In its new report on India\u2019s state-level anti-conversion laws, the USCIRF sought to show that they were inconsistent with international human rights law<\/p>\n
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom on Tuesday called for the repeal of the anti-conversion laws enacted by various Indian states. \u201cRepealing them is necessary to comply with international human rights law for the right to freedom of religion or belief and to help prevent the country\u2019s religious freedom conditions from further deteriorating,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n
In its new report on India\u2019s state-level anti-conversion laws, the USCIRF sought to show that they were inconsistent with international human rights law. \u201cCommon features of these (anti-conversion) laws include prohibitions on conversions, notifying the government of one\u2019s intent to convert, and burden-shifting provisions that presume an individual accused of violating an anti-conversion law is guilty,\u201d it said. \u201cEach of these features violates rights protected by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
India is widely recognized for its contributions to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which it is also a signatory. India ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1979. The USCIRF report looks at the anti-conversion laws enacted by 12 Indian states: Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.<\/p>\n
It concludes that India\u2019s state-level anti-conversion laws \u201cviolate international human rights law\u2019s protections for the right to freedom of religion or belief\u201d. \u201cThey (the anti-conversion laws) impermissibly limit and punish an individual\u2019s right to convert and right to persuade or support another individual to convert voluntarily.<\/p>\n
The anti-conversion laws also worsen religious freedom conditions in India which, as USCIRF has reported, are already poor,\u201d it says. \u201cSuch laws enable and embolden existing government harassment, vigilante violence, and discrimination against religious minorities, as well as crackdowns on civil society organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n