00:00India is a vibrant democracy anchored in the rule of law. Article 21 of our constitution guarantees
00:06the right to life and personal liberty. Our independent judiciary is fully empowered to
00:12issue the rights of habeas corpus, thus providing a strong and readily accessible safeguard against
00:18any alleged disappearance. The law enforcement authorities in India are fully bound to act
00:24within the framework of law. The National Human Rights Commission and State Human Rights Commissions
00:29offer effective avenues for complaint and redress mechanisms. The Right to Information Act has
00:36further strengthened transparency and accountability in governance, further supplemented by the presence
00:43of independent media and dynamic civil society. Enforced disappearances are clear violations of
00:50human rights and deeply affect the families of victims. We call upon States to eradicate
00:56instances of this grave human rights violation through preventive measures, accountability,
01:02and the protection of civil society. India has signed the International Convention for the Protection
01:08of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. India engages with international human rights mechanisms,
01:14but such engagement must be based on dialogue, consultation, cooperation with non-selectivity,
01:21and transparency as guiding principles. Human rights not to be used as an instrument of political
01:29pressure or selective country targeting. We call on delegations to cite the report faithfully, not to inflate
01:37a humanitarian communication into a verdict. India remains prepared to clarify specific,
01:43properly documented cases through established channels. But India firmly opposes any attempt to convert
01:51unverified allegations, incomplete statistics, or a report that contains no India country observation
01:59into a negative characterization of the world's largest democracy. I thank you.
