India’s Human Rights accreditation Status under Review by Geneva-based UN body
Geneva: India’s human rights accreditation status is under scrutiny as the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) prepares to review the country’s processes this week. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) faces potential downgrading from its current “A status” due to concerns raised in 2023, including the lack of pluralism, the appointment of police officials and ruling party members to the NHRC, and the absence of gender and minority representation.
The decision on India's accreditation status will impact its ability to vote at the UN Human Rights Council and some UNGA bodies. The Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of GANHRI will conduct the review, which occurs every five years for each member of the 114-member alliance. India, which has been accredited since 1999, had its status deferred in 2016 but restored after a year.
The NHRC has defended its composition, stating that the presence of government officials, including the Secretary-General and CEO, enhances its effectiveness. However, criticisms include the involvement of police officers in investigations, lack of gender and minority representation, and political affiliations of some members with the ruling party.
The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has engaged with countries involved in the review process to present India's case diplomatically. Despite confidence in restoring its A status, the government emphasizes that it does not focus on "external certifications" of India's human rights record.
International civil society organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and CIVICUS, have raised concerns about increasing restrictions on civil society and discrimination against minorities in India. They urge GANHRI-SCA to amend the NHRC's rating to reflect its failure to comply with the Paris Principles and address the deteriorating human rights situation in India.
The Ministry of External Affairs has criticized the U.S. State Department's latest human rights report on India as biased and reflective of a poor understanding of the country. It further stated that it attaches no value to the report and urges others to do the same.
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Hoarding crash in Mumbai: 2 more bodies located under debris; rescue ops continue
Mumbai (PTI): Two more bodies were located under the debris at the site of a giant hoarding collapse in Mumbai as the search and rescue operation continued on Wednesday, an NDRF official said.
The bodies were spotted last night, but were yet to be pulled out, a civic official said.
Rescue teams had earlier recovered 14 bodies from the hoarding crash site, while 75 persons were injured in the incident, as per officials.
A small fire broke out at the incident site in Ghatkopar during the search and rescue operation on Wednesday morning, but it was immediately doused by the fire tenders deployed there, an NDRF official said.
"There was a small fire but it was extinguished immediately," the official said.
The search and rescue operation continued even 40 hours after the incident, officials said.
The illegal hoarding that stood on a piece of land in possession of the Government Railway Police (GRP) crashed on a petrol pump in Chheda Nagar area on Monday evening when the city was hit by dust storms and unseasonal rains.
