Activists slam govt for 'ignoring' UN human rights suggestions

It is a ‘shame’ that India has accepted only 67 out of the 168 UN Universal Periodic Review recommendations, which are mostly generic and turned down the concrete ones, said activists at the release of the “Human Rights In India Status Report” on Saturday.

The report has been prepared by the Working Group for Human Rights in India and the UN (WGHR) on the basis of the review. It pointed out that lack of proper implementation of government policies is due to bureaucratic lethargy, inadequate allocation of resources and contradiction between different policies.

The UPR is a unique peer review process during which the UN Human Rights Council reviews the records of all 193 UN member states, once every four and a half years.
The report highlights three broad categories — economic, social and cultural rights; militarisation and security laws and access to justice.

“Conflict is no longer confined to Kashmir and North East states as it has reached parts of Central India. In all these areas, human rights violations are overlooked and even condoned. The legal framework and practice have entrenched the culture of impunity,” said Vrinda Grover, lawyer and activist while commenting on security laws.

The report highlights that the recommendations given by other countries which include review of the Armed Forces (special powers) Act, repealing of this law and an performing of annual review was not accepted by the Indian government.