Statement by India under Agenda Item 9: Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance during 59th Session of the Human Rights Council (16 June – 9 July 2025) on 3 July 2025
Mr. President,
- We take note of the Report of the Special Rapporteur.
- India has always regarded racism and racial discrimination as the antithesis of everything humanity stands for - equality, justice, peace and progress. It is a negation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Mr. President,
- Respect for and celebration of diversity has been the guiding principle of multi-religious, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual India. The Constitution of India guarantees the principle of equality and expressly prohibits discrimination on account of race. The constitutional provisions are embodied in our legal frameworks including penal and criminal laws, and are protected by our independent judiciary, human rights institutions, vibrant civil society and free active media.
- India reiterates its position that caste cannot and must not be equated with race, nor can it be subsumed under the term “descent” as used in Article 1 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD). Any attempt to reinterpret or expand the scope of the convention to include caste-based distinctions represents a deliberate distortion of the Convention’s clear drafting history and intent.
- We express serious concern over recurring efforts to introduce concepts that fall wholly outside the established framework of ICERD. Such overreach undermines the integrity of the Convention. We therefore urge the Special Rapporteur to strictly adhere to her mandate and to refrain from bringing within its ambit issues that are clearly beyond her mandate.
Mr. President,
- In conclusion, our delegation would wish to reaffirm that the most definitive guarantee against racial prejudices and discrimination is nurturing of democracy and pluralism with the inculcation of the values of tolerance, understanding and respect for diversity.
Thank you
