India Calls UN Rapporteur’s Report on Youth Protests ‘Hearsay’ and Rejects Allegations

India has strongly rejected allegations by UN Special Rapporteur Gina Romero that young people in the country face stigma and reprisals for advocating gender justice and mental health rights, describing the claims as unverified and methodologically flawed.

First Secretary Anuj Swarup delivered India’s response during the 81st session of the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee, defending constitutional protections for freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. He said these rights were guaranteed under Article 19 of the Constitution and protected by an independent judiciary, a free press and the National Human Rights Commission.

Swarup criticised the report for relying on anonymous submissions and unverified allegations. He argued that broad accusations against India’s youth population could not be treated as established evidence and questioned the methodology used to reach its conclusions.

Romero had criticised the Indian government in posts on X on October 10, alleging excessive force and arbitrary detentions during peaceful youth-led protests. She also claimed that more than 2,500 demonstrators had faced torture or sexual abuse while detained in isolated locations without access to legal counsel.

The controversy comes amid demonstrations in India over electoral issues, including demands for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar following changes to voter rolls.

Swarup argued that the report did not adequately reflect the realities of India’s civic and political environment. He pointed to the participation of young people in political movements and cited examples of youth-led political engagement with senior national leaders.

He also referred to remarks by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk in September, suggesting that dialogue with young leaders was more effective in addressing youth-led movements in India.

India urged the special rapporteur to verify allegations before drawing broad conclusions, calling for greater fairness, accuracy and methodological rigour in future reports.