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Interviews | Pia Oberoi, senior advisor on migration, UN Human Rights Office, interviewed by DVL Padma Priya (Suno India podcast)
Pia Oberoi, senior advisor on migration, UN Human Rights Office, interviewed by DVL Padma Priya (Suno India podcast)

Pia Oberoi, senior advisor on migration, UN Human Rights Office, interviewed by DVL Padma Priya (Suno India podcast)

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published Published on Jan 7, 2020   modified Modified on Oct 1, 2020
-Suno India podcast/ TheWire.in
 
In conversation with Pia Oberoi, senior advisor on migration, UN Human Rights Office.

A few days ago, the United Nations Human Rights Office issued a statement condemning the “fundamentally discriminatory” Citizenship (Amendment) Act. While welcoming the goal of protecting persecuted groups, the UN Body called out against the exclusion of Muslims including minority sects.

The statement pointed out that the new law “undermines” the commitment to equality enshrined in India’s constitution. The Act also goes against India’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention for the Elimination of Racial; both of which prohibits discrimination based on racial, ethnic or religious grounds. Editor of the Suno India podcast D.V.L. Padma Priya reached out to Pia Oberoi, senior advisor on migration, UN Human Rights Office to understand their concerns around the Act.

* Pia, your office recently issued a press release saying that the Citizenship Amendment Act, which was ratified by the Indian parliament, was fundamentally discriminatory in nature. Could you please explain to our listeners why that is?

We expressed a concern that the act was fundamentally discriminatory because of the consequences that it could have on particular groups. We fully applaud and welcome the intention of the Indian government to establish a framework of protection for people that are being persecuted. And indeed, we have as well human rights mechanisms, have asked for a number of years that a robust national asylum system should be put into place to include people that are fleeing harm, persecution, conflict, human rights violations for all the recognised grounds.

Our concern is that by only picking out not just certain countries, but within them only particular groups of religiously defined groups, that there’s a strong element of discrimination. We are concerned that, for instance, people of Muslim origin that are fleeing from these countries will not be considered to have suffered persecution and will be prevented from accessing the benefits of the regularisation of the amnesty provisions of this Act.

Should there be really a concern to protect people that are fleeing persecution and violations, then one could very easily imagine a national asylum system which puts in place non-discriminatory brands of protection for all people that flee certain kinds of harm. And, it is important that India does so to avoid these charges of discrimination.

Suno India podcast/ TheWire.in, 2 January, 2020, please click here to read the entire interview.

The podcast can be accessed by clicking here.
 
Image Courtesy: Facebook page of International Service for Human Rights

Suno India podcast/ TheWire.in, 2 January, 2020, https://thewire.in/rights/interview-why-the-un-rights-office-is-concerned-about-the-caa


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