India at the UN General Assembly: Can a State Tolerating Torture Lead on Peace and Security?
By Dianne Magbanua, REDRESS’ Communication Officer
As world leaders gather for the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), attention turns to the High-Level Week, starting today, 22 September. At its centre is the General Debate—a platform where heads of State and government present their vision on the most pressing global challenges of peace, development, and human rights.
This year’s session comes at a pivotal moment, offering an opportunity to renew global commitments to multilateralism, human rights, and accountability. But it also raises difficult questions about whether States that systematically undermine human rights can credibly aspire to shape the global peace and security agenda.
On 27 September, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will deliver India’s statement. This moment carries added weight as India continues to pursue its long-standing ambition of a permanent seat on the UN Security Council (UNSC), an aspiration recently bolstered by endorsements from current permanent members, including the US, France and UK, despite India’s persistent failure to ratify the UN Convention against Torture (UNCAT) and address systemic abuses at home.
India and the UN Security Council
The UNSC is the UN’s most powerful political body, mandated to safeguard international peace and security. It comprises 15 members: five permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and ten elected for two-year terms. Unlike any other UN organ, the Security Council holds binding authority: it can deploy peacekeeping missions, impose sanctions, mandate human rights investigations, authorise the use of force, and even establish international criminal tribunals.
India has served as a non-permanent member of the UNSC eight times, most recently in 2021–2022, and is now seeking election for the 2028–2029 term. Against this backdrop, it is vital to examine India’s recent engagement with the UN human rights system.
A Human Rights Crisis
As the world’s largest democracy, India bears responsibility for protecting the rights of more people than any other State. It also has the potential to lead globally on justice and freedom. Yet, instead, it faces a worsening human rights crisis, with torture becoming increasingly normalised.
In 2024, India’s National Human Rights Commission, an oversight body, recorded 130 new custodial death complaints, bringing the total pending cases to over 2,400. These figures, while alarming, capture only a fraction of the reality of State violence. Torture and ill-treatment remain routine tools of law enforcement, embedded within institutions shielded from accountability.
A recent report published by REDRESS examines how torture in India is used to extract confessions, punish marginalised groups, silence dissent, and maintain control. The report builds on years of documentation by civil society and human rights defenders who, often at great risk, continue to expose these abuses.
India’s failure to ratify UNCAT—nearly 30 years after signing—both reflects and reinforces this impunity. The absence of a specific legal prohibition on torture in domestic law has enabled State authorities — particularly the police, security forces, and armed personnel — to operate without fearing the consequences. In a democracy that constitutionally guarantees dignity, this is nothing less than a crisis of law and justice.
A Legal Framework Ignored
India’s laws theoretically guarantee detainees’ rights such as legal representation and timely court appearances, and the Supreme Court has recommended CCTV in police stations to prevent abuse. Yet in practice, these safeguards are often ignored. Recent legislative reforms have even expanded police and security forces powers while weakening oversight, increasing the risk of custodial torture.
Draconian laws such as the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) grant security forces sweeping immunity, enabling widespread abuses—torture, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings—especially in militarised areas. Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims, and other minority communities face systemic discrimination, while journalist, lawyers, and activists are targeted for speaking out. Peaceful dissent is increasingly criminalised under the guise of national security, creating a chilling effect on civil society.
Impunity Through Inaction
This dire situation has drawn the attention of UN experts, treaty bodies, and the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, who have repeatedly expressed concern and urged India to ratify UNCAT and implement measures to address torture. In July 2024, the UN Human Rights Committee expressed alarm over high rates of deaths in custody, reprisals against victims’ families, and the use of torture, including rape, against detainees – particularly those from minority groups.
While 31 States raised concerns over torture, during India’s last Universal Periodic Review – a mechanism by which every State’s human rights record is examined and recommendations for improvements made – bilateral relations have largely avoided the issue. India’s geopolitical and economic clout continue to shield it from meaningful pressure, allowing abuses to persist with impunity.
Ending torture in India will require more than legal reform. It demands political will, institutional change, and sustained domestic and international pressure. The government must urgently ratify UNCAT, criminalise torture in domestic law, and repeal or amend laws that enable abuse. States with diplomatic trade ties to India also have a responsibility to press for real reform.
No Security Council Seat Without Accountability
India has been on the UN Human Rights Council for 16 years, most recently from 2019 to 2024. Members of the Council are expected to uphold the highest human rights standards and cooperate fully with UN mechanisms. Yet India’s record is poor. Since 2019, UN experts and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights have issued around 25 statements flagging serious human rights concerns. During this time, India has taken leadership on only two thematic issues at the Council and none of its country-specific resolutions—showing limited commitment to advancing human rights globally.
India is falling short of its human rights obligations and its commitments as a UN member. As it aspires to have a permanent seat on the Security Council, one message must be clear: a State that allows torture to remain unchecked and unpunished cannot be responsible for safeguarding international peace and security.
Photo by: UN Photo/ Evan Schneider
