India Named in UN’s Shameful List of 38 Countries for Harassment of Human Rights Activists: Reports
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his address also included allegations of ill-treatment, surveillance, criminalisation and public stigmatisation campaigns targeting victims and human rights defenders.
Geneva, Sep 15: In what is believed to bring embarrassment to the nation, the United Nations has named India in its ‘shameful’ list of 38 countries for harassment of Human Rights activists. The Union Nations in its annual report revealed that a rise in legal, political and administrative hurdles used to intimidate and silence civil society have been witnessed in countries including India, China, Isreal and Russia among others.
The annual report from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also included allegations of ill-treatment, surveillance, criminalisation and public stigmatisation campaigns targeting victims and human rights defenders, reports said.
In India, several human rights activist were arrested recently and charged under the UAPA for allegedly having ‘Naxal’ links. The 38 countries included 29 countries with new cases, and 19 with ongoing or continuing cases. The UN report has accused these countries of torturing, killing victims and their human rights defenders, and also carrying out surveillance against them. China, Russia, Saudi Arabia and Israel have also been included in the list.
According to a report by Reuters, the new cases of violence have been reported in Bahrain, Cameroon, China, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Kyrgyzstan, Maldives, Mali, Morocco, Myanmar, Philippines, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, South Sudan, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
According to the report, some of the countries listed in the UN report are current members of the Human Rights Council, which adopted a resolution last year reaffirming that everyone individually or in association with others had a right to unhindered communication with the UN.
The report quotes the UN Secretary-General saying that the world owes it to those brave people standing up for human rights, who have responded to requests to provide information to and engage with the United Nations, to ensure their right to participate is respected. “Punishing individuals for cooperating with the United Nations is a shameful practice that everyone must do more to stamp out”, he added.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 15, 2018 10:01 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).