During the 58th session of the UN Human Rights Council on Thursday, 13th March, the Indian Embassy at the UN in Geneva organised a meeting. The main speaker was Justice V. Ramasubramaniam, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission of India, who delivered a lengthy speech on the human rights situation in India.
In his speech, he remarked, “When we teach, if someone asks an important or difficult question, it is easy to say that this is not in the syllabus.”
Following Ramasubramaniam’s speech, questions, opinions, and comments were raised. S.V. Kirubaharan, Secretary General of the Tamil Centre for Human Rights (TCHR) in France, who attended the meeting, was given the opportunity to share his views.
Kirubaharan thanked the organisers and said, “I don’t know whether the doubt I’m about to express is in your syllabus!” His remark was met with loud laughter in the hall, including from Ramasubramaniam. He continued, “Since the end of the war in Sri Lanka, India has consistently called for the full implementation of the 13th Amendment as a political solution for the people of the North and East. However, since the new government took power in Sri Lanka, India has remained silent on this issue. Does this silence indicate a change in India’s policy on the 13th Amendment?”
He then added, “If you do not answer, I will assume that this issue is not in your syllabus.” The hall again erupted in laughter.
As this was a foreign policy matter, Ramasubramaniam avoided responding. However, India’s UN Ambassador Arindam Bagchi addressed the question, stating, “There is no change in India’s position regarding the 13th Amendment in Sri Lanka. If you wish, we can discuss this issue in Delhi and confirm it.”
Arindam Bagchi previously served as India’s Deputy High Commissioner to Sri Lanka from 2014 to 2018 and spent three years as the Spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs. The meeting was attended by a large number of diplomats, including Sri Lanka’s Ambassador Himalee Arunatilaka, along with several Tamil activists.
