India Must Adhere To International Standards

Fernand De Varennes (UN special rapporteur on minority issues)

- Rabi Banerjee

Fernand De Varennes is dean of the Faculté de Droit at the Université de Moncton in Canada and extraordinary professor at the Centre for Human Rights of the University of Pretoria, South Africa. He has been special rapporteur on minority issues for the UN Human Rights Council since August 2017. He is one of the three members who presented the report on NRC to the Council, criticizing the manner in which the Indian government has handled the NRC process. In a telephonic interaction with THE WEEK, he spoke about the international legal concerns regarding the NRC and his expectations from the Indian government. Excerpts:

What are your concerns regarding NRC?

The prime concern is that the people will become non-residents if the NRC process is executed as it is being promised. We have not made any determination or conclusion, just an observation. We have raised some issues and sought clarifications from the Indian government through the country’s mission in Geneva. We have told them that such an exercise is discriminatory to a particular religious group.

You said you got no response from the Indian government.

We repeatedly sought clarifications from the Indian government. The most unfortunate thing is that it refused to give any clarification. As a result, we have not made any conclusions. If we do not get any response, we may have to look at the allegations and take steps accordingly.

What are the allegations?

The allegations have dimensions related to violation of human rights of religious minorities. We are seeking clarifications on the accuracy of those allegations. We sought clarification because it raised serious concerns for us and can potentially damage the situation in Assam. There could be a denial of services for millions who may end up stateless and lead to serious human rights violations.