UNITED NATIONS: Millions of people from minority backgrounds in the Indian state of Assam are living in a “xenophobic climate”, and face marginalization and a rise in hate speech on social media, UN experts have warned.
The concerns raised by the group of UN Special Rapporteurs are linked to draft amendments to the Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) list, which excludes more than 4 million people, in particular, Muslims and Hindus of Bengali descent.
Those excluded from the final list, due to be published on July 31, will have to prove to a tribunal that they are not “irregular foreigners”, and, according to the experts, they risk statelessness, deportation, or prolonged detention.
“This process may exacerbate the xenophobic climate while fueling religious intolerance and discrimination in the country,” warned the experts.
“We are seriously concerned over the current implementation of the NRC update in Assam and its potentially far-reaching consequences for millions of people, in particular, persons belonging to minorities who risk statelessness, deportation or prolonged detention,” the experts said.
“In nationality determination processes, the burden of proof should lie with the State and not with the individual,” said the experts, noting the discriminative and arbitrary nature of the current legal system.
