WASHINGTON: The controversial religion-based Indian citizenship bill has drawn the attention of both the US administration and the UN, which described the law as “fundamentally discriminatory in nature” on Tuesday.
The 2019 Citizenship Amendment Act, which the Indian government rushed to enact on Monday, has drawn criticism from rights campaigners. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch claimed it discriminates against Muslims.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been pressing for the law’s implementation just weeks before the Indian elections. The law facilitates the process of granting Indian citizenship to non-Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.
According to rights organizations, the rule excludes Shias from those nations as well as neighboring nations whose Muslims make up a minority, such as Myanmar’s Rohingya.
An official from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stated, “As we stated in 2019, we are concerned that India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019 (CAA) is fundamentally discriminatory in nature and in breach of India’s international human rights obligations.”
The office was researching whether the bill’s implementation guidelines adhere to international human rights law, he continued.
The US has expressed reluctance as well.
“We express concern with the March 11 announcement of the Citizenship Amendment Act. We are keeping a careful eye on the way this act is carried out,” a State Department official stated separately.
“Equal treatment under the law for all communities and respect for religious freedom are fundamental democratic principles,” the State Department spokesman continued in an email.
The bill, together with a planned national registry of citizens, according to activists and human rights defenders, may discriminate against India’s 200 million Muslims.
