Sedition charges against scibes, activists in India departure from human rights principle: UN

UN also expressed concern over 'restrictions on communications and clampdowns on civil society activists' in UT of Jammu and Kashmir

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in New Delhi on Friday drew flak from United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who said that the charges of sedition against journalists and activists for reporting or commenting on the protests by farmers were “disturbing departures from essential human rights principles”

The protests by the farmers against the new agricultural laws introduced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government emphasized that new legislation and policies should be brought into effect after discussion with the stakeholders, Bachelet said in her statement at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Friday.

Read | Farmers' protest: Sedition law cannot be invoked to quieten disquiet, says Delhi court

She also expressed concern over “restrictions on communications and clampdowns on civil society activists” in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

“In India, continued protests by hundreds of thousands of farmers highlight the importance of ensuring laws and policies are based on meaningful consultations with those concerned,” she said, adding: “I trust that ongoing dialogue efforts by both sides (the government and agitating farmers) will lead to an equitable solution to this crisis that respects the rights of all.”

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She said that the Office of High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) continued to monitor the situation in J&K, where restrictions imposed by the Government of India on communications, and clampdowns on civil society activists, remained a matter of concern.

“Despite recent restoration of 4G access for mobile phones, the communications blockade has seriously hampered civic participation, as well as business, livelihoods, education, and access to health-care and medical information,” she noted.