ISLAMABAD, Mar 12 (APP):A seminar held on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council called for immediate access for UN Special Rapporteurs to Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi’s riot-affected areas and Manipur, warning that alleged religious persecution and human rights violations in India require urgent international scrutiny, according to a press release received here. The event, titled “Religious Persecution in India,” was organised by the …
Geneva moot urges UN rapporteurs’ access to Kashmir, Delhi, Manipur
ISLAMABAD, Mar 12 (APP):A seminar held on the sidelines of the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council called for immediate access for UN Special Rapporteurs to Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi’s riot-affected areas and Manipur, warning that alleged religious persecution and human rights violations in India require urgent international scrutiny, according to a press release received here.
The event, titled “Religious Persecution in India,” was organised by the World Muslim Congress in collaboration with the Kashmir Institute of International Relations and brought together human rights defenders, legal experts and scholars to discuss growing pattern of discrimination against religious minorities.
Participants argued that the gap between India’s constitutional promise of secularism and the situation on the ground was widening, citing incidents of communal violence, demolition of minority-owned properties and restrictions on religious freedoms.
Speakers alleged that attacks on minority communities reflected a systematic pattern rather than isolated incidents.
They pointed to incidents in Manipur where, according to them, around 200 churches were burned while security forces were present, and referred to cases in Haryana where a Muslim family’s shop was demolished amid public celebration.
Panelists said the legislative framework is also contributing to what they termed a “structure of exclusion.”
They noted that the Citizenship Amendment Act introduced religion as a criterion for citizenship for the first time since independence, while the proposed National Register of Citizens could leave millions vulnerable to statelessness.
According to speakers, anti conversion laws in several Indian states were being used to target interfaith marriages, particularly involving Muslim men, while churches in states such as Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka were reportedly subjected to raids.
The discussion also highlighted incidents of cow vigilantism, with speakers citing documentation of more than 100 deaths since 2015 and alleging a lack of accountability in many cases.
Special attention was given to Jammu and Kashmir, where panelists said the revocation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India in August 2019 is followed by an extended internet shutdown and restrictions on religious activities.
Measures such as limits on Friday prayers, detention of religious leaders and changes in domicile laws were described by speakers as attempts to alter the region’s demographic and political landscape.
The panel further drew attention to what they described as intersecting forms of discrimination affecting Christian communities in Manipur, Sikh communities in Punjab and Dalit communities facing social exclusion, including restrictions on temple entry.
Speakers urged the international community to review bilateral agreements with India containing human rights clauses and to ensure protection for religious sites they said were under threat, including the Gyanvapi Mosque, Jama Masjid in Srinagar and churches in Manipur.
The seminar was moderated by Altaf Hussain Wani, chairman of Kashmir Institute of International Relations and permanent representative of the World Muslim Congress in Geneva.
Panelists included Alfred de Zayas, former UN Independent Expert on the Promotion of an Equitable International Order; Canadian writer and human rights defender Robert Fantina; Saba Ghulam Nabi, research associate at the Center for International Strategic Studies AJK; Shamim Shawl, representative of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference; and US-based human rights defender Mary Scully.
