Dec 10, 2019
New Delhi, India
A momentous law like the Citizenship Amendment Bill (CAB) has been rushed through the Lok Sabha and is to go to the Rajya Sabha without adequate debate and public discourse, CHRI's India Executive Committee said today.
“This should not have happened especially as public protests have broken out over the issue in different parts of the country,” said the statement. The rest of the statement is given below:
Sweeping laws need substantial discussions, adequate preparation and an inclusive approach. A confrontation is bound to ensue and gather strength with the Bill being challenged legally on grounds of Constitutionality. By playing into the fears of small groups in limited spaces, the Bill could lead to greater divisions and bitterness.
The CAB is establishing a process that is inimical of Constitutional elements, principles and values. Ours is a country that has grown on the basis of freedom, equality and inclusiveness. The bill fails the test of these key foundational values and indicators and undermines the very national security that leaders speak of. We believe that the bill flies in the face of Article 14 of the Indian Constitution, which prohibits the state from engaging in irrational classification of persons, from arbitrary action, and from treating people unequally for no legitimate reason.
UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, in his message on the International Human Rights Day said, “Every single person is entitled to all rights: civil, political, economic, social and cultural. Regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, social origin, gender, sexual orientation, political or other opinion, disability or income, or any other status.” The CAB in its current form sends a message of discrimination, exclusion and second-class citizenship based on religion.
In his remarks on International Human Rights Day today, President Ram Nath Kovind called for the need for “introspection … empathy and imagination” and recognizing the “sacred text” of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The President spoke clearly on the need to protect the rights of those facing discrimination and inequality. Does the bill meet that criteria?
Issued by
Wajahat Habibullah , Chairperson, and Sanjoy Hazarika, International Director, on behalf of the EC which includes Justice Madan Lokur, Justice AP Shah, B.K. Chandrashekhar, Maja Daruwala, Jayanto Choudhury, Kamal Kumar, Jacob Punnoose, Nitin Desai, Vineeta Rai, Poonam Muttreja
For more information, please contact:
Sanjoy Hazarika, International Director, CHRI
Email: sanjoy@humanrightsinitiative.org, sanjoyha@gmail.com
Media Coverage: The Wire.in | Aljazeera