India rejects UN panel’s observations on its ‘rights violations’

India disavowed a United Nations panel's report on Wednesday that alleged rights violations against various ethnic and religious groups within the nation. On Tuesday, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD) expressed concerns about human rights abuses against individuals from scheduled tribes, scheduled castes, and Rohingya refugees. Additionally, the committee called for measures against those responsible for "hate crimes" in India.

Randhir Jaiswal, an official spokesperson from India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), stated that India rejects "any politically motivated and highly malicious references in the report with all the contempt that it deserves." He emphasized that India's dedication to combating racial discrimination "remains unwavering."

During the review, the MEA official highlighted India's constitutional protections, robust legal system, pluralism, and persistent efforts to safeguard disadvantaged communities. Jaiswal affirmed that the inter-ministerial delegation, headed by Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta, had already dismissed the report's sweeping generalizations, unsubstantiated allegations, and tendency to surpass the Convention's mandate during the review meeting.

The UN panel had expressed concerns over abuses against marginalized communities in India, urging New Delhi to safeguard them from alleged abuse, torture, extrajudicial killings, and loss of citizenship. They also criticized the implementation of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, alleging mass arbitrary deprivation of citizenship and systemic racial discrimination against Bengali-speaking Muslims.

The committee called for India to suspend the NRC and evaluate its legislative framework. Furthermore, the Election Commission of India's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process was singled out, with the committee expressing concerns that Bengali-speaking Muslim voters were disproportionately affected in West Bengal and Assam.