In the wake of the shutdown of Amnesty in India, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement criticising the clampdown on civil society and arrest of activists.
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00:00Most recently, Amnesty International was compelled to close its offices in India after its bank
00:06accounts were frozen over alleged violation of the FCRA.
00:10Activists and human rights defenders have also come under mounting pressure in recent
00:14months.
00:15More than 1,500 people have reportedly been arrested in relation to the protests, with
00:20many charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
01:21The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michel Vachelet, is today appealing to the
01:26Government of India to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs.
01:32He draws attention to three different laws that we perceive to be problematic.
01:37The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, or FCRA, is vaguely worded and overbroad in its
01:44objective.
01:45The Act, which was adopted in 2010 and was amended last month, has had a detrimental
01:50impact on the right to freedom of association and expression of human rights NGOs.
01:56It is expected that the new amendments will create even more administrative and practical
02:00hurdles for such advocacy-based NGOs.
02:04Most recently, Amnesty International was compelled to close its offices in India after its bank
02:10accounts were frozen over alleged violation of the FCRA.
02:13This Act has also been invoked over the years to justify an array of highly intrusive measures,
02:19ranging from official raids on NGO offices and freezing of bank accounts, to suspension
02:25or cancellation of registration, including of civil society organisations that have engaged
02:30with UN human rights bodies.
02:32Activists and human rights defenders have also come under mounting pressure in recent
02:36months, particularly because of their engagement in mass protests against the Citizenship Amendment
02:43Act that took place across the country earlier this year.
02:46So this is the second problematic law I referred to earlier.
02:49More than 1,500 people have reportedly been arrested in relation to the protests, with
02:55many charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
02:59So that's the third law.
03:01And this law has also been widely criticised for its lack of conformity with international
03:07human rights standards.
03:08The High Commissioner is urging the Government of India to ensure that no one else is detained
03:13for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
03:17She also calls on the authorities to carefully review the FCRA for its compliance with international
03:23human rights standards, and to release people charged under the Unlawful Activities Prevention
03:28Act for simply exercising basic human rights that India is obliged to protect.