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New Delhi, February 26
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has highlighted the continued protests by hundreds of thousands of farmers and called for meaningful consultations with those concerned.
Speaking at the 46th session of the Human Rights Council which was also addressed by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Bachelet said charges of sedition against journalists and activists for reporting or commenting on the protests, and attempts to curb freedom of expression on social media were “disturbing departures from essential human rights principles’’.
A former two-time President of Chile she hoped the ongoing dialogue efforts between the government and the farmers will lead to an equitable solution to this crisis that respects the rights of all.,
With regard to inclusion and participation, she was encouraged by the recent experience of a pilot programme in Kerala where civil society organisations and community leaders have used innovative technology to ensure that the voices of marginalised and poor people are heard, and their needs addressed, in the pandemic response.
Bachelet was delivering the ‘Global Update’ speech to the 47-member-state Human Rights Council in Geneva. India was not the only country criticised; Bachelet spoke in varying degrees of detail about human rights issues in about 50 specific countries.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said her office continued to monitor the situation in Kashmir, where restrictions on communications, and clampdowns on civil society activists, remain of concern.
Despite the recent restoration of 4G access for mobile phones, the communications blockade has seriously hampered civic participation, as well as business and livelihoods.
Raids against human rights defenders in October and November exemplify the continued restrictions on civil society, and resulting impact on the rights of the people of Kashmir.
At the same time, she said Internet access in Pakistan-Administered Kashmir also remains a serious problem, prompting student protests in the past year.
