India rejects UN rights body’s remarks on Delhi protest detentions as ‘unwarranted interference’

India on Sunday described the UN human rights’ agency’s remarks expressing concern at the detention of thousands of protesters in New Delhi as unwarranted and an unacceptable interference in internal affairs, and accused the body of “extreme selectivity” in its response to events in the region.

Police detained more than 2,000 protesters as security forces locked down central parts of the national capital on Saturday to thwart a rally demanding the resignation of India’s chief election commissioner over alleged irregularities in voters’ rolls.

The remarks by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) about the events in New Delhi are “unwarranted and constitute an unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of India”, the external affairs ministry said in a statement.

The ministry argued that India is the largest democracy with the right to peaceful assembly guaranteed by the Constitution and “safeguarded by robust institutions, an independent judiciary and a free media”. It said that, as in every democracy, Indian citizens “exercise this right subject to the maintenance of public order and safety”.

“Our law enforcement authorities act strictly in accordance with the law, and our courts remain available to all for the redressal of any grievances,” the statement said.

The ministry accused OHCHR of having “an approach of extreme selectivity” in its public positions, and noted that violent responses to protests in India’s neighbourhood had “gone uncommented, as indeed have law enforcement actions in its own vicinity”.

“Such double standards only erode the credibility of its standing and contribute to the loss of faith in multilateralism,” the statement said.

In a statement issued in Geneva on Saturday, OHCHR expressed concern at “reports of mass detentions in India of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists” during large-scale demonstrations in New Delhi.

“We call on the authorities to ensure that the right to peaceful assembly is fully respected and fulfilled. Restrictions on peaceful protests must meet strict tests of necessity and proportionality,” OHCHR said.

Indian authorities should ensure law enforcement forces “exercise utmost restraint in response to peaceful protesters”, consistent with democratic traditions and human rights obligations. “All those arbitrarily detained must be immediately and unconditionally released,” OHCHR said.

OHCHR also called on Indian authorities to “engage in meaningful dialogue to address the broadly held concerns expressed”.