Universal Periodic Review 27: India
This UK statement on India was delivered at the adoption of the reports during the 27th Session of the Universal Periodic Review on 21 September 2017.
The Universal Periodic Review takes place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
The UK thanks India for its continued engagement with the UPR and its support for one of our recommendations
We once again welcome India’s commitment to ratify the Convention against Torture and appreciate the domestic legislation already in place. However, we continue to encourage its swift ratification of the convention and the Optional Protocol. The Protocol sets out an effective process for preventing torture by establishing a national preventative mechanism. The UK has established such a mechanism and finds it to be an effective means for introducing greater transparency into security systems and eliminating the situations in which torture can occur.
The UK welcomes India’s support of various domestic educational programmes, with emphasis on girls, and the government’s dedication to tackle discrimination against women, with their plans to allocate one third of the seats in its Lower House of Parliament and the State Legislative Assemblies to women.
We note India’s considerable efforts to combat human trafficking and its commitment to introduce the Anti-Human Trafficking Bill. We appreciate that India has already ratified some conventions related to this including the UN Convention against Transnational Organised Crime. We also welcome India’s commitment to eradicate child labour which has been addressed through the passing of the 2016 Child Labour Amendment Act. We urge India to reconsider its position on our recommendation in relation to ILO.