Assam Burning: United Nations monitoring outcome of Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019

Guwahati: The United Nations is closely monitoring the implications of India’s Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019, the passing of which has led to widespread violent protests in the country’s northeast region, according to a spokesperson.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday: “We’re aware that the Lower and Upper Houses of the Indian Parliament have passed the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, and we’re also aware of the concerns that have been publicly expressed. The United Nations is closely analyzing the possible consequences of the law.”

Haq also said that some of “human rights mechanisms, including our rapporteurs, have already been expressing their concerns about the nature of this law”.

The Bill, which has now become law after President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent on Thursday night, seeks to give refuge to Hindus, Christians, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains and Parsis fleeing persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the Muslim community was not persecuted in those three countries, and the Bill specifically seeks to provide citizenship to six religious persecuted minorities. (IANS)

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