Defending human rights is not terrorism: UN representative Mary Lawlor on UAPA

Arrested activist Father Stan Swamy (Image: Screen grab from last video shared by Swamy before NIA arrest)

United Nations representative Mary Lawlor said at an event held on January 15 that India does not “properly protect human rights defenders."

The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders said: “India is a state which does not properly protect human rights defenders. I am appalled by the treatment of human rights defenders such as Father Stan Swamy who embodies solidarity…. Make no mistake, the state is responsible for the protection of human rights defenders.”

She was speaking at an online event marking 100 days of tribal rights activist Father Stan Swamy’s arrest, reported the Indian Express. Stan Swamy is 83 years old and suffers from Parkinson’s Disease.

Lawlor said she had also written to the Government of India in November 2020 “raising concerns” over Swamy’s incarceration in connection with the Bhima Koregaon riots; however, she has not received any response yet. Notably, governments usually get a 60-day period to respond to the UN.

The UN representative then went on to criticise India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and pointed out that its “definition of a terrorist act is not precise or clear and fails to provide legal certainty." She also said this law has often led to the conflation of human rights advocacy with terrorism and stressed that the two are not the same.