India has no right to mistreat refugees: HRW

Human Rights Watch today slammed Indian authorities for “mistreating” the Rohingya refugees and said the country had no rights to conduct such behaviour.

“If India had not signed the Convention against torture, would Indian authorities have carte blanche to torture and ill-treat anyone in custody?” said Bill Frelick, HRW’s refugee rights programme director.

“India knows full well that certain principles of international law are considered customary international law – they are unlawful because states have long prohibited the practice as a matter of law,” he said.

The backlash came in response to a Tweet of Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh that said: his government was “not violating any international law” if it deports Rohingya refugees “as we are not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.”

“The Indian government says it is worried about the entry of refugees with links to Rohingya militants. If that’s the case, they should produce evidence and prosecute individual suspects,” said Frelick.

Source: thedailystar