Minority rights coalition sheds light on India’s human rights record for UN’s fourth Universal Periodic Review

[Washington D.C., London, Geneva] 17 June 2022.

A new coalition of minority rights campaigners says that minorities in India are on the edge of a precipice as their rights and freedoms have eroded in the face of a growing violent majoritarian ideology.

As UN member states prepare to gather in November to review India’s human rights record during the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) for the fourth time since 2006, the coalition is alarmed by the deterioration of the situation of minorities, the rule of law, and the overall health of India’s democracy.

In its submission, the coalition, consisting of Hindus for Human Rights, Indian American Muslim Council, International Commission for Dalit Rights, Open Doors International, Justice for All, and World Evangelical Alliance, draws attention to the challenges India’s minorities face. Its report details how the Indian government has fostered violence and legal discrimination against India’s religious and social minorities. The stakeholder report describes the confluence between state and non-state actors that encourage human rights violations in India.

The UPR is a unique process that involves a periodic peer review of the human rights records of all United Nations Member States at the Human Rights Council in Geneva. The last review of India took place in May 2017.

Given this situation and the Indian government’s shortcomings in implementing UPR recommendations that the government expressed support for in the previous cycle, the group fears for the future of minorities in the country.

The coalition urges the United Nations to consider the concerns addressed in the stakeholder report released today. The coalition hopes that the stakeholder report’s concerns will be included in the UPR’s recommendations and that the Indian government will implement those recommendations.

Key Dates:
• UPR pre-session civil society panel on India organized in Geneva by UPR-Info: 29 August – 2 September 2022 (exact date to be determined)
• UPR Session: 10 November 2022