However, UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, Ms Alice Edwards, has said, “The national duty to investigate torture is alarmingly, universally, under-implemented.” Though her statement is not particularly targeted against India, it has direct bearing on India too, since the conditions across the world have reached alarming level.

States must be “primary responders” in torture cases, to end impunity and bring justice on behalf of victims, she said. She has urged authorities across the countries to “take ownership of justice process” and pursue justice “at home” for crimes of torture, to achieve meaningful accountability, healing, and reconciliation. She has pointed out a “glaring gap” between the promise and reality of the international prohibition of torture.

As for India, the working group report presents the miserable conditions in almost all aspects of life, as well as what the world expects from India in this regard. The recommendations have been made after India’s representation, interactive dialogue, as well as responses by the Indian delegation during the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council. Total number of recommendations are 339, made by the working group based on recommendations of countries across the world. The spread and intensity of human cruelty and torture of the people in India are reflected by the very recommendations.

The top recommendation is that India ratify all the international instruments that the country has already signed, particularly the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It was made by many countries, both big and small, across the world, along with a demand for prosecution of those responsible for human rights abuses.

To facilitate the review of India, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) had prepared and issued a compilation. India had also submitted its national report and presented its case as to how it is protecting its people. Several measures were lauded by the countries but in general they found India lacking on the more serious issues of administrative, social, and religious tortures that are prevailing in the country.

On the issue of Scope of international obligations and cooperation with human rights mechanism the UN country team recommended that India ratify all the international instruments that it had signed and sign and ratify those to which it was not yet a party, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Optional Protocols to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, the Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities recommended that the Government promptly ratify the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol thereto.

The Special Rapporteur on the human rights to safe drinking water and sanitation recommended that the Government ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The United Nations country team recommended that the Government consider ratifying the Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169) of the International Labour Organization (ILO).

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recommended that the Government accede to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommended that India ratify the Convention against Discrimination in Education of 1960.

The United Nations country team recommended that the Government invite special procedure mandate holders to visit the country, in line with the standing invitation it had extended to them.

India was found lacking National human rights framework and therefore UN country team recommended that the government continue strengthening national and state legislation to give full expression to the principles enshrined in international treaties, in line with the recommendations of several treaties bodies. Strengthening institutional infrastructure and policy measures were also recommended to ensure full compliance with the principle of human rights, including appointment of independent commissioners.

Several measures of promotion and protection of human rights were recommended taking into account India’s international human rights obligations and applicable international humanitarian laws on – Equity and not-discrimination; Right to life, liberty and security of person, and freedom from torture; Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law; Fundamental freedoms and the right to participate in public and political life; Right to privacy; Prohibition of all forms of slavery, including trafficking in persons; Right to work and to just and favourable conditions of work; Right to social security; Right to an adequate standard of living; Right to health; Right to education; Cultural rights; and Development, the environment , and business and human rights.

Though every Indian citizen had a fundamental right to equality and non-discrimination, the Special Rapporteur on water and sanitation stated that Dalits were victims of the gravest forms of caste-based discrimination, often had limited or unequal access to resources and services, including water and sanitation, and were disproportionately affected by poverty. More than 20 per cent of Dalits still did not have access to safe drinking water and about 50 per cent of Dalit villages were denied access to water sources. The UN country team also noted that despite the adoption of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, local governments and municipalities continued to employ manual scavengers.

It was noted by the UN country team that India has expanded use of death penalty in recent years that might violate the spirit of article 6(2) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and that the death penalty appeared to be used more frequently in the lower courts, while the Supreme Court seemed to be more sceptical about applying it.

In 2020, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) expressed regret at the tightening of space for human rights NGOs, including by the application of vaguely worded laws that constrained their activities restricted foreign funding. She cited is as worrying the use of the FERA that had a detrimental impact on the rights to freedom of association and expression of human rights of NGOs. OHCHR noted that activists and human rights defenders had come under mounting pressure in 2020, particularly because of their engagement in mass protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. More than 1,500 people had reportedly been arrested in relations to the protests, with many charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act – a law that had also been widely criticized for its lack of conformity with international human rights standards. OHCHR urged India to ensure no one was detained for exercising their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly and to do its utmost, in law and in policy, to protect the country’s robust civil society.

UNESCO noted that India had not established a specific national mechanism for the protection of journalists, and urged the government to continue to investigate the cases of journalists who had been killed. UN country team stated that Official Secrets Act 1923 had been used to prosecute media houses and journalists. It was also noted that the Whistle Blowers Protection Act, 2014 did not cover journalism sources and that the IPC sec 500-502 criminalized defamation and libel. UNESCO recommended that the Government decriminalise defamation and libel and place them within a civil code that was in accordance with international standards. UN country team recommended that the Government establish a national mechanism for the protection of journalists and amend the Whistle Blowers Protection Act to include protection of the anonymity of journalists’ sources. It also recommended establishment of an independent broadcast media authority and authorize news broadcasts on private and community radio stations to enhance the popularity and diversity of news content and news media. It also urged the government to consider expanding the scope of application of freedom of expression to include scientists and scientific researches.

UNESCO noted that the Information Technology Act permitted surveillance and criminalized online information intended to cause “annoyance of inconvenience” and that under the Act, the Government had the authority to block content whenever it was in the national interest to do so. The guidelines required social media intermediaries to track and identify the first originator of information on their computer resources if ordered to do so by the authorities. Furthermore, there were concerns about the use in the law of vague terminology when providing grounds for online content restriction and the fact that there were no procedural safeguards for requests by law enforcement agencies for information passed by intermediaries. It was therefore recommended that Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules be amended to provide for greater privacy online and to include narrowly defined considerations for the surveillance and blocking of online content.

Right to work, and to just and favourable conditions of work is being violated. Social security and services are not accessible for many because many don’t have Aadhar Cards due to lack of housing. Right to an adequate standard of living and right to health are not sufficiently implemented. UN country team noted that nearly 34.7 per cent of all children under 5 were stunted. Poor diet, hygiene and sanitation and unequal food sharing contributed to child and adolescent undernutrition, and therefore a safety net was recommended. UNESCO also noted that there are persistent disparities in terms of access to and quality of education.

The UN country team also recommended to protect the rights of specific persons or groups which included women; children; persons with disabilities; indigenous peoples and minorities; Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons; Migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers; and Stateless persons.

Several special procedure mandate holders urged India to uphold the spirit of the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act by safeguarding the inherent rights of scheduled tribes and other traditional forest-dwelling peoples. They stated that governments must seek the free, prior, and informed consent of the indigenous peoples affected by evictions, ensure that compensation was adequate and that any resettlement plans were determined through a process of meaningful consultation. The UN country team recommended that the rights of scheduled tribes vulnerable tribal groups and traditional forest dwellers, guaranteed under the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Populations Conventions 1957, were fully recognized and respected.

UN country team has also recommended that the Government make medical education and textbooks gender sensitive, including by amending content that discriminated against the LGBTQI+ community. It also recommended that Government review and amend the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 to enable the issuance of official certificates of identity.

UNHCR has recommended that India adopt a national refugee legislation to formalise its long-standing commitment to refugee protection and to establish a consistent and coherent framework in full compliance with international human rights obligations. While noting the reforms in the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, it recommended the Government consider extending the application of the Act to other persecuted groups. Several special procedure mandate holders called on the authorities to take resolute action to review the implementation of the National Register of Citizens and other similar processes in Assam and in other states, and to ensure that they did not result in statelessness, discriminatory or arbitrary deprivation or denial of nationality, mass expulsion or arbitrary detention.

In the specific regions or territories sub categories, the office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict stated that a growing concern was the detention of children by Indian Security forces in Jammu and Kashmir for alleged association with armed groups or on national security grounds, as well as the use of torture against children. UN country team noted with concern that children in Kashmir had been exposed to decades-long violence. The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilites was concerned about the lack of information about persons with disabilities in Jammu and Kashmir and strategies to ensure appropriate humanitarian assistance.