New Delhi: India on Friday raised concerns over the human rights situations and the increasing propagation of fake content on the internet and social media in the country at the ongoing 45th session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Indian diplomat Pavan Badhe while addressing the council, highlighted concerns regarding terrorists taking advantage of the pandemic situation.
“We are in the midst of a global health and economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the States are doing their best to mitigate its impact by ensuring that no one is left behind including the most vulnerable”, Pavan Badhe said.
"At the same time, we are observing malevolent attempts by terrorists to exploit the financial and emotional distress caused by the lockdowns to disturb the cohesiveness of societies," he added.
Badhe also touched upon the issue of increasing propagation of fake content on the internet and social media, and said that increased presence of people online and on social media has been targeted by terrorists who are disseminating misinformation through hate speeches, fake news, and doctored videos.
“The intent has been to entice and establish links with vulnerable individuals and recruit them in their cadres. Terror groups have also exhorted supporters to target security forces and health workers”, Badhe added.
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Talking about the terror funding, Badhe hit out at Pakistan, telling that UN-listed international terror groups have been collecting funds in name of charity to finance terrorism.
Calling the development a disturbing trend, Badhe said, “The collection of funds by proscribed terrorist outfits ostensibly for undertaking charitable activities are in reality being used to finance terror."
He went to add that terrorism is the grossest affront to enjoyment of the inalienable right to life and to live in peace security. It poses a serious threat to economic and social development, undermines democracy, and jeopardises rule of law.
He underlined that it’s an attack against freedom of thought, expression and association.
“While acts of terrorism violate the rights of individual victims, it also deeply affects the enjoyment of a range of rights by the families of the victims and society as a whole. Any terrorist incident disproportionately affects the human rights of women, girls and children”, he further stated.
He, therefore, urged the council to paly a key role in creating awareness about the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable groups particularly children and young persons in order to prevent their radicalisation and indoctrination by terrorist ideologies.
“As the world grapples with Covid-19, it is important to cooperate among States coherently to fight against terrorists, whose disruptive activities have continued and, in fact, increased during the pandemic”, he reiterated.
On Thursday, India had slammed Pakistan in its Right of Reply in response to a “mendacious statement” delivered by Pakistan at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Vimarsh Aryan, First Secretary, MEA said it is very unfortunate to witness incessant and insensible ranting by Pakistan on issues that are extraneous to the mandate of this council and which relate to the internal affairs of India.
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He had said Pakistan as a state is a threat not only to religious and ethnic minorities within Pakistan and in the illegally occupied territories in India, but if left unchecked by the international community it will grow on to become a threat to international peace and harmony.
It is pertinent to note that on Thursday, India cornered Pakistan on the human rights issue and terrorism on several platforms.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar raised the issue of cross-border terrorism at a virtual gathering of SAARC Council of Ministers.
Jaishankar said that SAARC must overcome the challenges of cross-border terrorism for building a connected, integrated, secure and prosperous South Asia.
Also, India lambasted Pakistan for raising the Kashmir issues at a virtual meeting of multilateral grouping Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA )and advised Islamabad to cease its “overt and covert” support to cross border terrorism.
The Ministry of External Affairs accused Pakistan of misusing another forum by continuing its “spurious narrative” about India.
