UN Human Rights Office Criticises India

Brut India

In the wake of the shutdown of Amnesty in India, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement criticising the clampdown on civil society and arrest of activists.

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00:00Most recently, Amnesty International was compelled to close its offices in India after its bank

00:06accounts were frozen over alleged violation of the FCRA.

00:10Activists and human rights defenders have also come under mounting pressure in recent

00:14months.

00:15More than 1,500 people have reportedly been arrested in relation to the protests, with

00:20many charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

01:21The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Vachelet, is today appealing to the

01:26Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs.

01:32He draws attention to three different laws that we perceive to be problematic.

01:37The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, or FCRA, is vaguely worded and overbroad in its

01:44objective.

01:45The Act, which was adopted in 2010 and was amended last month, has had a detrimental

01:50impact on the right to freedom of association and expression of human rights NGOs.

01:56It is expected that the new amendments will create even more administrative and practical

02:00hurdles for such advocacy-based NGOs.

02:04Most recently, Amnesty International was compelled to close its offices in India after its bank

02:10accounts were frozen over alleged violation of the FCRA.

02:13This Act has also been invoked over the years to justify an array of highly intrusive measures,

02:19ranging from official raids on NGO offices and freezing of bank accounts, to suspension

02:25or cancellation of registration, including of civil society organisations that have engaged

02:30with UN human rights bodies.

02:32Activists and human rights defenders have also come under mounting pressure in recent

02:36months, particularly because of their engagement in mass protests against the Citizenship Amendment

02:43Act that took place across the country earlier this year.

02:46So this is the second problematic law I referred to earlier.

02:49More than 1,500 people have reportedly been arrested in relation to the protests, with

02:55many charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.

02:59So that's the third law.

03:01And this law has also been widely criticised for its lack of conformity with international

03:07human rights standards.

03:08The High Commissioner is urging the Government of India to ensure that no one else is detained

03:13for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

03:17She also calls on the authorities to carefully review the FCRA for its compliance with international

03:23human rights standards, and to release people charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention

03:28Act for simply exercising basic human rights that India is obliged to protect.

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