Complaint seeks UN action over alleged abuses against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh
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Human rights groups REDRESS and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) have submitted a joint complaint to the UN Human Rights Council over the alleged systemic mistreatment of Muslims in Uttar Pradesh.
In a statement issued on 22 September, REDRESS said the complaint was prepared in collaboration with Indian experts and drew on documentation from human rights organisations whose identities have been withheld for security reasons.
It also cited findings from two inquiries by the Panel of Independent International Experts (PIIE) into alleged violations of international law against Muslims in India in 2022 and 2026.
The complaint followed the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination’s concluding observations on India’s compliance with the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The committee had expressed serious concern over patterns of discrimination and violence against religious and ethnic minorities in the country.
It also came after UN experts in February warned of systemic policing failures linked to reported deaths in custody, alleged extrajudicial killings and torture in India.
According to the complaint, Muslims in Uttar Pradesh have faced recurring and well-documented human rights violations by state and non-state actors. These include alleged unlawful killings by police during so-called ‘encounters’.
The groups urged the UN Human Rights Council to consider the PIIE’s recommendations for an independent fact-finding body to investigate alleged violations against Muslims in India and an international mechanism to preserve evidence for future legal proceedings.
They also called for the appointment of a special rapporteur on India to monitor, document and report alleged violations against religious minorities to the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly.
The complaint further urged the Indian government to tackle impunity by conducting effective investigations into allegations of torture, ill-treatment and other serious abuses against Muslims in Uttar Pradesh and elsewhere in the country, and by holding those responsible accountable.
It also called for human rights and anti-torture training to be included in the regular curricula for police, prison staff, security personnel and judicial authorities, in line with international law and standards.