Against the backdrop of ongoing protests against the deletion of voters from the electoral roll by the Election Commission of India, a group of globally recognised rapporteurs and experts on human rights have said that the recent actions by the Indian security agencies and police in Delhi violate India’s “core international legal obligations”.

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In a joint statement by the experts, issued by the UN Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR), the experts pointed out that “over 7,000 youths, journalists, human rights defenders” were detained in New Delhi arbitrarily during the protests, and expressed concern over reports of sexual violence.

“These actions violate India’s core international legal obligations, including the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of expression, liberty, security of the person, and the right to defend human rights,” the experts said adding, “Any restrictions on peaceful assembly must be legal, pursue a legitimate aim, and be necessary and proportionate.”

The statement from the experts said that the crackdown revealed a “broader troubling pattern” wherein the Indian authorities have been using “undue restrictions on peaceful assembly, excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and the targeting of student activisits…”

Calling for “reparations” for the affected individuals and protesters, the experts called for “independent, impartial and thorough investigation” into the activities of the law enforcers and associated forces “without delay”.

The experts whose names appear in the statement are Gina Romero, Margaret Satterthwaite, Cecilia M. Bailliet, Farida Shaheed, Bethanie Margaret Carney Almroth, Ivana Krstic, Haina Lu, Dorothy Estrada-Tanck, Claudia Flores, Laura Nyirinkindi, Grazyna Baranowska, Ana Lorena Delgadillo Perez, Gabriella Citroni, Aua Balde, Mohammed Al-Obaidi, Astrid Puentes Riano, Elena Carolina Diaz Galan, Sofia Monsalve Suarez, Nicolas Levrat, Leopoldo Maldonado Gutierrez, Andrea Bolanos Vargas, Pau Perez Sales, Reem Alsalem, and Ana Brian Nougreres.

The Ministry of External Affairs is yet to respond to the latest remarks from UN human rights experts.