'Human rights not tool for political pressure': India on UN criticism over protests

A protestor is detained by the police during a youth demonstration demanding the resignation of the country's election chief Gyanesh Kumar, in New Delhi, India

NEW DELHI: India on Wednesday asserted that human rights should not be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective targeting of countries, opposing attempts to turn allegations and incomplete statistics into a “negative characterisation” of the world's largest democracy.While speaking at UNGA Third Committee, deputy secretary in the ministry of external affairs Barkha Tamrakar said, "Human rights not to be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective country targeting.""India engages with international human rights mechanisms, but such engagement must be based on dialogue, consultation, cooperation with non-selectivity and transparency as guiding principle," she added."We call on delegations to cite the report faithfully, not to inflate a humanitarian communication into a verdict."She also opposed 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".

Remarks come amid UN experts’ concerns over protestsTamrakar's remarks came amid concerns raised by UN human rights experts over recent youth-led protests in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, more than 20 UN human rights experts in Geneva expressed alarm over what they described as a “repeatedly heavy-handed police response” to peaceful youth-led demonstrations in the national capital.In a statement shared by UN special procedures, the experts alleged that law enforcement agencies had used force against unarmed students, detained protesters arbitrarily and imposed broad restrictions on public gatherings.

They called on Indian authorities to respect the right to peaceful assembly and ensure accountability for alleged abuses.“Despite the non-violent nature of the assemblies, law enforcement has deployed force against unarmed students,” the experts said.

UN experts flag mass detentions, alleged ill-treatmentThe experts said hundreds of thousands of students and their supporters had gathered peacefully across the country to protest government decisions concerning the education system and, more recently, voter-roll deletions.They referred to reports that the deletions affected 130 million individuals, reportedly belonging to Muslim, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities.According to the statement, more than 7,000 young people, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and political party members were recently detained in New Delhi and taken to detention centres farther away. Their phones were allegedly seized and protest-related material deleted.

Most were released after 24 hours, including protest leaders, the experts said.The statement also cited reports of injuries and ill-treatment among protesters, expressing particular concern over allegations of sexual violence and other forms of gender-based abuse during demonstrations and related detentions.

The experts also raised concerns over the reported use of Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to impose broad restrictions on public gatherings, suspend public transportation and enforce internet shutdowns.They said restrictions on peaceful assembly must be lawful, pursue a legitimate objective and be necessary and proportionate.They urged Indian authorities to immediately stop the excessive use of force, lift blanket restrictions on assemblies and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including biometric monitoring and internet disruptions.The UN experts called for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation into the conduct of law enforcement personnel and affiliated forces, urging authorities to ensure accountability, justice and reparations for victims.