Ahead of Delhi G20 summit, UN experts express concerns over human rights violations in Manipur

Even as New Delhi is preparing to host the G20 leaders this week, nearly 20 United Nations experts have expressed concerns over serious human rights violations and abuses in conflict-torn Manipur in northeastern India, including alleged acts of sexual violence, extrajudicial killings, home destruction, forced displacement, torture and ill-treatment.

The experts – mostly special rapporteurs appointed by the UN Human Rights Council – alleged “inadequate humanitarian response” in the wake of the grave humanitarian situation in Manipur “following the latest round of community conflict between the predominantly Hindu Meitei and the predominantly Christian Kuki ethnic communities that erupted in May 2023”.

The statement by the UN experts came just ahead of the 18th G20 summit, which Prime Minister Narendra Modi will host at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi on Saturday and Sunday.

India took over the rotating presidency of the G20 on December 1, 2022 and would hold it till November 30 this year.

With the annual summit of the premier forum of international economic cooperation being held in New Delhi, the Modi government has been projecting it as a reflection of the growing international reputation and influence of India.

“We are appalled by the reports and images of gender-based violence targeting hundreds of women and girls of all ages, and predominantly of the Kuki ethnic minority. The alleged violence includes gang rape, parading women naked in the street, severe beatings causing death, and burning them alive or dead,” the UN experts stated in a joint statement.

When Modi landed in Paris for a two-day visit on July 14, the European Parliament, then holding its plenary at Strasbourg in northeastern France, had urged his government to take all necessary measures to immediately end the ethnic and religious violence in Manipur.

The European Parliament adopted a resolution expressing concerns about “politically motivated, divisive policies promoting Hindu majoritarianism” in the northeastern state of India. It took note of the “accounts of partisan involvement by security forces in the killings” resulting in increased distrust in the authorities in the state.

The UN special rapporteurs and other experts noted that an estimated 160 persons had reportedly been killed in Manipur by middle the of the last month and most of them were from the Kuki ethnic community. Over 300 others had been injured. The conflict in Manipur also reportedly resulted in tens of thousands of people from the communities being displaced, thousands of homes and hundreds of churches being burnt down, as well as the destruction of farmland, loss of crops and loss of livelihood, they noted.

The experts included Reem Alsalem, UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Michael Fakhri, special rapporteur on the right to food, Irene Khan, special rapporteur on the protection and promotion of freedom of opinion and expression, Fionnuala Ní Aoláin, special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, Balakrishnan Rajagopal, special rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, and Nazila Ghanea, special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief.

“It is particularly concerning that the violence seems to have been preceded and incited by hateful and inflammatory speech that spread online and offline to justify the atrocities committed against the Kuki ethnic minority, particularly women, on account of their ethnicity and religious belief,” they said, adding, “We are further alarmed by the reported misuse of counterterrorism measures to legitimise acts of violence and repression against ethnic and religious minorities.”