On January 29, the European Parliament is scheduled to debate and vote on a scathing resolution against the Modi government in India. The resolution– which has been drafted and supported by lawmakers from six major European political groups of the 27-member body–has called on the European Union and its member states to denounce India’s ultra vires acts in terms of the CAA and an unjust Indian annexation of Kashmir.
The European lawmakers have mentioned the incident at Jawaharlal Nehru University Campus in New Delhi which was attacked by a masked mob that injured over 20 students and teachers from the varsity. “[The] CAA sets a dangerous precedent and represents an intensification of the Government’s Hindu nationalist agenda,” the document further reads. The EU demands from India to repeal the “discriminatory amendments” to its citizenship law, the draft resolution says the new law “violates India’s international obligations to prevent the deprivation of citizenship on the basis of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin as enshrined in the ICCPR and other human rights treaties.”
While condemning the “unilateral changes made to the status of Kashmir by India”, the draft resolution noted that India has had never implemented the UNSC resolutions requiring a referendum to allow all Kashmiris to determine the future status of Kashmir. It also delivered the concern regarding the rise in tensions between Pakistan and India – “both being nuclear weapons states” – which it said were “fuelled by the controversial decisions of the government of India on Kashmir and citizenship”.The draft resolution covers the basic norms, principles and rules of the EU conventions on Civil Rights and fundamental Human Rights enshrined in the UN charter thereby justifiably soliciting the motion:The salient features or aspects of the draft resolution are hereunder:-
I. ”whereas the passage of the legislation caused large-scale protests in India; whereas huge demonstrations have been held in the capital, Delhi, as well as in Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Hyderabad; whereas the CAA has reignited old hostilities in Tripura; whereas Assam, Uttar Pradesh and other north-eastern states have seen violent demonstrations against the CAA over fears that granting Indian citizenship to refugees and immigrants will cause a loss of their ‘political rights, culture and land rights’ and motivate further migration from Bangladesh; whereas protesters have demanded that Indian citizenship be granted to Muslim refugees and immigrants;
J. whereas protesters throughout India have criticised the new law for being unconstitutional in discriminating against Muslims; whereas citizens are demanding that the amendment be scrapped and the nationwide National Register of Citizenship not be implemented; whereas citizens are concerned that Muslim citizens of India will be rendered stateless and put into detention camps; whereas protesters have condemned the authoritarianism of the Indian Government, the police crackdown in universities and the suppression of protests; K. whereas the Government of India’s response to the protests has included the imposition of a curfew, a shutdown of internet services, detention of human rights activists and alleged torture;
The resolution-astutely drafted and supported by the European lawmakers from the Renew Group,–has called on the European Union and its member states “to promote the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir”
L. whereas instead of addressing the concerns, offering corrective action, calling for security forces to act with restraint and ensuring accountability, many government leaders have been engaging in efforts to discredit, rebuke and threaten the protesters; M. whereas the protests have led to the death of several protesters, left protesters and police personnel injured, and led to damage to public and private property; whereas various state governments have either arrested those protesting against the CAA or imposed prohibitory orders on them under Section 144 and 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC); whereas protestors have been met with a show of force and restrictive measures that infringe on their right to be seen and heard; expresses concern that many people have found themselves in detention or living under internet shutdowns;
N. whereas Uttar Pradesh has witnessed the largest number of deaths during the countrywide anti-CAA protests, including the death of an 8-year-old child in Varanasi. whereas over 22 protestors are reported to have succumbed to bullet injuries; whereas families of victims have expressed anguish over their inability to receive post mortem reports and file First Information Reports (FIRs) at the police station; whereas the FIRs on rioting are detailed and have led to multiple arrests and damage recovery operations; O. whereas there have been credible reports of protestors in detention being tortured in India P. whereas some states have announced that they will not implement the CAA and some states, such as Kerala, have filed a legal challenge against the new citizenship law; Q. whereas trade negotiations are underway between the EU and India….’
In their respective state recommendations to the European Council and to MrBorell, the MEP groups have forcefully condemned Indian state actions that have resulted in the loss of life of anti-CAA protesters, and called on the government to lift restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir, reconsider the Citizenship Act, “in the spirit of equality and non-discrimination and in the light of its international obligations”, and to “engage with the protestors”. And further, the proposed draft resolution condemned the violence and “systematic brutality” of the Indian law enforcement agencies against the protesters. “[The] CAA has sparked massive protests against its implementation, with 27 reported deaths, 175 people being injured and thousands of arrests,” according to the official document.
The resolution-astutely drafted and supported by the European lawmakers from the Renew Group,–has called on the European Union and its member states “to promote the implementation of the UN Security Council resolutions on Kashmir”.The aforesaid resolution rightly seeks to remind the Indian government of its moral and legal obligations under the 1992 UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities, which establishes the obligation of countries to protect the existence and identity of religious minorities within their territories and to adopt appropriate measures to ensure that this is achieved. Such a resolution, which has been characterised under the “Relations with Asian countries” section by the economic bloc, are normally used as a basis for engagement of EU member countries with specific nations.
Clearly, the European Parliament resolution upholds respect of international law on fundamental rights in so far as in international law, all the UN State members have the fundamental and primary responsibility for honouring fundamental rights and to put legal rights into daily practice. This concerns public officials at all levels, including local, regional and national public authorities while mutually sharing and dividing responsibilities for ensuring public safety and order through a police force and courts; organising public services, such as healthcare and education; holding elections; and regulating day to day life activities.
The writer is an independent ‘IR’ researcher and international law analyst based in Pakistan