UNHCR expresses alarm at statelessness risk in India's Assam
Leaving large numbers of people without a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts.
NEW YORK (Web Desk) - UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has expressed his concern over the publication of a National Register of Citizens (NRC) that may put large numbers of people in India’s north-eastern state of Assam at risk of becoming stateless.
UNHCR in a statement said, It is too early to say what the nationality status of those left off the National Register, some 1.9 million according to the authorities, may ultimately be. UNHCR is concerned, however, that many are at risk of statelessness if they do not possess another nationality.
“Any process that could leave large numbers of people without a nationality would be an enormous blow to global efforts to eradicate statelessness,” High Commissioner Grandi said.
“I appeal to India to ensure that no one is rendered stateless by this action, including by ensuring adequate access to information, legal aid, and legal recourse in accordance with the highest standards of due process.”
While India has a sovereign right and authority to establish who is an Indian national, UNHCR urges the Government to take steps that mitigate the risk of any individual being left stateless as a result of the NRC update in Assam or similar processes that may take place in other states in India, and calls on the authorities to refrain from detaining or deporting anyone whose nationality has not been verified through this process.
UNHCR reiterates its offer of support to the Government of India to determine people’s nationality and avoid statelessness in accordance with its mandate and international standards.
It is imperative to note here that tens of thousands of paramilitary personnel and police were deployed in the north-eastern state of Assam in India to tighten the security as the Modi-led Hindu nationalist Indian government targeted minority Muslim community, who form one-third of Assam state’s population, and strip them of their citizenship – in what could become the biggest exercise in forced statelessness in living memory since World War II.
After committing gross human rights’ violations in Kashmir, India published a disputable citizenship list in what it calls the final National Register of Citizens or NRC for the citizens of Assam.
