Nadine Osman
A UN official has sharply criticized India for failing to protect its Muslim minority amid a documented surge in hate incidents following the April 22 attack in Pahalgam, in Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Professor Nicolas Levrat, the UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, told a US Congressional briefing on June 11 that India had “very obviously failed to live up to its international obligations to protect Muslims from a wave of hate crimes.” He specifically condemned what he termed “incendiary narratives at the highest level” and reminded India of its commitments under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which obligates nations to protect religious minorities from violence and discrimination.
Levrat also revealed that his office had received no engagement from India’s Permanent Mission in Geneva regarding minority rights concerns, and called for the implementation of legal protections already present in India’s constitution and legal framework.
The UN official’s criticism coincides with the release of a damning report by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), which documented 184 hate incidents targeting Muslims in just 17 days following the Pahalgam attack. The incidents, recorded between April 22 and May 8, reportedly affected at least 316 individuals across 19 Indian states.
According to the APCR report, 106 of these incidents can be directly attributed to the Pahalgam attack. The documented cases include hate speech, intimidation, harassment, mob assaults, mosque vandalism, threats, and three murders.
The violence was widespread across India, with Uttar Pradesh recording the highest number of cases (43), followed by Maharashtra (24), Uttarakhand (24), and Madhya Pradesh (20). Other affected states include Delhi, Bihar, Telangana, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, and Chandigarh.
The Indian government has yet to issue an official response to either the UN official’s remarks or the findings of the APCR report.
Photo: Professor Nicolas Levrat, UN Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues, speaks at a US Congressional briefing on June 11, criticising India for failing to protect Muslims and condemning high-level incendiary rhetoric. (Credit: Wikimedia)
