India rejects UN rapporteur’s claims on youth protests, calls report ‘hearsay’
India has rejected allegations by United Nations Special Rapporteur Gina Romero that young people in the country face retaliation or stigmatisation for speaking out on mental health and gender justice, calling the claims based on anonymous and unverified submissions.
India’s First Secretary to the UN, Anuj Swarup, delivered the rebuttal during an interactive dialogue with Romero at the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee.
“A sweeping charge against the world’s largest youth population, resting on anonymous and unverified claims, is not evidence. It is hearsay dressed up as a UN report, and my delegation rejects it outright,” Swarup said.
He urged the special rapporteur to verify the allegations before using them to criticise India, adding that relying on anonymous submissions to make generalisations about a population of 1.4 billion undermined the credibility of the mandate.
The Indian diplomat also objected to the report’s reference to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), a satirical political movement formed by young people that has recently emerged as a focal point of protests in the national capital.
“In which repressive State does a satirical youth party question the government, march on the capital, and then sit across the table with senior national leaders,” Swarup said.
He described the report’s approach as arbitrary and said such reporting was among the reasons the United Nations and its institutions had lost credibility.
Defending India’s record on civil liberties, Swarup said the Constitution guaranteed freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly and association under Article 19. He added that these rights were protected by an independent judiciary, a free press and the National Human Rights Commission.
The diplomat also cited the government’s engagement with students who protested against irregularities in public examinations. According to him, Parliament subsequently amended the Public Examinations Act, increased penalties for paper leaks, overhauled the examination system and introduced fast-track courts to prosecute examination fraud.
Swarup further highlighted the participation of more than five million young people in the Viksit Bharat Young Leaders Dialogue this year, saying that the government continued to engage with young people directly and through social media.
The exchange comes amid protests in Delhi led by the CJP and opposition groups demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over alleged irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. The Election Commission has denied allegations that the revision was politically motivated.
India maintained that constitutional safeguards and its engagement with young people demonstrated its commitment to democratic participation, rejecting Romero’s allegations as unverified.