India urges UN rights bodies to avoid politicisation and double standards

India urged UN human rights mechanisms to avoid politicisation and challenged claims about unresolved forest rights applications. The intervention underscored New Delhi's demand for impartial assessments grounded in verified official data.

In Short

• Anuj Swarup addressed the General Assembly Third Committee's 81st session
• Over 250 million Indians escaped multidimensional poverty during the past decade
• Social protection reaches one billion people through food, health and banking

India has urged United Nations human rights mechanisms to avoid politicisation and selectivity and to respect cultural and historical contexts. It said New Delhi remained committed to advancing human rights for all without double standards.

India also strongly objected to a reference in a UN report claiming that a substantial number of applications under the Forest Rights Act remained unresolved, saying the assertion was based on unverified information and not supported by official data.

First Secretary at the Permanent Mission of India Anuj Swarup made the remarks at the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly's Third Committee while speaking on the Human Rights Council's report on Monday.

Swarup said India would continue to work with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a "spirit of trust and partnership, as we remain committed to advancing human rights for all without selectivity and double standards".

"We hope that the UN human rights mechanisms will rise above politicisation and selectivity, respecting cultural and historical context, so that these bodies remain an impartial moral compass for the world," he said.

India's remarks came days after it described the UN human rights office's comments on protests in Delhi as "unwarranted" and "unacceptable interference" in the country's internal affairs. The office had expressed concern over "reports of mass detentions of demonstrators, protest leaders, members of civil society organisations, lawyers and journalists, before and during today's large-scale demonstrations in Delhi".

Swarup said India's approach to human rights was rooted in its civilisational ethos of pluralism and peaceful coexistence. "As a member of the Human Rights Council, India has engaged constructively in a spirit of dialogue and cooperation," he said, adding that the world's largest democracy was committed to ensuring dignity for every citizen.

He said more than 250 million people had been lifted out of multidimensional poverty in the past decade and the country's social protection system covered more than one billion people. This included free foodgrains for 800 million citizens, free health cover for 600 million citizens and 320 million bank accounts for women.

"India remains committed to promotion and protection of human rights for all, and working with all members to make the Council an effective, objective, and credible body," Swarup said.

The UN General Assembly on Tuesday elected Brazil, Burundi, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal, Nigeria, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Uruguay and Zambia to the Human Rights Council for the 2027-2029 term.

In a separate statement on the rights of indigenous peoples, India rejected a reference in a report by Special Rapporteur Albert Barume on the demarcation, registration and titling of indigenous peoples' lands, territories and resources. The report said that although millions of applications had been submitted under India's Forest Rights Act, a substantial number, particularly community claims, remained unresolved.

"While the report acknowledges that the Forest Rights Act recognises individual and collective rights, my delegation takes strong exception to the unsubstantiated reference to India in paragraph 42 of the report. The assertion that a substantial number of claims under the Forest Rights Act remain unresolved rests on a single submission by an individual. It is not supported by any official data. Such selective reliance on unverified input calls into question the rigour and objectivity of the report," Swarup said.

Citing official data, he said more than 5.4 million claims had been filed under the Forest Rights Act, of which over 80 per cent had been decided and more than 2.5 million titles distributed. India offered to provide updated data to the Special Rapporteur "so that such anomalies based on unverified submissions can be rectified".

Swarup said India remained committed to sustainable and comprehensive development that left no community behind and had consistently supported the rights of indigenous peoples. India reiterated its commitment to protecting human rights while calling for impartial UN mechanisms and objecting to findings it said were not backed by official data.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends