Arbitrary, unverified reports make UN lose credibility: India
United Nations: Arbitrary reports based on unverifiable hearsay have led to the UN losing its credibility, India has warned while rejecting “outright” a report by the monitor for freedom of peaceful assembly.
“A sweeping charge against the world’s largest youth population, resting on anonymous and unverified claims is not evidence”, Indian diplomat Anuj Swarup said on Friday, taking exception to the Special Rapporteur’s report on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association.
“This level of arbitrary report writing is precisely the reason that the United Nations and its institutions have lost credibility”, he said at a meeting in New York of the General Assembly’s Third Committee that deals with social and humanitarian issues.
“It is hearsay dressed up as a UN report, and my delegation rejects it outright”, he said.
The report by Special Rapporteur Gina Romero said, “Young people from India reported retaliation or stigmatisation for discussing mental health or gender justice”.
The footnote to the claim in the report attributed it to a “submission” without further identifying the source.
“A mandate holder who relies on anonymous inputs to generalise for 1.4 billion people does a disservice to the very mandate she holds”, said Swarup, a first secretary in India’s UN mission in Geneva.
This was the second time this week that India issued a warning about the UN human rights mechanism losing its credibility through arbitrary reports.
Swarup on Wednesday said Human Rights Commissioner Volker Turk was following double standards in how he reports on violent responses to protests.
“Violent responses to protests in our neighbourhood, as well as in the West, have gone uncommented” in the reports Turk, he said.
“Such double standards contribute to loss of trust” in the high commissioner, he said.
While criticising the special rapporteur’s submission on Friday, Swarup said, “Ironically, the same report notes that young Indians created a satirical political movement”.
“In which repressive state does a satirical youth party question the government, marches on the capital and then sits across the table with senior national leaders?”, he asked rhetorically, referring to the Cockroach Janta Party.
He said Romero probably missed Turk’s statement “in the Human Rights Council last month that dialogue with young leaders is far more effective in the context of youth-led movement in India”.
Turk said on September 7, “The recent protests in India showed the best response is dialogue with youth leaders, not the excessive use of force”.
“The true testament of democracy in action” is how India handled the youth protests against examination irregularities, he said.
“When students protested this summer over irregularities in public examinations, the government engaged constructively with the youth” and “within weeks, Parliament amended the Public Examinations Act”, he said.
It doubled punishments for paper leaks, carried out a systemic examination overhaul and created fast-track courts in every state specifically dedicated to prosecuting individuals involved in exam fraud, he said.
Responding to Swarup’s criticism, Romero acknowledged, “India is the biggest democracy in the world” and “they have several participatory bodies and scenarios to include the voices of youths”.
“But also, we have youths in the streets protesting”, she said, repeating her criticism.
Romero, a Colombian activist, was appointed rapporteur by the Human Rights Council.
Rapporteurs are not UN staffers and serve in their personal capacities without a salary.