UN experts criticize India's protest crackdown, and India rejects 'selective targeting'
More than 20 United Nations human rights experts say Indian police have used too much force against peaceful protests. They point to more than 7,000 people detained in New Delhi and call for an independent inquiry. India said at a UN committee that rights must not be used for political pressure.
A group of United Nations human rights experts said Tuesday that Indian police have repeatedly used heavy-handed tactics against peaceful, youth-led protests, and that the actions violate India's "core international legal obligations," The Hindu, Scroll and the Hindustan Times reported.
The protests began in early October. Opposition parties and student groups have rallied in Delhi and other cities against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the deletion of names from voter rolls, Scroll reported. The experts said the deletions affect 130 million people, reportedly including many Muslims and members of Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
More than 7,000 people, including young people, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers and party members, were recently detained in New Delhi and taken to remote detention centers, the experts said, according to Scroll. Most were released about 24 hours later. The experts said detainees' phones were allegedly seized and protest material deleted, and they raised concerns about reports of sexual violence.
"These actions violate India's core international legal obligations, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, liberty, security of the person, and the right to defend human rights," the experts said. They called for an independent, impartial and thorough investigation without delay, The Hindu reported, and urged India to stop using excessive force and lift blanket bans on gatherings.
The experts are special rapporteurs and members of UN working groups. They are appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but serve independently of any government and of the UN itself, Scroll reported.
India pushed back the same day. Barkha Tamrakar, a deputy secretary in India's foreign ministry, said at a UN General Assembly committee that human rights should not be "an instrument of political pressure or selective country targeting," the Hindustan Times reported. She said India would address specific, documented cases through proper channels but opposed turning "unverified allegations" and "incomplete statistics" into a negative picture of "the world's largest democracy."
What we know: UN experts say Indian police used excessive force and detained more than 7,000 protesters in New Delhi.
What we don't: Whether India will open the independent investigation the experts requested.
Where outlets agree The Hindu, Scroll and the Hindustan Times all report the UN experts' finding that India's police actions violate its core international legal obligations.
Where they differ The Hindu reported that India's foreign ministry had yet to respond to the experts, while the Hindustan Times reports India's statement at the UN rejecting "selective country targeting."