Geneva: India has delivered a strong rebuttal to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk after his global update mentioned Kashmir and Manipur, calling his remarks "unfounded and baseless" and at odds with ground realities.
Ambassador Arindam Bagchi, India's Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva, addressed the comments during the 58th session of the Human Rights Council, emphasizing that "the world's largest democracy continues to be a healthy, vibrant and pluralistic society."
"Unfounded and baseless comments in the update contrast jarringly with ground realities. The people of India have repeatedly proven wrong such misplaced concerns about us," Bagchi stated, according to news agency ANI.
India took particular exception to Turk's characterization of Jammu and Kashmir, which he "erroneously referred to as Kashmir." Bagchi highlighted the stark contrast between this portrayal and actual developments in the region.
"This is ironic in a year that stood out for the region's improving security, record voter turnout in provincial elections, booming tourism, and rapid infrastructure growth," Bagchi pointed out.
The UN Human Rights Chief had called for "stepped-up efforts to address violence and displacement in Manipur, based on dialogue, peacebuilding, and human rights." Turk also expressed concern over "the use of restrictive laws and harassment against human rights defenders and independent journalists," which he claimed had led to "arbitrary detention and a diminished civic space, including in Kashmir."
Bagchi dismantled these assertions, urging for a "better understanding of India and our civilisational ethos of diversity and openness" which continue to define the country's democratic fabric.
In a broader critique of the global update's approach, the Indian ambassador highlighted its "oversimplification of complex issues, sweeping and generalised remarks, usage of loose terminologies, and apparent cherry-picking of situations."
"The High Commissioner has sensed a pervasive unease, but we would submit that a key element to addressing this is a long and hard look in the mirror by the Office of the High Commissioner," Bagchi stated.
Notably, Turk's report, which addressed conflicts and human rights concerns across multiple countries including Ukraine, Gaza, Afghanistan, and the United States, made no mention of Pakistan.
The exchange underscores ongoing tensions between international human rights monitoring mechanisms and sovereign states' assertions of progress and self-determination in addressing internal challenges.
