The organisation’s special rapporteurs urged New Delhi to prevent ‘misuse’ of central agencies against civil society groups.
By Scroll Staff
The United Nations human rights experts on Thursday urged the Indian government to prohibit advocacy of religious hatred, including incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and protect the religious freedom of minorities by repealing anti-conversion and anti-blasphemy laws.
The experts appealed to New Delhi to prevent vigilante violence and ensure accountability for crimes committed.
A joint statement issued by the United Nations special rapporteurs, independent experts and working groups said that the Indian government should adopt anti-discriminatory laws “with the participation of all disadvantaged groups, including women and men from marginalised caste systems, such as Dalits”.
Further, the experts urged the government to adopt measures against gender-based discrimination and violence against women and girls and respond effectively to the needs of survivors of these crimes.
The experts appealed to the government to “prevent and punish demolitions of homes and arbitrary displacement of minorities”. The government should also take steps to prevent arbitrary displacements that are generated by development [of] mega-projects, the statement added.
It also asked the government to address the risk of statelessness for people of Bengali descent in Assam.
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