‘Surprising, shallow, ill-informed’: India criticises Switzerland over minority remark at UNHRC

India on Wednesday strongly rebuked Switzerland’s remarks on minority rights at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), urging it to focus on their own issues. Speaking at the Council, Indian diplomat Kshitij Tyagi described the comments made by the Swiss delegation on India as “surprising, shallow, and ill-informed.”Tyagi, Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva, further highlighted that India is the “world’s largest, most diverse, and vibrant democracy” with a strong tradition of pluralism. Tyagi urged Switzerland to focus on its own issues, such as racism, systematic discrimination, and xenophobia, instead of lecturing India.

The exchange occurred on Wednesday, September 10, during the General Debate on the oral update by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights at the 5th Meeting of the 60th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

Speaking at the session, Switzerland urged India to take tougher measures to protect minorities’ rights. The Swiss delegate also asked New Delhi to “take effective measures to protect the minorities and uphold the rights to the freedom of expression and the freedom of the media.”While responding on behalf of India, Tyagi rejected the Swiss statement and termed Switzerland “a close friend and partner”. He emphasised that as the UNHRC president, Switzerland should focus on its own issues rather than making false claims about India.

“We would also like to respond to the surprising, shallow and ill-informed remarks made by Switzerland, a close friend and partner. As it holds the UNHRC presidency, it is all the more important for Switzerland to avoid wasting the council’s time with narratives that are blatantly false and do not do justice to the reality of India,” he said.

“Instead, it should focus on its own challenges such as racism, systematic discrimination and xenophobia. As the world’s largest, most diverse and vibrant democracy, with a civilizational embrace of pluralism, India remains ready to help Switzerland address these concerns,” the Indian diplomat added.

In response to Islamabad’s remarks during the discussion, India slammed Pakistan, saying it didn’t need lessons from a “terror sponsor”.

“We are compelled, once again, to address provocations from a country whose own leadership recently likened it to a ‘dump truck’, perhaps an inadvertently apt metaphor for a state that continues to deposit recycled falsehoods and stale propaganda before this distinguished Council,” he said.

Tyagi drew the Council’s attention to the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, noting that Pakistan had hosted Osama bin Laden until he died in a US Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad.

“We need no lessons from a terror sponsor; no sermons from a persecutor of minorities; no advice from a state that has squandered its own credibility,” Tyagi added.