NEW DELHI, Sept 5: India on Tuesday rejected the concerns of a team of experts of the United Nations about the current situation in Manipur saying the report is “unwarranted, presumptive and misleading.”
India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations Office and other International Organisations said the UN experts’ comment betrayed a complete lack of understanding on the situation in Manipur and the steps taken by the government to address it.
The response came hours after a team of experts under the auspices of the U.N. expressed ‘alarm’ about reports of human rights violations in Manipur. The experts pointed out “inadequate humanitarian response” during the ongoing fight between the Meiteis and the Kukis of Manipur that began in the first week of May and has continued ever since.
“The Permanent Mission of India completely rejects the news release as it is not only unwarranted, presumptive and misleading but also betrays a complete lack of understanding on the situation in Manipur and the steps taken by government of India to address it,” a statement issued by the Indian Permanent Mission at the U.N. Office in Geneva declared. It reiterated that India was dealing with the situation in Manipur as per its democratic norms while ensuring respect for human rights and said, “the situation in Manipur is peaceful and stable and government of India is committed to take requisite steps to maintain peace and stability.”
A release issued on Monday by the Special Procedure Mandate Holders (SPMH) prepared by 19 experts led by Reem Alsalem, Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, and titled ‘India: UN experts alarmed by continuing abuses in Manipur’ had said the recent events in Manipur were another tragic milestone in the steadily deteriorating situation for religious and ethnic minorities in India.
“We have serious concerns about the apparent slow and inadequate response by the Government of India, including law enforcement, to stem physical and sexual violence and hate speech in Manipur,” the experts said.
Urging the government to step up relief efforts for those affected and take timely action to investigate acts of violence, they also raised concerns about reported criminalisation and harassment of human rights defenders documenting the cases of violence.
They said, “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.”
They added, “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. We are further alarmed by the reported misuse of counterterrorism measures to legitimize acts of violence and repression against ethnic and religious minorities.”
“By mid-August 2023, an estimated 160 persons had reportedly been killed, mostly from the Kuki ethnic community, and over 300 injured. The conflict 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 the destruction of farmland, loss of crops and loss of livelihood,” the UN experts said.
They urged the Indian authorities to ensure relief efforts to ensure “robust and timely action to investigate acts of violence and hold perpetrators to account, including public officials who have aided and abetted the incitement of racial and religious hatred and violence.”
The Indian response questioned the domain of the U.N. experts in addressing the human rights situation in India and said they should have waited for “inputs from the government of India” before releasing comments for the media explaining, “The Permanent Mission of India hopes that in future, the Special Procedure Mandate holders would be more objective in their assessment, based on the facts, and refrain from commenting on the developments, which have no relevance to the mandate given to them by the council and abide by the established procedure for issuing news releases.”
(Manas Dasgupta)