New Delhi: India’s National Report for the 4th Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Cycle will be reviewed on Thursday in the ongoing 41st Session of the UPR Working Group which will run from 7-18 November at the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva.
Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General of India, is leading the Indian delegation that comprises Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West), Indra Mani Pandey, Permanent Representative of India, K.M. Nataraj, Additional Solicitor General of India and senior officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Women & Child Development, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Minority Affairs, Ministry of Rural Development, and the NITI Aayog, and the Vice Chancellor of the National Law University, Delhi.
As per an official handout by the Ministry of External Affairs, India plays an active role in the global promotion and protection of human rights. “India's strong commitment for the welfare of entire humanity, inspired by our civilizational ethos of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbkam’ or "the World is one family”, provides a foundation on which our constitutional and legal framework for human rights has been built," the MEA statement read.
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India has been engaged constructively with the members of the UNHRC and other fellows Member States to promote and protect human rights globally, it said. It is pertinent to note that India has underlined the primacy of states in fulfilling their human rights obligations. It has endeavoured to build consensus in the council on various issues on its agenda.
UPR is an important mechanism and a unique peer review process of Human Rights Council under which UN member states review the human rights performance of fellow member states. It has emerged as one of the successful human rights mechanisms, due to its universal character, constructive and consultative approach, and the importance it places on dialogue and cooperation amongst member states.
The UPR mechanism also reinforces the centrality of States in assuming and fulfilling their human rights obligations. India has actively participated in the review of other States and has welcomed the 131 Member States who have registered to engage in peer review. States under Review have to take position on all UPR recommendations received, by either supporting or noting them.
India's UPR outcome report will be adopted at the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council in March 2023. The National Report of India, submitted on 5 August 2022, outlines the steps towards the promotion and protection of human rights, including the implementation of recommendations in India’s 3rd UPR cycle in 2017.
India’s report was prepared in collaboration with the National Law University, Delhi, after a series of consultations with diverse stakeholders, drawing representatives from the judiciary, national human rights institutions academia, civil society organizations, and the general public.
