Rights groups seek UN probe into abuses against Muslims in India
Complaint documents killings, torture and arbitrary detention of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and seeks international mechanism to investigate abuses
NEW DELHI, India (MNTV) — International human rights groups have asked the United Nations to establish an independent investigation into alleged systematic abuses against Muslims in India, citing a pattern of police killings, torture, arbitrary detention and discriminatory use of state power in the country’s most populous state.
REDRESS and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) submitted a joint complaint to the UN Human Rights Council focusing on BJP-ruled state of Uttar Pradesh, where they say Muslims have been disproportionately affected by abuses committed by state authorities and non-state actors.
The complaint, announced earlier this week, draws on documentation by Indian human rights organizations as well as two investigations by the Panel of Independent International Experts into violations against Muslims in India.
The identities of collaborating Indian organizations have been withheld because of security concerns.
Among the practices documented are unlawful police killings carried out as so-called “encounters,” torture and ill-treatment in custody, violence by vigilante groups that allegedly goes unpunished, excessive force against protesters and the use of criminal and administrative laws to detain and silence Muslims.
REDRESS said those abuses exist within a broader environment of systemic discrimination and anti-Muslim hate speech, including incitement involving state officials.
It said Muslims have been disproportionately and systematically affected, particularly in Uttar Pradesh, which has India’s largest Muslim population.
The submission comes weeks after the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination completed its latest review of India and issued concluding observations on Aug. 25.
Concerns over Indian policing have separately reached UN experts. In February, UN special rapporteurs raised allegations of disproportionate police force resulting in deaths and serious injuries, torture and other ill-treatment in custody.
Their communication also noted that India’s Supreme Court had yet to issue a final judgment concerning 183 police “encounters” recorded in Uttar Pradesh between 2017 and 2023.
The latest complaint calls on the Human Rights Council to consider establishing an independent fact-finding body to investigate violations against Muslims across India and an international mechanism to preserve evidence for possible future proceedings.
It also seeks appointment of a UN special rapporteur dedicated to India who would monitor and report violations against religious minorities to the Human Rights Council and General Assembly.
The groups called on Indian authorities to investigate torture and other serious abuses, hold perpetrators accountable, release people arbitrarily detained and strengthen protections for religious minorities.
They also urged India to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture and incorporate anti-torture and human rights training for police, prison and security personnel.
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