At the 48th session of Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, UN Commissioner for human rights had criticized the use of UAPA and frequent communication blackouts in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. She said the situation in India is really “worrying” about the ongoing use of UAPA and “Indian authorities’ restrictions on public assembly, and frequent temporary communication blackouts, continue in Jammu and Kashmir, while many people remain in detention for exercising their right to the liberty of expression, and journalists face ever-growing pressure”, Bachelet said.
She also acknowledged the efforts of the Indian government in dealing with counterterrorism in India and all the development in the state of Jammu and Kashmir. However, the restrictive measures used by the Indian government can further violate human rights and this will lead to further problems and chaos.
Bachellot further expresses concern regarding the cases of journalists and exercising their freedom of speech and expression. There was no official reaction from the Indian government over her comment.
Previously Indian government has criticized many occasions on the interference by the UN and strongly condemned such reactions.
Referring to China she talked about its new ‘National Action Plan on Human Rights 2021-2025’ which was released this month. “I anticipate to exploring it for possible areas of engagement and cooperation. I regret that I’m unable to report progress on my efforts to hunt meaningful access to the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region,” she said.
In her statement, she has also observed that displacement thanks to environmental disasters may be a particularly serious phenomenon in Asia.
