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GENEVA: Prominent UN human rights experts have written a second letter expressing concerns over the hate speech, violent attacks and harassment of peaceful protestors by the Indian government.
In a second joint letter sent to India based on reports and testimonies, the experts raised concern over the Indian government’s hate speech, violent attacks and harassment of peaceful protestors against the Anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and targeting of Indian Muslims, particularly in Northeast Delhi and Uttar Pradesh earlier this year.
The experts extensively documented the events of hate speech by several leaders of the BJP ruling party and instigating violent attacks against Muslims and their places of prayers and properties in February.
They also highlighted that the Indian government pre-mediated these attacks by mobilizing Hindu nationalists from other states, with supply of arms and ammunitions.
The UN experts expressed concern at the “lack of accountability” and a “persistent climate of impunity” despite flagrant incitement to violence against Muslims and hatred expressed by high-profile political figures and members of parliament.
They lamented police complicity in violence by Hindu mobs against Muslim population and interference of the Indian government in the independence of the judiciary by transferring a presiding judge of a case.
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The joint letter was sent to India by these UN experts, also known as UN Special Rapporteurs, on 9th October, 2020. It was made public on Wednesday after India did not respond within the given deadline of sixty days.
The first letter was dispatched to India on 28th February in which nine human rights experts expressed serious concerns over use of excessive force, intimidation and harassment of anti-CAA protestors particularly against the Muslim minority.
The protests erupted on December 15, 2019, and continued for 55 days. Earlier this year the Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also published detailed reports and shared evidence of Indian government’s involvement in targeted violence against Muslims in Delhi.
The signatories of the letter include Ahmed Shaheed, Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion, Elina Steinerte, Vice-Chairman of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Ms Agnes Callamard, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, Ms. Irena Khan, Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression, Clement Nyaletsossi Voule, Special Rapporteur on peaceful assembly and association, Fernand de Varennes, Special Rapporteur on minority issues and Mr Nils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on torture.
