US Secretary of State Marco Rubio refuses to comment on protests against India’s election chief, as New Delhi rejects UN criticism of its human rights record…reports Asian Lite News
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has dismissed United Nations experts as an “oxymoron” while describing protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar as India’s domestic political matter.
Rubio made the remarks in Mumbai on Wednesday when asked about comments by UN experts on demonstrations organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties, and the subsequent response by law enforcement agencies.
“Oh, UN experts, my favourite. The UN experts are the oxymoron,” Rubio said.
However, the US Secretary of State declined to comment further on the protests, stressing that political demonstrations and electoral issues were matters for India to address.
“It is a domestic political matter. I am not going to comment on it. This is a democracy, they have elections here. I am not going to opine on their domestic, political matters. We have protests every day in US,” he told reporters before leaving for Jamnagar.
The remarks came a day after UN experts urged Indian authorities to respect, protect and fulfil the right to peaceful protest. They also called for justice over alleged human rights violations reported during the demonstrations and previous protests.
Earlier on Wednesday, India defended its democratic institutions and human rights record at the United Nations General Assembly, describing the country as a “vibrant democracy anchored in the rule of law”.
Addressing the General Assembly’s Third Committee, which deals with humanitarian affairs, Barkha Tamrakar, a Deputy Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry’s UN Economic Social Division, highlighted Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty.
Tamrakar said India engaged with international human rights organisations but opposed the use of human rights concerns as a political tool to target countries selectively.
“India firmly opposes any attempt to convert unverified allegations, incomplete statistics or a report that contains no India country-specific observation into a negative characterisation of the world’s largest democracy,” she said.
She added that India remained willing to address properly documented cases through established channels.
“India remains prepared to clarify specific, properly documented cases through established channels,” Tamrakar said.
She said engagement with international human rights mechanisms should be guided by dialogue, consultation, cooperation, non-selectivity and transparency.
“Human rights” should not be used as an instrument of political pressure or selective targeting of individual countries, she added.
Rubio is visiting India as part of his diplomatic engagements, with his comments highlighting Washington’s decision not to take a public position on the domestic political controversy.
The exchange comes amid competing positions over the protests, with UN experts calling for the protection of peaceful demonstrations and Indian officials rejecting what they described as the selective use of unverified allegations against the country.
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