External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has called for an overarching approach to human rights that includes development and capacity-building leading to “tangible improvements in the daily lives of the most vulnerable” and confronting terrorism rather than engaging in polemics of “politicisation, selectivity or double standards”.
Speaking through a video link to the Human Rights Council in Geneva on Wednesday, he said, “In a world marred by conflict, polarisation and uncertainty, India seeks to find and expand common ground”.
“We have consistently underlined dialogue over confrontation, consensus over division, and human-centric development over narrow interests,” he said.
For the UN and Human Rights Council to fully realise their commitment to human rights, they must “advocate zero-tolerance for terrorist acts,” he said.
“Terrorism is among the most egregious violations of human rights, and there can be no justification, especially when innocent lives are targeted,” he said.
India was elected for the seventh time to the Human Rights Council in October with a pledge to be a “bridge-builder”.
It received an overwhelming mandate with 177 of the 188 votes cast at the General Assembly.
“Our mandate reflects the trust and expectations of the international community, especially of partners in the Global South,” Jaishankar said.
“India approaches this Council with the conviction that human rights are best advanced through dialogue, capacity-building and genuine partnerships, and not by politicisation, selectivity or double standards,” the EAM said.
On the Council, he said, “as the world’s largest democracy, India remains firmly committed to working with all members and observers to promote and protect all human rights, for all people, on the basis of equality, openness and respect”.
India’s vision of human rights, he said, “is rooted in the understanding that the insecurity of any region, or the marginalisation of any group, eventually undermines the rights and well-being of all”.
His speech was seeded with implied criticism of the narrow focus on human rights that some Western countries and institutions have.
Explaining India’s sweeping view of human rights, Jaishankar said, “We speak from our experience as a developing country that has known poverty and external shocks, and yet has chosen the path of democracy, pluralism and social justice”.
Amid the ongoing debates about technology and human rights, and the risks of worsening the global divide, Jaishankar declared, “Technology can and must be a force multiplier for human rights, not a new fault line”
Giving the example of India’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), he said the country “has been investing in developing human capacities at an unprecedented scale”.
This has “enabled hundreds of millions to access welfare benefits, financial services and public schemes, with transparency and minimal leakage”, and India is sharing its know-how for the global public good, he said.
Emphasising the importance of development for people to truly enjoy human rights, he said, “the devastating impact of pandemic, climate change, geopolitical tensions and economic stress have exacerbated existing inequities”.
