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New Delhi: India’s human rights record is under scrutiny on Thursday at the Universal Periodic Review of UN Human Rights Council, a practice which is held at the United Nations once every five years.
Attorney general Mukul Rohtagi is leading the Indian delegation in Geneva and they will have four hours to answer questions in a session to be webcast live.
The human rights record is examined once in five years; on previous occasions it was done in 2008 and 2012.
Rohtagi is set to highlight India’s impartial justice system and the judiciary’s role in handling the cases of 26/11 convict Ajmal Kasab and the 1993 blast convict Yaqub Memon.
The scanner will be on India’s human rights record and its failure to ratify the convention on torture. Also to come up for debate will be the country’s record in minority rights, hate speech and cow vigilantism.
The following are the other questions that are likely to be thrown at the Indian delegation.
– Will India repeal AFSPA in Jammu & Kashmir and Manipur?
– Does India have a uniform SOP for its police forces across states?
– How has India’s minority rights improved since 2012?
– What can the government do to safeguard the rights of minorities?
– Can transgender persons enjoy equal rights and opportunity in India?
– What steps have the government taken to ensure safety of LGBT people?
– Can a death row inmate have access to legal counsel of h/her choice during the trial?
– What steps have the government taken to punish those advocating religious hatred?
Source: News18