UNHRC to review India's rights record on May 4

GENEVA: India faces a review of its human rights record by the UN Human Rights Council. The

Universal Periodic Review

(UPR) Working Group of the UN will examine India’s human rights record for the third time on May 4. India will have to respond to queries on its human rights record on discrimination, stigmatisation of Dalits (a burning issue since the first review) and violence against them.

It will also be questioned on limits on free speech, limits on work of human rights defenders, attacks on religious minorities, reports of excessive use of force, including in Jammu & Kashmir, and use of AFSPA. Other issues on which it faces questions are combating violence against women, human trafficking, tackling harmful practices such as “honour killings”, early and forced marriages, violence against children and child labour.

India’s second report had come in for heavy criticism by the Human Rights Council troika– comprising Latvia, the Philippines and South Africa that served as rapporteurs for India’s review –– and stakeholders in the second review in 2012. At this week’s session, India will spell out its steps to implement the council’s recommendations after the previous reviews that it committed to follow up, as well as highlight the many recent human rights developments in the country.

In an intense three-and-half hour session, the Indian delegation led by attorney general Mukul Rohatgi will introduce the report prepared by India and will have to answer questions from member nations, civil society and the troika. The list this time is longer than at the last review in 2012. India will also be grilled on how it combats extreme poverty, and the situation of landless people; inequalities in access to health services, high levels of neonatal mortality, stunting, malnutrition, underweight children and the attendance of girls in schools. The council will want to know how India is improving access to safe water and sanitation.

India will also be quizzed on how it combats the criminalisation of samesex relations, on the delays in judicial proceedings and how the business sector complies with human rights and labour standards.