U.S. Statement at the Universal Periodic Review of India
41st Session
As delivered by Ambassador Michèle Taylor
Thank you, Mr. President.
The United States welcomes the distinguished Indian delegation. We share with India, the world’s largest democracy, the values of democracy, free speech, pluralism, and tolerance and we encourage India to continue striving toward those ideals in consultation with civil society.
We recommend that India:
1. Reduce the broad application of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and similar laws against human rights activists, journalists, and religious minorities.
2. Ratify the Convention Against Torture and prosecute those responsible for human rights abuses.
3. Improve the transparency of license adjudications related to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and create easier pathways for NGOs to appeal adverse government decisions on FCRA licenses.
Despite legal protections, discrimination and violence based on gender and religious affiliation persist. The application of anti-terror legislation has led to prolonged detentions of human rights defenders and activists, often in a pre-trial status.
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