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5th October 2023 – 54th Session of the Human Rights Council
The South Asia Collective (SAC) welcomes the concerns expressed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the drivers, roots causes and the human rights impact of religious hatred. In his speech at the UN Human Rights Council today, he underlined how religious hatred and discrimination hinders social progress as well as polarises and perpetuates mistrust and violence against religious minorities.
The commitment of the United Nations to address religious hatred and discrimination provides a vital support for religious minorities across the globe, and civil society organizations challenging religious hatred. SAC is among those that since 2015, has been documenting and raising awareness about the situation of minorities, including religious minorities, in the South Asia region.
South Asia is home to a quarter of the world’s population and all major faith groups and is one of the most diverse regions in the world. Over time countries in the region have seen an upswing in religious majoritarian politics and ethno-nationalist ideologies. Our research shows that religious faith is being used as a divisive tool to cement discriminatory and exclusionary political ideologies that are infused into public rhetoric, policies, and laws, and which provide grounds for state and non-states actors to target religious minorities using legal and extra-legal means.
In Afghanistan, following the Taliban takeover in 2021 and the reinstatement of Islamic law, religious minorities—including Shia Hazaras, Ismaili Shias, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Sufis, Ahmadi Muslims, Jews and Bahais—have endured violence and systematic persecution. Entire communities, including Jews, Sikhs and Hindus, have been forced to seek asylum in neighbouring countries. In Pakistan, the imposition of majoritarian values by a Sunni Muslim majority, associated with a stringent blasphemy law, poses direct threats to minority faiths, including Hindus and Christians. Meanwhile, minority Islamic sects, including Shia Muslims and Ahmadis Muslims, are barred from identifying themselves as Muslims. Despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedoms in Bangladesh, discriminatory laws and a decline in socio-political representation leave minority religious groups such as Hindus with the challenge of accessing their rights.
In India, Hindu nationalist ideology has captured political power seeking to create a Hindu-only public space. Through discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and through the facilitation and often direct incitement to violence, religious minorities including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are facing persecution. Given the sway of the dominant ideology and a concerted attempt to move away from the current non-sectarian Constitution to a formal Hindu legal framework, the persecution of the country’s 250 million minorities will only grow. In Nepal, the legal regime marginalises religious minorities in its drive to preserve Hinduism, and religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims are targeted, with some being prosecuted for suspicion alone of proselytization.
In Myanmar and Sri Lanka, Buddhism has been politically instrumentalized to marginalize and target minorities. Myanmar’s military junta has continuously targeted Rohingya Muslims, and other minorities including Christians, Hindus and animists, leading to a lack of economic opportunities and representation in the government, as well as abuses at the hands of the military. The legal and constitutional privilege given to Buddhism over Hinduism, Islam and Christianity in Sri Lanka results in the marginalisation of the latter groups. Laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act have been misused to target individuals from specific minority groups, in a similar pattern to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in India and the blasphemy law in Pakistan.
These worrying trends in South Asia call for attention from the respective states to protect their minorities, and for the international community to express concern, prevent escalation of violence, and work with states to reverse these trends.
The South Asia Collective calls upon:
- South Asian countries to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities according to international human rights standards ;
- UN Member States to hold their counterparts accountable to their international obligations contained in existing human rights mechanisms ;
- UN entities, such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Experts to consistently and publicly call out and report on all abuses against religious minorities in South Asia;
- OHCHR to continue supporting persecuted minorities and civil society organizations in the region, through the exchange of information, advocacy and collaboration.
The South Asia Collective (SAC) welcomes the concerns expressed by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on the drivers, roots causes and the human rights impact of religious hatred. In his speech at the UN Human Rights Council today, he underlined how religious hatred and discrimination hinders social progress as well as polarises and perpetuates mistrust and violence against religious minorities.
The commitment of the United Nations to address religious hatred and discrimination provides a vital support for religious minorities across the globe, and civil society organizations challenging religious hatred. SAC is among those that since 2015, has been documenting and raising awareness about the situation of minorities, including religious minorities, in the South Asia region.
South Asia is home to a quarter of the world’s population and all major faith groups and is one of the most diverse regions in the world. Over time countries in the region have seen an upswing in religious majoritarian politics and ethno-nationalist ideologies. Our research shows that religious faith is being used as a divisive tool to cement discriminatory and exclusionary political ideologies that are infused into public rhetoric, policies, and laws, and which provide grounds for state and non-states actors to target religious minorities using legal and extra-legal means.
In Afghanistan, following the Taliban takeover in 2021 and the reinstatement of Islamic law, religious minorities—including Shia Hazaras, Ismaili Shias, Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Sufis, Ahmadi Muslims, Jews and Bahais—have endured violence and systematic persecution. Entire communities, including Jews, Sikhs and Hindus, have been forced to seek asylum in neighbouring countries. In Pakistan, the imposition of majoritarian values by a Sunni Muslim majority, associated with a stringent blasphemy law, poses direct threats to minority faiths, including Hindus and Christians. Meanwhile, minority Islamic sects, including Shia Muslims and Ahmadis Muslims, are barred from identifying themselves as Muslims. Despite constitutional guarantees of religious freedoms in Bangladesh, discriminatory laws and a decline in socio-political representation leave minority religious groups such as Hindus with the challenge of accessing their rights.
In India, Hindu nationalist ideology has captured political power seeking to create a Hindu-only public space. Through discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and through the facilitation and often direct incitement to violence, religious minorities including Muslims, Christians and Sikhs are facing persecution. Given the sway of the dominant ideology and a concerted attempt to move away from the current non-sectarian Constitution to a formal Hindu legal framework, the persecution of the country’s 250 million minorities will only grow. In Nepal, the legal regime marginalises religious minorities in its drive to preserve Hinduism, and religious minorities such as Christians and Muslims are targeted, with some being prosecuted for suspicion alone of proselytization.
In Myanmar and Sri Lanka, Buddhism has been politically instrumentalized to marginalize and target minorities. Myanmar’s military junta has continuously targeted Rohingya Muslims, and other minorities including Christians, Hindus and animists, leading to a lack of economic opportunities and representation in the government, as well as abuses at the hands of the military. The legal and constitutional privilege given to Buddhism over Hinduism, Islam and Christianity in Sri Lanka results in the marginalisation of the latter groups. Laws such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act have been misused to target individuals from specific minority groups, in a similar pattern to the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in India and the blasphemy law in Pakistan.
These worrying trends in South Asia call for attention from the respective states to protect their minorities, and for the international community to express concern, prevent escalation of violence, and work with states to reverse these trends.
The South Asia Collective calls upon:
- South Asian countries to protect the rights of religious and ethnic minorities according to international human rights standards ;
- UN Member States to hold their counterparts accountable to their international obligations contained in existing human rights mechanisms ;
- UN entities, such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and UN Experts to consistently and publicly call out and report on all abuses against religious minorities in South Asia;
- OHCHR to continue supporting persecuted minorities and civil society organisations in the region, through the exchange of information, advocacy and collaboration.