UN-linked body has recommended for downgrading NHRC's accreditation: NGO
Addressing media persons in Madurai, Tiphagne said the NHRC involving police officers in its investigations, lack of transparency in other appointments, and failure in addressing various human rights violations are reasons cited for the commission's downgrade.
Though the SCA of GANHRI stated it gave several chances to the NHRC to rectify the above issues by deferring its accreditation for two consecutive years, it added sufficient steps were not taken to implement the suggestions.
Calling it a big blow to the country and the commission, Tiphagne blamed the inaction of the commission during the chairmanship of Justices HL Dattu and Arun Mishra. The NHRC has appealed against the decision and the same is pending, he added. Tiphagne, however, expressed hope that the current chairman, Justice V Ramasubramanian, would do the needful to retain the 'A' status.
Meanwhile, the SCA stated in its report that as per GANHRI statutes, a recommendation to downgrade does not take effect for a period of one year. This allows an opportunity for the NHRC to provide the documentary evidence necessary to establish its continued conformity with the Paris Principles, it added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
12 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Bullets, bombs, starvation are killing Gaza's children
Today, I am angry. I am disappointed. I write because my children are dying. Your children are dying. Our children are dying in Gaza. I can hear their cries. I can feel their pain. Why can't you? Every day, around 30 children are killed — by bombs, missiles, and deliberate, systemic deprivation. Only two days ago, 83 Palestinians lost their lives in the Gaza Strip. Families are going days without food, leaving their orphaned children behind. Health systems have completely collapsed. Supplies have crumbled. Water is scarce. Fuel is gone. Hope is dying. Starving infants are perishing in their mothers' arms, while aid trucks sit blocked at borders. This is the gruesome face of a war that has no moral justification. This is not merely a tragedy — it is a moral apocalypse and a brutal crime against humanity. And the world's institutions? The UN? Governments? They are failing. Recent reports from the United Nations have been alarming and frightening. Gaza stands on the brink of a famine. A quarter of the population are already facing famine-like conditions and over 3,20,000 children, the entire population under five, are at risk of acute malnutrition. In Gaza City alone, child malnutrition rate has quadrupled in the last two months. I am not an expert on the historical conflict between Israel and Palestine, nor a scholar of geopolitics and neither an authority to propose a definitive solution. Certainly, the captivity and killing of innocent Israelis at the outset was unacceptable. But that does not justify the brutal retaliation on Gaza or any violence. In 2023, when Hamas had held innocent Israelis hostage and a war-like situation had just about begun, I knew that the repercussions would be worse than we could ever imagine. I couldn't sit back and immediately called my fellow Nobel Laureate friends, reminding them that the call for peace must come from us. On October 30, we 104 Nobel Laureates jointly made an appeal to every single Head of State and urged international organisations and governments to ensure the safety and well-being of all Israeli and Palestinian children. Our call to action undoubtedly had some impact. The international media covered it extensively and it echoed in the political and global discourse for a few months. We were hopeful. But sadly today, leaders are ignoring the grave situation and failing the children. Transcending borders The suffering of Gaza's children transcends borders, ideologies and conflicts. Children bear no responsibility for war. They do not drop bombs or launch rockets. They do not set policies. They hold no historical grievances. So why must they pay the ultimate price for the failures and hatred of adults? Is it their crime to be born in a particular piece of land or into a family of a certain faith? Why should these innocents suffer for the acts, right or wrong, of their ancestors? Why is the lens with which we are viewing people today, and our emotions and judgments so coloured by religious politics? This is the moment to speak out clearly. We must demand an immediate ceasefire to stop the killing of innocent civilians. Restrictions on food, water, fuel, and medical aid must be lifted immediately. Local food and grocery supply systems, bakeries, farms must be urgently restored and small vendors should be allowed to function without any fear of threats. Aid workers must be protected, never targeted or obstructed. Those weaponising starvation, blocking aid, or denying access to basics needed for survival must be held accountable under international law. The time for merely expressing concern, hosting seminars, showing sympathy, or issuing press statements is over. We must choose between complicity and compassion. And I mean compassion not as a soft emotion or a feeling, but a transformative force born from feeling the suffering of others as one's own and taking mindful action to end that suffering. Contrary to popular belief, compassion is not a moral ideal, but a practical and effective strategy for resolving conflicts. There is a sliver of hope when, last month, the UK, France, and 26 other countries issued a tough statement condemning Israel for depriving Palestinians of 'human dignity'. The streets are filled with protesters, shocked and enraged by the scale of violence and trauma being unleashed. Several countries including Australia, France, Turkey, and Tunisia, have held demonstrations in the past few weeks. Other governments must also come together to produce a systematic, comprehensive, and concrete response. The day is not very far when we will realise that power does not lie in firing missiles; power lies in compassion. The voices of the innumerable young war survivors from Iraq, Afghanistan, and other conflict zones who I have interacted with over the years haunt me. I vividly recall an incident from some years back when I met a 10-year-old wheelchair-bound boy in a Syrian refugee camp in Germany. He had taken shelter along with several other children, women and men, all bearing the scars of war. During our conversation, he told me that he had lost his legs — and his father — in a bomb blast. He was separated from his mother in the chaos that followed. Overcome with grief, I had asked the child what he wants to do in future. I will never forget the conviction in his voice as he replied, 'I want to study and become an engineer so that I can go back to my village that was destroyed in the war, and rebuild it.' There was hope in his eyes and his dream was alive. If we cannot save the children of Gaza from bullets, bombs and the slow death of starvation, how can we ever speak of nurturing their dreams and hopes for the future? Kailash Satyarthi is the founder of the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion; views are personal
India Today
12 minutes ago
- India Today
Slamming 50% Trump tariffs, farmer leader Chaduni urges ban on US firms in India
Haryana farmer leader Gurnam Singh Chaduni has called for a complete ban on American companies operating in India after US President Donald Trump announced steep tariffs on Indian week, Trump signed an Executive Order imposing an additional 25% duty on Indian imports — on top of an earlier 25% hike — citing India's continued purchase of Russian oil. The combined 50% tariff will take effect from August to the move, Bharatiya Kisan Union (Chaduni) chief Gurnam Singh Chaduni said India must "hit back in a similar manner" by targeting US companies. "The US has imposed heavy tariffs on India and India must hit back in a similar way and ban American companies operating on Indian soil," Chaduni told India Today farmer leader argued that many American businesses in India, especially large fast-food and retail chains, earn substantial profits and repatriate them to the US."Why are we allowing this when the US is imposing tariffs on us? We must give a similar reply and ban all these companies," he said. "You travel on highways and one can spot the big food giants of the US spreading their business all over. This must stop," Chaduni farmer leader, who played a prominent role in the 2022 anti-farm laws protests, said the government must take a firm stand to deter future trade pressure from Washington."We cannot allow anyone to dictate things to us like this. If we don't take a stand now, America will continue to do this in the future too and threaten us regularly. The US-based companies should immediately be banned and not allowed to mint money," he demand also comes against the backdrop of a long-standing flashpoint in India–US trade of the contentious issues has been the proposed entry of US companies into India's dairy and agriculture sectors — a move New Delhi has consistently resisted, citing potential threats to farmers' livelihoods and to the country's self-reliance in these key Washington escalating trade tensions through higher tariffs, Chaduni's call to ban US businesses signals growing pressure on the Indian government to respond with stronger retaliatory measures.- EndsMust Watch
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
European powers tell U.N. they are ready to reimpose Iran sanctions
Britain, France and Germany have told the United Nations they are ready to reimpose UN-mandated sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme if no diplomatic solution is found by the end of August, according to a joint letter released Wednesday. The letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the UN Security Council says the three European powers are "committed to use all diplomatic tools at our disposal to ensure Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon". "Iran must not be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons under any circumstances," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, posting a copy of the letter. "If Iran continues to violate its international obligations, France and its German and British partners will reimpose the global embargoes on arms, nuclear equipment and banking restrictions that were lifted 10 years ago at the end of August," Mr. Barrot added. In the letter, the Foreign Ministers from the so-called E3 group threaten to use a "snapback mechanism" that was part of a 2015 international deal with Iran that eased UN Security Council sanctions. Under the deal, which terminates in October, any party to the accord can restore the sanctions. All three have stepped up warnings to Iran about its suspension of cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency. That came after Israel launched a 12-day war with Iran in June, partly seeking to destroy its nuclear capability. The United States staged its own bombing raid during the war. "We have made clear that if Iran is not willing to reach a diplomatic solution before the end of August 2025, or does not seize the opportunity of an extension, E3 are prepared to trigger the snapback mechanism," said the foreign ministers of France, Britain and of Germany. All three countries were signatories to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with the United States, China and Russia that offered the carrot and stick deal for Iran to slow its enrichment of uranium needed for a nuclear weapon. U.S. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the accord in 2018 during his first term and ordered new sanctions. The European countries said they would stick to the accord. But their letter sets out engagements that the ministers say Iran has breached, including building up a uranium stock to more than 40 times the permitted level under the 2015 deal. "The E3 remain fully committed to a diplomatic resolution to the crisis caused by Iran's nuclear programme and will continue to engage with a view to reaching a negotiated solution. "We are equally ready, and have unambiguous legal grounds, to notify the significant non-performance of JCPOA commitments by Iran ... thereby triggering the snapback mechanism, should no satisfactory solution be reached by the end of August 2025," the ministers wrote in the letter. End of cooperation The United States had already started contacts with Iran, which denies seeking a weapon, over its nuclear activities. But these were halted by the Israeli strikes in June on Iran's nuclear facilities. Even before the strikes, the international powers had raised concerns about the lack of access given to IAEA inspectors. Iran halted all cooperation with the IAEA after the strikes, but it announced that the agency's deputy chief was expected in Teheran for talks on a new cooperation deal. Last month Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi sent a letter to the UN saying that the European countries did not have the legal right to restore sanctions. The European Ministers called this allegation "unfounded". They insisted that as JCPOA signatories, they would be "clearly and unambiguously legally justified in using relevant provisions" of UN resolutions "to trigger UN snapback to reinstate UNSC resolutions against Iran which would prohibit enrichment and re-impose UN sanctions."
