Indian-Christian population. Dr. Jibamani urged the Government of India to reform several discriminatory laws and appealed to the international community to stand together with Dalits, Adivasi (indigenous people), and minorities to defend their rights, dignity, freedom, and justice.
Hena Zuberi, a panelist on the webinar & Director at Justice For All added; “India’s National Register of Citizens and the 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act pose a grave danger to millions of citizens, especially Muslims. It’s a high probability for India to detain many as non-citizens, creating what will become concentration camps. It’s time for the United Nations to raise this with the Indians and for India to repeal these discriminatory laws.”
In India, incitement, disinformation, and stigmatization of minority faith groups, including by senior political figures, have led to a surge of hate speech in large Hindu religious gatherings, on social media, and have led to increasing hostility and violence against religious minorities. Anti-conversion laws enacted in eleven states have put stringent limits on religious activity and undermined the right to freedom of religion and of assembly. The Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 excludes migrants from citizenship based on their religious affiliation and the National Registry of Citizens creates a religious test, especially for Indian Muslims to prove their citizenship. In addition to Muslims, Christians, Sikhs & Dalits (the lowest in the Hindu caste hierarchy) continue to face discrimination. In Dec. 2021, a Hindu Religious Parliament openly called for the genocide of Muslims and declared that Christmas would not be allowed in the Hindu holy city of Haridwar.
The full side-event can be watched on Justice For All’s Facebook page. The report submission made by the coalition is available here. The recommendations made by the coalition cover the targeting of minorities, restricting their participation, issues of the lack of proper judicial process, and the suppression of their rights. The coalition expects that the United Nations take all actions available to it to have India return to the path of pluralism and equality as enshrined in its constitution.
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To arrange an interview with a coalition member, or for further material or information, please contact:
Washington, D.C.: Hena Zuberi, Director, Justice For All, [email protected]
Chicago: Zahir Adil, Save India Project Team Lead, Justice For All, [email protected]
London: Gloria Leccese, Senior Advocacy Officer, Open Doors International, [email protected]
Geneva: Wissam al-Saliby, Geneva Office Director, World Evangelical Alliance [email protected]
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Linked URLs:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D90JjHgoJyw
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Religion News Service or Religion News Foundation.
