India rejects UN expert’s remark on Manipur

Subject : International Relations

Section: International Organisation

More about the news:

India’s response came after a group of UN experts raised alarm about reports of ‘serious human rights violations and abuses’ in Manipur.
India has termed comments on Manipur by UN experts as “unwarranted, presumptive and misleading”

What is Special Procedure Mandate Holders (SPMH):

The term ‘special procedures’ refers to the list of mechanisms established by the Human Rights Council to report and advise on human rights from a thematic and country-specific perspective.
Special procedures mandate-holders are either an individual (called a Special Rapporteur (SR) or Independent Expert (IE)) or a Working Group (WG) of five members.
Mandate holders serve in their personal capacities, they are not UN staff and do not receive salaries or other financial remuneration for their work.
Mandate holders are appointed by the Human Rights Council and their work is supported by the OHCHR.
As part of their mandates, special procedures examine, advise and publicly report on human rights issues and situations. They conduct thematic studies and convene expert consultations, contribute to the development of international human rights standards, engage in advocacy and provide advice for technical cooperation.

Some facts about UNHRC:

It is an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system.
The UNHRC replaced the former UN Commission on Human Rights.
It was created by the UNGA on March 15, 2006, and the body met in its first session in June, 2006.
The Council is made up of 47 UN Member States who are elected by majority vote through a direct and secret ballot at the UNGA.
The membership of the Council is based on equitable geographical distribution.
- African and Asia-Pacific states have 13 seats each,
- Latin American and Caribbean states have 8 seats,
- Western European and other states have 7 seats, and
- Eastern European states have 6 seats.
The UNGA takes into account the candidate States’ contribution to the promotion and protection of human rights, as well as their voluntary pledges and commitments in this regard.
The members serve for three years and are not eligible for immediate re-election after serving two consecutive terms.

What’s behind the violence in Manipur:

Manipur was boiling since February 2023
- Manipur has been restive since February when the state government launched an eviction drive seen as targeting a specific tribal group.The drive led to protests but not on the scale of the one seen recently.
High Court’s order acted as a trigger point
- The recent protests were triggered by the Manipur High Court’s direction to the State to pursue a 10-year-old recommendation to grant Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the non-tribal Meitei community.
- The Court’s order brought the historical tensions between the valley-dwelling Meitei community and the state’s hill tribes to a boil.
A ‘tribal solidarity march’ was organised by the All Tribal Students’ Union of Manipur (ATSUM) against the order of the High Court which led to the violent clashes at various places in Manipur during the course of this march.