'Verify before she vilifies': India rejects UN rapporteur's claims on youth protests

India rejects UN rapporteur Gina Romero’s claims on youth protests

NEW DELHI: India has rejected allegations by UN special rapporteur Gina Romero that young people in the country face retaliation and stigmatisation for discussing mental health and gender justice, calling the claims based on anonymous and unverified submissions.Speaking at an interactive dialogue with Romero during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, India’s first secretary Anuj Swarup questioned the evidence cited in her report on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and association.“Yet, the special rapporteur, Ms Gina Romero, asserts that young people in India face retaliation or stigmatisation for discussing mental health or gender justice, though merely citing unnamed submissions in the footnote.

This level of arbitrary report writing is precisely the reason that the United Nations and its institutions have lost credibility,” Swarup said.“A sweeping charge against the world's largest youth population resting on anonymous and unverified claims is not evidence. It is hearsay, dressed up as a UN report, and my delegation rejects it outright,” he added.

Swarup said India’s Constitution guarantees freedom of assembly, association, speech and expression under Article 19, with these rights protected by an independent judiciary, a free press and the National Human Rights Commission.

He also cited young people’s participation in political movements and engagement with senior government leaders as evidence of civic space in the country.“In which repressive state does a satirical youth party question the government, marches on the capital, and then sits across the table with senior national leaders?” he asked, referring to a youth-led political movement mentioned in Romero’s report.“Chair, a mandate holder who relies on anonymous inputs to generalise for 1.4 billion people does a disservice to the very mandate she holds.

We urge this special rapporteur to verify before she vilifies and to bring the required rigour and fairness in her reports,” he said.The remarks come amid heightened scrutiny of the government’s handling of youth protests, including demonstrations over alleged irregularities in public examinations and the recent anti-SIR stir.Romero had alleged in posts on X on October 10 that peaceful youth protesters in India faced excessive force and arbitrary detention.

She also claimed that more than 2,500 protesters had been sent to remote detention centres without legal support, with some allegedly tortured or sexually assaulted. She further alleged that phones had been seized, protest-related material deleted and internet access restricted.

These allegations were made by Romero and were not independently established in the information provided by India’s statement.

India, meanwhile, defended its response to student protests over examination irregularities, saying the government had engaged with young people and taken steps to address exam fraud.Swarup said Parliament had amended the Public Examinations Act, doubled punishments for paper leaks, overhauled the examination system and created fast-track courts in every state to prosecute exam fraud.He also pointed to the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue, saying more than five million young people had participated this year and helped shape national priorities through direct engagement with the Prime Minister.