AFRICAN ENVOYS SEEK UN PROBE
IN TO NOIDA ATTACKS
The attacks on the African nationals in
Greater Noida should be investigated by the Human Rights Council (HRC) of the
United Nations, the African envoys said in an unprecedented collective
statement on Monday.A press release from the Office of the Dean of the African
Group Head of Missions said that the incidents were ‘reprehensible’ and ‘racial
in nature.’“The Heads of the African Missions accredited to India reviewed the
previous incidents...and concluded that no known, sufficient and visible
deterring measures were taken by the Government of India,” said the press
release. “They agreed to take further actions including the call for an
independent investigation by the Human Rights Council as well as other human
rights bodies, and also to comprehensively report the matter to the African
Union Commission.”
“As regards the recent unfortunate
incident in Greater Noida, the African Heads of Mission strongly condemn the
incident and express their deep concern and also take note that these
reprehensible events were not sufficiently condemned by the Indian Authorities.
The meeting unanimously agreed that those accumulated attacks against Africans
are xenophobic and racial in nature,” the press release said.In response, the
Ministry of External Affairs emphasised that action had been taken against the
perpetrators of the Greater Noida attack.“It is unfortunate that a criminal act
triggered following the untimely death of a young Indian student under suspicious
circumstances has been termed as xenophobic and racial,” said an official press
release, reiterating that the attacks were “aberrations that represent the acts
of a few criminals.”
The statement from the African envoys,
drafted following a special meeting on March 31, was the strongest step since
they threatened to boycott the Africa Day celebrations of May 25, 2016 after
the murder of a Congolese teacher in Delhi.It was unprecedented as it called
for an international inquiry. “They [African envoys] equally expressed their
expectations for strong condemnation from the highest political level [both
nationally and locally] of the Government of India, as well as expediting legal
actions against the perpetrators,” the statement said.Though issued by the
office of the Dean of the African Group Head of Missions, it was not signed by
Dean Alem Tsehaye Woldemariam, the Eritrean ambassador. Speaking to The Hindu , a senior African envoy said that as it
was an expression of collective sentiment, it was not signed by any particular
diplomat.
Prof. John Kurakar
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