Solicitor General Tushar Mehta will lead the Indian delegation to attend the regular review of the country’s human rights situation at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva on Thursday. The Indian side’s national report will be reviewed during the fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the country’s human rights situation by the UN Working Group. The group will also examine the records of several other countries during the 7-18 november The last such revision for India was conducted in May 2017. The review is expected to raise a number of issues such as the protection of fundamental rights of citizens and the situation of minority communities in the country, people familiar with the matter said.
The UPR is an “important mechanism that India fully supports” and is a “unique peer review process” of the Human Rights Council through which UN member states monitor human rights compliance in partner states, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Wednesday. India’s national report submitted on August 5 outlines the country’s steps to promote and protect human rights, including the implementation of recommendations made during India’s third UPR in 2017.
The National Report was prepared in collaboration with the National Law University, New Delhi, following a series of consultations with stakeholders, including representatives of the judiciary, national human rights institutions, academia, civil society organizations and the public. “India is working constructively with members of the UNHRC and other UN member states to promote and protect human rights around the world. We have emphasized dialogue, engagement and collaboration between various stakeholders,” the statement said.
“We emphasized the supremacy of states in fulfilling their obligations in the field of human rights. We tried to reach a consensus in the Council on various issues on its agenda, and we constructively participate in the Council’s discussions,” he added. India also plays an active role in promoting and protecting human rights globally. “Our strong commitment to the welfare of all humanity, inspired by our civilizational ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’ or ‘The World is One Family’, provides the foundation on which our constitutional and legal framework for human rights has been built,” the statement said. he said.
The UPR has proven to be “one of the successful human rights mechanisms due to its universal character, constructive and consultative approach and the importance it attaches to dialogue and cooperation among member states,” the statement said. The mechanism reinforces the centrality of states in fulfilling their human rights obligations and India has actively participated in other country reviews and in turn welcomes the 131 UN member states that have registered to participate in the country peer review.
Countries under review must take a position on all UPR recommendations by endorsing or recording them. India’s report on the outcome of the UPR will be received at the UNHRC meeting in March 2023. Apart from the Solicitor General, the Indian delegation includes Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Indra Mani Pandey, India’s Ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Additional Solicitor General KM Nataraj, senior officials from the Ministries of External Affairs, Home Affairs, Women’s Development and Children, Social Justice and Empowerment, Minority Affairs and Rural Development and NITI Aayog and Vice-Chancellor, National Law University.
