India Challenges UN Rights Office Over Selectivity and Data on Forest Claims

Overview

• India told the UN Third Committee on Wednesday that UN human‑rights mechanisms must rise above politicisation and selectivity, urging assessments that respect cultural and historical context.
• The government called the OHCHR’s comments on mass detentions during large protests in Delhi unwarranted and unacceptable, and defended its policing, courts and legal safeguards for assembly.
• India formally objected to a Special Rapporteur reference that many Forest Rights Act claims remain unresolved, saying that claim relied on an unverified submission and citing official figures showing more than 5.4 million claims filed and over 80% decided.
• New Delhi offered to provide updated Forest Rights Act data to the Special Rapporteur and asked the OHCHR when it will publish a report on Pakistan’s response to rights concerns in Pakistan‑occupied Kashmir, including impartial probes, due process for detainees and restoration of internet access.
• The exchange has raised tensions between New Delhi and the OHCHR, with India warning that perceived double standards could erode trust in multilateral institutions and shifting scrutiny toward rights conditions in Pakistan‑held Kashmir and unresolved indigenous claims.