Islamabad: The United Nations Human Rights Committee has expressed significant concerns over ongoing discrimination and violence against minority groups in India, following a thorough review of the country’s human rights record during its recent session in Geneva.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the committee, an assembly of 18 independent experts tasked with monitoring adherence to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), finalized its observations about India on July 22 after conducting hearings earlier in the month. These observations critically highlight issues facing religious minorities like Muslims, Christians, Sikhs, as well as “scheduled castes,” “scheduled tribes,” and LGBT communities within the country.
The findings of the Committee underscored the urgent need for India to enact comprehensive anti-discrimination laws, enhance public awareness, and provide targeted training for civil servants, law enforcement, the judiciary, and community leaders to foster respect for diversity. The Committee also criticized specific provisions of India’s Armed Forces (Special Powers) Acts and certain counter-terrorism laws, noting their non-compliance with international standards set by the ICCPR.
Particularly troubling to the Committee are the long-standing applications of these laws in regions designated as “disturbed areas,” including parts of Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, and Assam. The report detailed “widespread and grave” human rights violations such as excessive force resulting in unlawful killings, prolonged arbitrary detention, sexual violence, forced displacement, and torture.
In response to these findings, the Committee urged India to align its security and counter-terrorism measures with ICCPR obligations, ensuring they are temporary, proportionate, necessary, and subject to judicial oversight. Additionally, it called for the establishment of a mechanism to acknowledge and address historical human rights violations in these troubled regions.
India was reviewed alongside six other nations during this session of the Committee, including Croatia, Honduras, Maldives, Malta, Suriname, and Syria.