At the end of June 2022, a Panel of Independent International Experts (the Panel), composed of three renowned foreign law experts, including Sonja Biserko, Marzuki Darusman, and Stephen Rapp, presented its report on serious human rights violations against Muslims in India. The devotee concluded that there is credible evidence recommending that a wide range of foreign human rights of Muslim communities have been violated by the Indian government. According to the evidence reviewed, the federal and state governments “have enacted a wide diversity of laws” With respect to violations perpetrated through non-state actors, the state has failed to take the mandatory steps to prevent, investigate, and prosecute such acts. The Panel further concluded that some of the violations would possibly amount to crimes against humanity, war crimes and incitement to genocide.
The Panel was established to review the available evidence and whether there was sufficient credible data to require an independent foreign inquiry into the situation of Muslims in India. The Panel reviewed authoritative data sources, aggregating reports from independent media, civil society organizations, and educational institutions.
The Panel found credible evidence to recommend that a number of human rights violations are being violated against Muslims in India, and specifically in Assam, Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh, adding “arbitrary deprivation of life, arbitrary detention, torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”. gender-based treatment, violence and discrimination, incitement to discrimination, hostility and violence, discrimination in legislation and policies, including in relation to nationality and representation, violations of freedom of faith or belief, violation of freedom of expression, association, assembly, violations of the right to a fair trial and violation of economic rights, social and cultural issues.
The Panel found that the following incidents would likely constitute crimes against humanity, as explained in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court: “the suppression of protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (December 2019 – June 2020) in Uttar Pradesh” and “Repressive government movements oppose human rights defenders, journalists and activists in Jammu and Kashmir following the replacement of their special autonomous prestige in August 2019. “
The Group stated that the killing and torture of civilians in the context of the ongoing non-international armed conflict in Jammu and Kashmir would likely amount to war crimes.
Finally, the Panel knew that a series of public speeches delivered by prominent political leaders or devotees in Delhi, Chattisgarh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh between December 2019 and April 2022, calling on their audiences to kill Muslims or rape Muslim women and girls, may simply pose a threat. Direct and public incitement to commit genocide. According to the Panel, “some leaders have made transparent references to the eradication, elimination, or destruction of the nation’s devout community. “The Panel emphasized that such statements warrant further investigation through an independent body. In addition, urgent action is needed to save you from similar incidents again.
The Panel found that most abuses and violations have not been addressed through national institutions, leaving those who suffer from them without effective recourse. No steps have been taken to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators, allowing impunity to flourish.
The Panel called on the UN Human Rights Council to identify an independent inquiry framework to investigate human rights violations against Muslims in India and to grant a territorial mandate to a special rapporteur on devout minorities in India. He further called on the Indian government to amend the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019, remove discriminatory provisions, and ensure effective, independent and independent investigations into atrocities, among other things. Finally, the Group called on social media corporations to take proactive action against hate speech and, among other things, to publish an early precautionary formula for vulnerable minorities.