Statement by Ld Solicitor General of India, Sh. Tushar Mehta, at the Fourth Periodic Review by the Human Rights Committee under International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights at Geneva, Monday 15 July 2024

Madam Chair, and the Distinguished Members of the Human Rights Committee, my fellow Delegates and those who have joined online.

1. It is my honour and privilege to co-lead India’s national delegation for the fourth periodic review under ICCPR. India is a land which cherishes equality, liberty, diversity, fraternity and spirituality, as a way of life. Birthplace of 4 major religions and home to people of diverse ethnicities and almost every religion known to modern world. An ancient civilization, living together as a young, secular, democratic Republic. We are almost one-sixth of humanity, speaking 22 official languages, total 121 languages across 19,500 local dialects, celebrating a kaleidoscope of customs and festivals, which are woven together by our common commitment to our Constitutional values and ethos. The Indian context, in particular, is truly sui generis. Our commitment to human rights should be appreciated in these contexts.
2. The steadfast resolution of our Constitution, promising social, economic and political Justice to all Her citizens, through Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith, worship, and Equality of status and opportunity, has been the barometer and lighthouse of India’s journey. Our Constitutional ecosystem empowers robust, independent, democratic institutions with in-built checks and balances. We are natural partners to the ethos of the 1993 Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which established the interdependence of human rights, economic development, and democracy; and emphasised that the significance of national particularities and different historical, cultural and religious backgrounds must be borne in mind.

Madam Chair

3. Our approach to human rights continues to evolve through the process of progressive legislation making by our legislatures as well as judicial interpretations. As mentioned by Madam Chair, I take this opportunity to recall our eminent Indian jurist and former Chief Justice of India, Justice P N Bhagwati, who contributed immensely to human rights jurisprudence nationally and globally, including while as a member of Human Rights Committee from 1995 to 2009. I thank Madam Chair for remembering him on this occasion. We are probably the only nation, where a citizen can approach the highest Constitutional Court of the country for infringement or even threat of infringement, of his fundamental rights and if the same is in ‘public interest’, he is not required to show even his locus standi.
4. India is pioneering in the use of Digital Public Infrastructure for good Governance and realization of Sustainable Development Goals. Starting from mere digitization of Government offices and online delivery of citizen services, these Digital Public Goods have now evolved into a powerful tool for distributive justice and social equality. Together, these Digital Public Goods have helped in achieving financial inclusion for 80 per cent of India’s population in just six years, and are having a profound human impact by enabling delivery with enormous scale, speed, and transparency.

Madam chair,

5. Terrorism continues to remain the foremost threat to international peace and security, and is a direct attack on human rights, depriving innocent and unsuspecting people of the most fundamental of their rights – the right to life. Unfortunately, we have seen terrorism in many of its avatars and we firmly believe that it is the duty of States to ensure security of their citizens. To counter this threat, we have established effective legal and institutional mechanisms to combat terrorism, including preventing terrorists from accessing financial resources. While our counter-terrorism laws and policies are in compliance with our human rights obligations and commitment and are subject to rigorous judicial oversight, they too have been evolving with time. The efficacy of such laws is evaluated regularly. Learning from our experiences and responding to the dynamic need of our aspirational society, some laws have been allowed to lapse while new laws have been brought in. The effort has always been to ensure that the right balance is achieved in terms of meeting the security needs of the society without compromising the rights of innocent, unsuspecting individuals.

Madam Chair,

6. Before I conclude, let me emphasize that while our existence has, for millennia been a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual land, our post-colonial journey has focused on ensuring rapid socio-economic transformation of our people within a democratic framework. It has been a journey of ensuring political representation and social justice, including affirmative action for persons who have faced historic discrimination; gender empowerment; safeguarding of minorities; and protecting the rights of persons with special needs, such as children and people with disabilities. It has been a journey of ensuring that concepts of inclusive development and social justice are mainstreamed across all levels of governance, from legislative and policy drafting to development and implementation of schemes and programmes. The complexity of our size and diversity continue to be our strength, as also our challenge and opportunity. To share an interesting data point, from a little over 200 dailies published prior to the independence of India, Indian readers today get to choose from a bouquet of over 1 hundred and 46 thousand registered newspapers and periodicals, to start their mornings.

Thank you very much, Madam Chair, and to all the esteemed Members, for hearing the story of India.