Over 20 UN human rights experts on Tuesday voiced alarm at the “repeatedly heavy-handed police response” to peaceful youth-led demonstrations in New Delhi and other cities over the past three months, calling on authorities to “respect, protect and fulfil” the right to peacefully protest.
“This crackdown reflects a broader, troubling pattern,” the experts said in a statement in Geneva. “We have repeatedly alerted the Indian authorities to undue restrictions on peaceful assembly, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, and the targeting of student activists, amongst others.”
The experts said they are “alarmed” by the “repeatedly heavy-handed police response to peaceful youth-led demonstrations” in New Delhi and other parts of the country over the past three months.
They called on Indian authorities to “respect, protect and fulfil” the right to peacefully protest, and ensure justice for human rights violations reported during these and previous protests. “We call on the authorities to immediately cease the use of excessive force, rescind blanket assembly bans, and refrain from the misuse of digital surveillance, including through biometrics, and internet disruptions,” they said.
The experts called for an independent, impartial, and thorough investigation into the conduct of law enforcement and affiliated forces to be launched without delay to ensure full accountability, justice, and victims’ reparations.
They said that despite the non-violent nature of the assemblies, “law enforcement agencies have reportedly deployed force against unarmed students, including lathi charges and have prevented thousands from joining the protests.”