UN taps Delhi on NRC fallout

RAJIV KONWAR| Jun 23, 2018 

Guwahati: The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has sought clarification from the Centre about the fate of individuals whose names will be excluded from the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC), on whether they will face detention or deportation.

The Centre has so far not spelt out what will happen to those whose names will be excluded from the final NRC.

The 1951 NRC is being updated in Assam to weed out migrants staying illegally in the state. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the process, had set June 30 deadline for publication of the complete draft NRC. The final updated NRC will be published after resolving all claims and objections but its date of publication has not been fixed yet.

In an eight-page letter to external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on June 11, the UN agency mentioned allegations and concerns regarding the NRC update and sought clarifications from the Centre.

The letter was signed by its special rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance E. Tendayi Achiume, special rapporteur on promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression David Kaye and special rapporteur on freedom of religion Ahmed Shaheed.

"Please provide detailed information on the implications for those individuals who will be excluded from the final NRC. In particular, please elaborate whether they will face detention or deportation," the letter said.

It also sought detailed information on the steps taken by the Centre to ensure that the substance and implementation of the NRC update complies with India's obligations under international human rights law and standards. "In particular, please provide details on steps taken to ensure that the NRC update does not result in statelessness or human rights violations," the letter said.

The letter mentions the concerns and allegations received by the UN agency over lack of official policy on who will be excluded from the final NRC, a "local government minister" saying "all those whose names do not figure in the NRC will have to be deported", increasing anxiety and concern among "Bengali Muslim minority in Assam" and about local authority "deemed to be particularly hostile towards Muslims and people of Bengali descent".

"We would like to express serious concern that members of the Bengali Muslim minority in Assam have experienced discrimination in access to and enjoyment of citizenship status on the basis of their ethnic and religious minority status," it said.

"We are particularly concerned that this discrimination is predicted to escalate as a result of the NRC. The way this update has been conducted potentially affects a great number of Muslims and persons of Bengali descent who may be wrongfully excluded from the updated NRC because of their historical and continuing treatment as foreigners and illegal immigrants in Assam," it said.

"If these allegations are founded, the updated register poses a dire risk to thousands of Indian citizens who may wrongfully be declared as foreigners and rendered stateless. We express further alarm and concern at allegations that Foreigners' Tribunals disproportionately target Bengali Muslims, often resulting in arbitrary deprivation of citizenship, statelessness and risk of human rights violations, including arbitrary detention and deportations," it said.

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Courtesy : The Telegraph

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