UN Burial Rights Report Biased, Says India at Third Committee
India has objected to a United Nations special rapporteur's report on freedom of religion or belief, arguing that it contains bias and does not give due importance to the gravity of terrorism. The report focused on burial-related issues in the country and was presented before the UN General Assembly.
At the Third Committee of the General Assembly, which handles human rights and humanitarian matters, India's First Secretary to the UN Mission, Bhavika Mangalanandan, delivered a strong rebuttal on Thursday. She said that the subject of the report should not be shaped by an attempt to benefit politically from people's suffering and loss.
Her remarks were directed at the report on “Freedom of religion or belief and the right to funeral and burial in exceptional circumstances,” prepared by Nazila Ghanea, the UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief. The report cited cases in Kashmir where the bodies of some people killed in security operations were not handed to their families and were buried in distant areas.
It also referred to restrictions placed by authorities on funerals of some people who died during protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, justified on grounds of law and order.
Mangalanandan said it was puzzling that the rights of terrorists were championed so loudly, while the victims of terrorism received little comparable attention. Terrorists, she said, violate the most fundamental human right, the right to life, and inflict damage on national morale.
India further argued that the report discussed alleged discrimination and wrong practices in burials during the Covid-19 pandemic only in relation to the Global South, leaving out incidents in developed countries.
“The report gives the impression that all errors and discrimination during Covid-19 took place only in the Global South,” Mangalanandan said. “What does the report gain by not mentioning similar tragic events in developed nations?”
She cited the example of New York City, where thousands of people who died during Covid-19 were buried in mass graves on a separate island away from the city, and said the report did not reference such cases.
Mangalanandan also answered allegations raised by Pakistan during the session. She called it extremely ironic that a country which did not accept the bodies of its soldiers killed in the 1999 Kargil war was now speaking so eagerly about religion, religious freedom and burial rights.
She added that the Indian Army had buried many Pakistani soldiers with military honours, following Islamic rites.
Instead of constantly commenting on India, she said, Pakistan should direct its attention to the Kashmir region that it has occupied illegally. She also noted that the rights of minorities in Pakistan are steadily shrinking and that mistreatment of minorities is frequently reported.
A country that cannot ensure the safety of its own minorities, she said, has no right to offer lectures to India.