THE UNITED NATIONS has taken strong exception to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) process in Assam, calling it “discriminating between other religious groups and Muslims”. Such criticism by the world body is unprecedented; India has not faced it ever, even on the Kashmir issue.

The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) employed three special rapporteurs to study the NRC issue and their report is critical of the Narendra Modi government. The three independent experts—Ahmed Shaheed (freedom of religion or belief), Fernand de Varennes (minority issues) and E. Tendayi Achiume (contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance)—concluded that the NRC process could exacerbate the xenophobic climate and fuel religious intolerance and discrimination.

The report said more than 40 lakh people in Assam, in particular Muslims and Hindus of Bengali descent, were excluded from the draft NRC list prepared in June last year. More than 30 lakh revision claims have been filed by those excluded since then, while an additional two lakh objections have been added against individuals previously included. In June this year, the NRC authority named another 1.02 lakh people, earlier found to be valid citizens, as possible infiltrators.

The UN report criticised the deadline for the final NRC list, which it says has been fixed notwithstanding the significant number of pending revision claims and objections and the complex NRC modalities. It also questioned India's Foreigners' Act, which puts the onus on individuals to prove their citizenship status. “In nationality determination processes, the burden of proof should lie with the state and not with the individual,” said the report. The experts also highlighted the lack of clarity in the link between the NRC process, electoral roll information and the separate judicial processes of citizenship determination before the Assam Foreigners’ Tribunals.

In a scathing indictment of the Union government, the UN experts said they did not receive any response from concerned authorities despite repeated requests. Rupert Colville, global spokesperson for the UN high commissioner for human rights, said the high commissioner's office had issued a warning to the Indian government based on the rapporteurs’ observations. UN officials said the UNHRC and the UN Refugee Agency had utmost respect for India. “But that reputation is at stake as the Indian government has failed to give any clarification despite being asked to,” said a senior UN official based in Geneva.

Liz Throssell, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, said those who were excluded from the final NRC list faced the risk of being stateless and would be deprived of all government facilities and even basic services. “The UN is against it and our opposition is strong,” she said. She did not accept the explanation that the NRC process started after India signed the Assam Accord in the 1980s with the leaders of the Assam movement, promising to drive out infiltrators from the state. “We would urge India not to deport and detain people and deprive them of their basic rights. We know India has sovereign rights and the right to detect foreigners. But it has to understand concerns like human rights violations and statelessness,” said Throssell, emphasising that even foreigners should not be deprived of their basic rights.

Adrian Edwards, global spokesperson for the UNHCR, said his organisation would seek immediate intervention of the Indian government to restore human rights in Assam. “It is certainly a worrying situation. India is a signatory to the international conventions on statelessness and human rights. It should adhere to those conventions.”