Safeguard rights of NGOs: UNHRC chief tells India
UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet on Tuesday expressed regret at the tightening of space for human rights NGOs in India, including the application of vaguely worded laws that constrain their activities and restrict foreign funding.
Bachelet asked the Indian government to safeguard the rights of human rights defenders and NGOs, and their ability to carry on with their work on behalf of the groups they represent. “India has long had a strong civil society, which has been at the forefront of groundbreaking human rights advocacy within the country and globally,” she said. “But I am concerned that vaguely defined laws are increasingly being used to stifle these voices.” In a statement, Bachelet specifically cited as “worrying” the use of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which a number of UN human rights bodies have
Michelle Bachelet
expressed concern about, because it is “vaguely worded and overbroad in its objective”.
The act prohibits the receipt of foreign funds “for any activities prejudicial to the public interest”. The act, which was adopted in 2010 and amended last month, has had a “detrimental impact on the right to freedom of association and expression of human rights NGOs, and as a result on their ability to serve as effective advocates to protect and promote human rights in India”, the statement said. There was no immediate response from Indian officials to Bachelet’s comments. The statement said it was expected that the new amendments to FCRA will create “even more administrative and practical hurdles for such advocacy-based NGOs”. The statement noted that Amnesty International was compelled to close its offices in India after its bank accounts were frozen over alleged violation of FCRA.
“The FCRA has been invoked over the years to justify an array of highly intrusive measures, ranging from official raids on NGO offices and freezing of bank accounts, to suspension or cancellation of registration, including of civil society organisations that have engaged with UN human rights bodies,” Bachelet said. “I am concerned that such actions based on the grounds of vaguely defined ‘public interest’ leave this law open to abuse, and that it is indeed actually being used to deter or punish NGOs for human rights reporting and advocacy that the authorities perceive as critical in nature. Constructive criticism is the lifeblood of democracy. Even if the authorities find it uncomfortable, it should never be criminalised or outlawed in this way,” she added.