UN experts ask Govt of India to repeal "obstructive" foreign currency regulation Act, "it's against global norms"

UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders Michel Forst

Three top United Nations human rights experts have called on the Government of India to repeal the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), which they say is being “increasingly used to obstruct civil society’s access to foreign funding”. They have said in a statement, the FCRA contradicts “international human rights norms and standards.”
Close on the heels of the UN experts’ statement, ironically, the Government of India barred yet another well-known social activist Teesta Setalvad’s NGO Sabrang Trust from getting funds under the FCRA. Javed Anand, husband of Setalvad and secretary of Sabrang Trust, said, the cancellation “showed a complete non-application of mind”.
“That the cancellation order was imminent was apparent from the mere show of a personal hearing granted to Sabrang Trust on April 11, 2016. The hearing was over in less than 10 minutes”, Anand said, adding, the trust “will actively explore all legal options to challenge the home ministry order.”
The UN experts who gave the joint statement on FCRA, posted on the site of the UN Human Rights Commission, are UN special rapporteurs on human rights defenders Michel Forst, on freedom of expression David Kaye, and on freedom of association Maina Kiai.
They said, “We are alarmed that FCRA provisions are being used more and more to silence organisations involved in advocating civil, political, economic, social, environmental or cultural priorities, which may differ from those backed by the Government.”

The experts’ call came as the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs suspended for six months the registration of the non-governmental organization Lawyers Collective, under the FCRA. The suspension was imposed on the basis of allegations that its founders, human rights lawyers Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, violated the act provisions by using foreign funding for purposes other than intended.
“Despite detailed evidence provided by the NGO to rebut all allegations and prove that all foreign contributions were spent and accounted for in line with FCRA, the suspension was still applied”, the UN experts’ statement says.

Teesta Setalvad

“We are alarmed by reports that the suspension was politically motivated and was aimed at intimidating, delegitimising and silencing Lawyers Collective for their litigation and criticism of the Government’s policies,” the noted, adding, “The NGO is known for its public interest litigation and advocacy in defence of the most vulnerable and marginalised members of Indian society.”
“We are also concerned about procedural irregularities surrounding the order, including repeatedly leaked information to the press of suspension notices against the Lawyers Collective months before those were formally served to the NGO,” they stated.
The UN experts recalled the “outstanding national and international profile as human rights lawyers of Jaising, a former member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), and Grover, who was the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health from 2008 to 2014.”
“We strongly urge the Government to reverse its decision and embrace the invaluable contribution of the two prominent human rights defenders in upholding constitutional values in India,” the experts said, adding, “We encourage the authorities to ensure a safe and enabling environment for human rights defenders and civil society, which play a critical role in holding the Government to account and buttressing the Indian democracy.”
The exerts said, the founders of Lawyers Collective were “targeted” partly due to their legal assistance to “human rights defender Teesta Setalvad in a separate FCRA suspension, ordered in September 2015 against Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace, both headed by Setalvad.”
“Human rights defenders and civil society must have the ability to do their important job without being subjected to increased limitations on their access to foreign funding and the undue suspension of their registration on the basis of burdensome administrative requirements imposed to those organizations in receipt of foreign funds,” the experts insisted.

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