Statement by India under Agenda Item 2 : General Debate on Oral Update of the High Commissioner at the 45th Session of the Human Rights Council
(14 September – 06 October 2020) delivered by
Ambassador Indra Mani Pandey, Permanent Representative of India,
(Geneva, 15 September 2020)
Madam President, I thank the High Commissioner for her oral update.
2. As the largest and most vibrant democracy, India has been, since independence, an ardent supporter of human rights, which we have sought to promote and secure through enshrining them in our Constitution as fundamental rights, including the right to information. We have also endeavoured to create an international environment conducive for dialogue and cooperation for promoting and protecting these rights. This has been a matter of conviction for us, based on our civilizational messages of ‘welfare of all’ and the ‘world is a family’.
3. India remains committed to upholding all human rights and is of the view that the human rights agenda and discourse must be pursued in a transparent and impartial manner with respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs of States. We have encouraged OHCHR to continue engaging States in a constructive manner, while emphasizing the need to specifically avoid politicization of the discourse on human rights, which is not conducive to achieving our collective goal of promoting and protecting human rights. The key to our success is to remember that the responsibility for promotion and protection of human rights rests with the States, which have the legal frameworks and administrative machinery to do so.
4. Madam President, we are proud of our vibrant democracy, which enables our people to enjoy and give full expression to their fundamental rights, encompassing all basic human rights. Our resilient democratic institutions as well as independent judiciary and media, and a pro-active civil society have ensured that the challenges to enjoyment of these rights are adequately and promptly addressed.
5. Madam President, we regret that the High Commissioner in her oral update made a reference to the situation in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In this context, I would like to underline that, since the changes made in August 2019, people in Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have been enjoying the same fundamental rights as people in other parts of India. We have been able to revive grass root democracy and provide a new momentum to social and economic development, despite the challenge posed by Covid-19 pandemic and persistent attempts by one country to infiltrate terrorists to derail this process by all possible means. Over the past one year, the Government’s efforts aimed at socio-economic development and ensuring better governance have yielded unprecedented results. By extending coverage of positive and affirmative federal legislations and repealing discriminatory or outdated local laws, the Government has reaffirmed its commitment to delivering socio-economic justice to disadvantaged people in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir, including women, children, minorities and refugees.
6. Madam President, we have been working together for inclusive development and have implemented robust socio-economic policies to ensure for our people a better life and improve their living standards, including the world’s largest financial inclusion programme, free health insurance, affordable housing for the underprivileged, free cooking gas connections for 80 million poor women, safe drinking water and sanitation facilities to every household, cash support to farmers and free ration to 800 million persons, including migrant workers.
7. India has undergone, during over past seven decades, enormous political, social, economic and cultural transformation, in a democratic environment, which is unprecedented in the world. We are committed to continue this journey, while promoting and protecting human rights of our people. We are aware of the challenges that we face, including in securing for our people their fundamental human rights, and we are committed to overcome them.
8. We urge the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to recognize the enormity of challenges that we face due to our large and very diverse population of 1.3 billion and act as our partner in a cooperative and constructive spirit in our endeavour to secure for our people all their basic human rights.
9. Madam President, we appreciate the OHCHR for carrying out its mandate, including capacity building and technical assistance, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and expanding the geographic representation of its staff. As a democratic, multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-lingual and multi-cultural society our effort has always been to bring in a pluralistic, moderate and balanced perspective to the discussions in the Council.
10. I conclude by reiterating full support and cooperation of Indian delegation and we will continue our constructive engagement with the Council and OHCHR for the promotion and protection of human rights.
Thank you, Madam President.
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