General Assembly General Assembly

 

75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

 

Adoption of Resolution on

Promoting a culture of peace and tolerance to safeguard religious sites

 

India’s Explanation of Position

 

Thank you, Mr. President, for giving me the opportunity to explain our position on the draft resolution contained in document A/75/L.54.

 

At the outset, we sincerely acknowledge the efforts of the co-facilitators of the negotiations, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, for their inclusive and transparent approach during the negotiations. India joins the consensus today for adoption of the draft resolution.

 

Mr. President

 

India attaches great importance to the safeguarding cultural heritage and religious sites. The preamble of the Indian Constitution declares India as a “sovereign socialist secular democratic republic” which secures to all citizens “liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship”. The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion and guarantees all citizens the right to equal treatment before the law and the right to equal protection of the laws. Article 25 of the Constitution accords everybody the freedom of conscience and the right to practice, propagate and preach their religion.

 

India also has strong legal framework for acts of violence or discrimination based on religion including violence targeted towards the places of worship. The Places of Worship (Special Provisions) Act of 1991 prohibits conversion of any place of worship and provides for the maintenance of the religious character of any place of worship.

 

The Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act of 1988 prohibits the use of any premises of any religious institution for any act that promotes or attempts to promote disharmony or feelings of enmity or hatred between different religious, racial, language or regional groups.

 

Mr. President

 

In this world of growing terrorism, violent extremism, radicalization and intolerance, religious sites and cultural heritage sites remain vulnerable to terrorist acts, violence and destruction. The images of the shattering of the iconic Bamyan Buddha by fundamentalists are still vivid in our memories. The terrorist bombing of the Sikh gurudwara in Afghanistan where 25 Sikh worshipers were killed is yet another example of this vulnerability. Most recently, in December 2020, a historic Hindu temple was attacked and set on fire by a mob in the town of Karak in Pakistan with explicit support and connivance with the law enforcement agencies which, stood as mute spectators while the historic temple was being razed.

 

India reiterates its call for the application of the principles of objectivity, non-selectivity and impartiality to form the basis of discussions in the United Nations especially on the issue of religion. The United Nations including UN Alliance of Civilizations should not take sides and as long as such selectivity exists, the world can never truly foster a culture of peace. We must stand united against the forces that supplant dialogue and peace with hatred and violence.

 

Mr. President

 

It is a matter of great irony that the country where the most recent attack and demolition of a Hindu temple took place in a series of such attacks and where the rights of minorities are being emasculated is one of the co-sponsors of the resolution under the agenda item “Culture of Peace”. The resolution can not be smokescreen for countries like Pakistan to hide behind.

 

To conclude, my delegation, once again, acknowledge the efforts of Saudi Arabia and Morocco to pilot the delicate negotiations for achieving a consensus text of this resolution.

 

I thank you, Mr. President