United Nations, India has said the credibility of the UN Human Rights Council rests on “even-handedness”, asserting that country-specific mandates pursued without the engagement of the nation concerned hardly improve the situation on the ground.
She recalled External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks at the High-Level Segment of the 61st Human Rights Council in February this year that “human rights are best advanced through dialogue, capacity building and genuine partnerships, and not by politicisation, selectivity, or double standards. “Credibility of the council rests on even-handedness.
Mangalanandan said this is critical if the council is to speak in one voice and dispel the allegation of weaponisation of human rights. Country-specific mandates pursued without the engagement of the country concerned seldom improve the situation on the ground,” she said, adding that, on the contrary, they deepen divisions within the council. The Universal Periodic Review, which is built on cooperation, engagement with member states concerned and treats all States equally, remains the appropriate platform, she said. “We would encourage the council to give this threat the sustained attention it warrants on the basis of zero tolerance,” she said. Highlighting India’s observations, Mangalanandan said all human rights must be treated in a fair and equal manner, on the same footing, and with the same emphasis. “Economic, social, and cultural rights and the right to development deserve the same attention as civil and political rights,” she said, adding that for much of the developing world, poverty, debt, and limited access to financing and technology remain the most immediate obstacles to the enjoyment of human rights.
